Veolia Environnement SA (VIE), Europe’s biggest water company by market value, said Francois Ombanda, chief executive officer of its Societe d’Energie et d’Eau du Gabon unit, is being replaced.

The Gabonese national will be replaced on Feb. 1 by Deputy Director General Christian Lefaix of France, the water utility said in a statement handed to reporters today in Gabon’s capital, Libreville.

The decision was taken by the board on Dec. 21 in Paris, where Veolia is based, according to the statement. Ombanda joined the company known as SEEG, Gabon’s water and electricity monopoly, in 1978, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Antoine Lawson in Libreville at ankolo@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Randall Hackley at rhackley@bloomberg.net