Anthropic hires Orange’s AI chief Steve Jarrett for Europe expansion

Anthropic just poached one of Europe’s most experienced AI executives. Steve Jarrett, who has served as Chief AI Officer at French telecom giant Orange since 2019, is leaving to lead Anthropic’s expansion across Europe and Africa.

Jarrett will officially join Anthropic on August 25, 2026, working from the company’s Paris office. His job, in plain terms: make Claude as ubiquitous in European enterprises as it’s becoming in American ones.

From telecoms to frontier AI

Jarrett’s resume reads like a tour of Silicon Valley’s greatest hits and misses. He held leadership roles at General Magic, Facebook, and Yahoo before landing at Orange.

At Orange, he wasn’t just holding a title. Jarrett was steering the company toward a target of generating over €600 million in AI-related value by 2028. Orange has already named Usman Javaid as his successor, effective September 1, 2026.

Anthropic’s European land grab

The company opened offices in Paris and Munich in November 2025. A Milan office is expected by May 2026. And here’s the number that tells the real story: Anthropic has tripled its EMEA headcount over the past year.

By placing Jarrett in Paris and tasking him with tailoring AI technologies for specific regional markets, Anthropic is making a bet that localization matters.

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