Announcement ·
Forvia brings Raphaël Viard, its head of digital and AI, onto the executive committee
Original title, in French: “Forvia fait entrer Raphael Viard, son patron du digital et de l’IA, au comité exécutif”
- Publication
- Alliancy (France)
- Author
- Dorian Marcellin
- Published on
- 15 October 2026 · read in the page structured data · updated on 15 October 2026
Summary
Automotive supplier Forvia appointed Raphaël Viard as Chief Digital and AI Officer on 14 October, with a seat on the executive committee and a direct reporting line to CEO Martin Fischer. Already head of digital since August 2025, he will have to combine IT cost reduction with investment in AI, at a group formed by the Faurecia-Hella merger. According to an interview given to AutomotiveIT in June 2026, Viard is aiming for annual IT savings of €60 to 80 million, by converging 16 SAP environments and replacing 17 cybersecurity solutions. The savings are to fund quick-win AI projects (12 to 18 months), notably in industrial maintenance and supply chain, with each deployment now having to be economically justified.
Summary based on the full text of the article.
Read the article on Alliancy →Figures cited
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80 million EUR
Forvia's annual IT savings target
Forvia, interview with AutomotiveIT, June 2026
« Raphaël Viard évoquait un objectif de 60 à 80 millions d'euros d'économies informatiques annuelles, soit 15 à 20 % des dépenses IT. »
Source: AutomotiveIT
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20 %
Share of IT spending represented by this savings target
Forvia, interview with AutomotiveIT, June 2026
« Raphaël Viard évoquait un objectif de 60 à 80 millions d'euros d'économies informatiques annuelles, soit 15 à 20 % des dépenses IT. »
Source: AutomotiveIT
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16 environments
Number of SAP environments to be consolidated at Forvia
Forvia, convergence of Faurecia/Hella systems
« Le chantier passe notamment par la convergence des systèmes hérités de Faurecia et Hella, avec 16 environnements SAP à regrouper et 17 solutions de cybersécurité à remplacer par une plateforme commune. »
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17 solutions
Number of cybersecurity solutions to be replaced at Forvia
Forvia, convergence of Faurecia/Hella systems
« Le chantier passe notamment par la convergence des systèmes hérités de Faurecia et Hella, avec 16 environnements SAP à regrouper et 17 solutions de cybersécurité à remplacer par une plateforme commune. »
Classification
- Country
- France
- Company size
- Large companies
- Industries
- Industry and manufacturing · Transport, logistics, supply chain
- Companies
- Forvia (deploys AI), SNCF (cited), Bouygues Construction (cited), Saint-Gobain (cited), Alstom (cited)
- Keywords
- AI leadership, executive committee, industrial maintenance, supply chain, IT cost reduction, automotive supplier
Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to Alliancy and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.