Sylvain de Forges, chief executive of France's debt management office, is to join Veolia Environnement – formerly Vivendi Environnement – as head of financial operations.

De Forges, who runs Agency France Trésor (AFT), the debt unit set up two years ago, has worked at the French treasury for 22 years. His team has been credited with several government debt innovations, including the introduction of bonds linked to the eurozone inflation rate. Italy and Greece have since issued similar instruments and other countries are considering them. The AFT was the first to use swaps to reduce its debt duration.