Alstom Transport appointed Thierry Best as chief commercial officer. He is a member of the Executive Committee and reports to Alstom Transport's President Philippe Mellier.
Best is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and a former student of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration. He began his career in the Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of Finance and later became commercial counsellor to the French embassies in Madried, Buenos Aires and London.
He joined Alstom Transport in 1998 as sales manager for Israel, Egypt and South Africa. In 1999, he became senior vice president in China, in 2003, vice president of the metro product line and in 2004, managing director for France. In 2007, Best was appointed Alstom Transport project director. In 2008, he became Rolling Stock & Components senior vice president and then in 2009 was appointed Alstom International Network senior vice president — Middle East and Africa.
The new Commercial Team defines the company's product/market strategy, manages bid submissions and the signing of contracts, and bears responsibility for profit and loss. The department is divided into geographic regions.