Eurostar | Christophe Fanichet to succeed Gwendoline Cazenave on 1 December 2026
Eurostar has announced the appointment of Christophe Fanichet as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 December 2026.
He will succeed Gwendoline Cazenave, who has led the company since September 2022. In the interim, Matthieu Quyollet, Deputy CEO, will serve as interim Chief Executive Officer.
Under Gwendoline Cazenave’s leadership, Eurostar and Thalys were brought together under a single brand. The company also returned to growth and surpassed 20 million annual passengers, according to information released by the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
An executive with experience at SNCF and in the public sector
Christophe Fanichet served as Chief Executive Officer of SNCF Voyageurs from January 2020 to July 2026, following several senior positions within the French railway group.
He was Director of Intercités between 2010 and 2014, Chief of Staff to the Chairman of SNCF in 2014, and subsequently Group Communications Director from 2014 to 2019.
He also headed 574 Invest, SNCF’s investment arm dedicated to innovative businesses.
Before joining SNCF in 2008, he held positions at the French Ministry of Defence, PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, notably in auditing and public-sector modernisation.
An engineering graduate of ESIEA, he also completed the Senior Executive Program at London Business School in 2017.
Having served on the Eurostar Group board since 2022, he is already familiar with the company’s governance challenges.
A new investment and development cycle
His appointment comes as Eurostar prepares for a new phase of growth.
The company is planning €2 billion of investment in its future Celestia fleet, alongside projects to launch new routes.
Network development, rolling-stock renewal and the changing competitive environment in Europe’s rail market will be major priorities during his tenure.
For Eurostar, Christophe Fanichet brings together extensive railway industry knowledge, experience in organisational transformation and expertise in managing major investment programmes.
Showroomprivé | Claire Martin takes charge of the Travel & Leisure business
Showroomprivé has announced the appointment of Claire Martin to lead its Travel & Leisure business.
In the role since June 2026 and a member of the group’s executive committee, she is responsible for accelerating the development of this division, identified as a strategic driver of diversification and growth.
Her priorities include enhancing the range and attractiveness of offers available to members, expanding commercial activities internationally, and improving performance and the customer experience.
According to Showroomprivé, the business has recorded improvements in gross booking volume, conversion rates and average spend per traveller since her arrival. However, the group has not disclosed the scale of these increases.
More than twenty years in tourism and distribution
Claire Martin has more than twenty years of experience in the travel industry, with a career spanning tour operating, travel distribution, e-commerce and digital marketing.
Her early career in tourism included a position at Karavel-Promovacances, where she held Market Manager responsibilities between 2004 and 2007, before joining Look Voyages to oversee product management.
She subsequently moved further into distribution, notably at Veepee Voyages, where she held several commercial positions between 2012 and 2016, culminating in her appointment as Head of Sales for the Travel Business Unit.
She was also involved in transforming the purchasing and product departments of Maeva and Carrefour Voyages.
In 2018, she joined Les Maisons du Voyage, part of Groupe Figaro, where she led a business unit before taking on responsibilities covering marketing, partnerships and innovation.
She notably contributed to the development of travel offerings associated with Expo 2020 Dubai, working with institutional and airline partners.
From 2022, she continued her career at Marco Vasco, initially as Chief Marketing Digital Officer and subsequently as Chief Communication, Marketing & CSR Officer.
Her responsibilities included digital customer acquisition strategy, marketing technology transformation, brand communications and commercial performance.
A graduate of Grenoble École de Management, she also completed an MBA in Strategic Marketing at Université Laval in Canada.
Making travel a driver of growth
At Showroomprivé, Claire Martin is taking responsibility for a business built around the group’s membership community, commercial partnerships and expertise in distributing time-limited offers.
Her appointment forms part of a strategy to develop travel as an additional source of diversification.
Her experience in travel procurement, partnership negotiations, digital marketing and conversion management provides a range of skills directly applicable to this business.
A key challenge will be to strengthen the Travel & Leisure division’s contribution to group growth while improving commercial profitability and customer retention.
LTH Analysis | Two appointments, two growth models
These appointments illustrate two distinct dynamics within the travel industry.
At Eurostar, the priority is capital-intensive development, based on rolling-stock renewal, network expansion and the optimisation of transport capacity.
At Showroomprivé, growth relies more heavily on distribution, monetising an existing customer base, partnerships and the commercial effectiveness of digital channels.
In both cases, the executives will need to combine business development, operational performance and the transformation of their respective business models.
These developments are also relevant to the hotel industry: the expansion of international rail connections and the diversification of travel distribution channels could influence customer flows and market accessibility.
At a Glance
Eurostar: Christophe Fanichet appointed CEO, effective 1 December 2026.
Succession: He succeeds Gwendoline Cazenave, with Matthieu Quyollet serving as interim CEO.
Background: Former CEO of SNCF Voyageurs and Eurostar Group board member since 2022.
Investment: Eurostar is preparing a €2 billion investment in its Celestia fleet and potential new routes.
Showroomprivé: Claire Martin has led the Travel & Leisure division since June 2026.
Strategy: Her priorities include commercial expansion, international development, conversion performance and customer experience.
