ABL has announced that marine warranty survey expert (MWS) Fabien Thomas has been promoted to country manager for ABL France. In his new role, he will lead operations in France and the Republic of Congo while supporting the development of ABL’s operations in additional Francophone African countries.
He takes on the role of Hugues Delanoue, who has been promoted to Regional Managing Director for ABL in Europe and West Africa.
“I’m extremely happy for Fabien taking on his new role. He has been an invaluable asset to the French team, heavily contributing to its growth from the very early days of ABL France. I’m confident that under Fabien’s leadership, ABL France will continue its growth trajectory, providing first-class support to our clients and the challenges they face,” Hugues Delanoue, Regional MD ABL Europe & W. Africa.
After several years working as a naval architect for a large French engineering and technology company based in Paris, Thomas joined ABL in 2015 as a senior naval architect and marine warranty survey (MWS) project manager in the oil and gas and renewables sectors. He specializes in transportation and installation (T&I), operations and maintenance (O&M), and all related marine services for fixed and floating structures for shallow and deep waters.
In 2022, Thomas was appointed head of MWS for ABL France to improve technical consistency and efficiency, promote cross-team collaboration, and strengthen our range of services to better support the growth of French operations.
Fabien Thomas, Country Manager ABL France. (Image credit: ABL)
“I am really excited to take on this new role and would like to thank Hugues Delanoue for all the great achievements, his continued trust and support over the years, and this fantastic opportunity. Since we opened the office in Paris in 2015, it has been a very rewarding journey. We have been working very hard to serve our clients and deliver first-class services to support the growth of the emerging offshore wind industry in France, as well as many other energy projects, especially in the Republic of Congo. Our foundations are solid, and we have a great team of motivated professionals in Paris. We will keep building upon the great work and our existing relations and markets we serve and will look to grow and develop new areas of the business within the renewables, maritime, and oil and gas sectors in France and Francophone countries, with the support of the other ABL Group entities in Europe,” added Fabien Thomas, Country Manager ABL France.
During his time with ABL, Thomas actively participated in the successful construction of the first offshore wind projects in France (Floatgen FWT, Sain-Nazaire OWF, Fécamp OWF), as well as many other assignments and key projects in the region, including onshore and offshore attendances onboard the most famous construction vessels in the world.
He is a recognized figure in the offshore wind industry in France and is still deeply involved in the current developments, as well as in Belgium with the construction of the first artificial energy inland on the MOG2 project.
Thomas began his new role on November 1, 2024.
