Discover ESSEC Alumni in the Choiseul 2023 Future Business Leaders Ranking

 The Institut Choiseul has published its 2023 ranking of the 100 economic leaders of the future. 8 alumni feature in the ranking and 6 more have also been recognised by the prestigious research centre for their promising career.

The Choiseul 100 list showcases and opens up networks for leaders under the age of 40, whose activity and expertise play, or are set to play, a key role in the French economy. Numerous ESSEC alumni feature in the list every year, and 2023 is no exception!

8 alumni in the Top 100

Matthias Baccino (E10), Regional Manager France & Benelux for the German fintech Trade Republic, was previously Managing Director of Binck, following initial experience with BNP Paribas and PwC. He also sits on the administrative board of the Concorde Foundation, a civil think-tank which aims ‘to make France the most prosperous country in Europe.’

Clara Chappaz (E12), Director of La French Tech, held various management positions with the Zalora group in Bangkok and Singapore, worked for BCG in New York, co-founded the start-up Lullaby in Boston and was Vice-President International of Lyst in London, prior to taking up the role of Chief Business Officer for Vestiaire Collective, a unicorn specialised in the sale of second-hand clothing.

Jonathan Cherki (E11), founder and CEO of ContentSquare, a digital experience optimisation platform, has risen from the ranks of the ESSEC Ventures incubator to the very closed circle of French unicorns in just 10 years. In 2022, the firm announced a capital raising of $600M, the second biggest round ever achieved by a French company, bringing its total valuation to a record-breaking $5.6 billion.

Luc Delage (E11), Deputy Managing Director in charge of the economic and financial steering of the MAIF group, previously worked for the French Prudential Control Authority as an insurance commissioner, followed by deputy to a head of brigade. 

Alexandre Desseigne-Barrière (IMHI 12) is currently Executive Vice-President for Strategy and Development with Barrière group, where he has spent his entire career, holding the successive roles of Director of Transformation, Managing Director Hotels & Catering and Executive Vice-President Hotels, F&B and Transformation.

Anne-Laure Feldkircher (E10), Executive Director of Transformation & Strategy with the Fnac Darty group, began her career with BNP Paribas followed by The Boston Consulting Group. She then took up the position of in-house consultant for international strategy with Hermès, prior to her appointment as Project Head for strategy and planning with the Casino group, followed by Director of Strategy for Leader Price.

Sarah Finkelstein (E09), Deputy Chief of Staff to the Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, graduated from ENA and began her career with the French Treasury, where she worked in the savings and financial markets office, followed by the interministerial committee for industrial restructuring, prior to being made head of the corporate funding and development office and head of the unit for European, international and tech affairs for the financial sector. She then took up the position of advisor to the Minister for the Economy and Finance, prior to her appointment as Secretary General of the State Shareholdings Agency (APE). She also sits on the administrative board of the French National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC).

Paul Guyot-Sionnest (E14), Director of External Affairs and Chief of Staff to the CEO of Saint Laurent, began his career in finance, initially with Crédit Agricole in New York, then with Lazard in Paris. He moved into politics next, via the Ministry of Agriculture, and went on to become advisor to Bruno Le Maire for 5 years. He then spent 10 years with the Kering group, rising to the management of institutional affairs. 

6 alumni to keep an eye on

Alongside its Top 100 ranking, Choiseul also commends promising profiles to watch out for. Numerous ESSEC alumni also feature in this list: Jean-Baptiste Achard (E17), co-founder and Managing Director of StaffMe; Sami Biasoni (E08), Chief of Staff and Secretary General of the Digital, Innovation, Data & Resources department of Société Générale; Alexandre Eruimy (E10), member of the administrative board of the endowment fund Label Transition; Ludovic de Gromard (E11), co-founder and CEO of Chance; Mikael Guery (E11), Sales Director France of Sephora, and Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit (E16), Director of Circular Economy for the Manutan group, co-founder of the ESSEC Global Circular Economy Chair and head of the ESSEC Alumni Entrepreneurs’ Club.

A high-profile network

Keep a close eye on the above: they are destined for brilliant careers, if the impressive paths of previous Choiseul 100 winners and ESSEC graduates are anything to go by: Edward Arkwright (E96), Executive Managing Director of the ADP group; Bénédicte Bahier (E99), Human Resources Director for Legrand; Daphné Barré de Jenlis (E04), founding partner of Sedona Invest and co-manager of the Abiocom laboratory; Alexandre Benais (E97), Managing Director of Thétys Invest; Rodolphe Carle (E99), founder and co-chairman of the supervisory board of Babilou crèches; Maxime Carmignac (E03), Managing Director of Carmignac Gestion London; Philippe Cieutat (E00), Group CFO of the Edmond de Rothschild group; Laurence Daziano (EXEC MBA 04), Head of Strategy & Legal Affairs with SNCF Voyageurs; Astrid de Bréon (E04), Deputy Managing Director of UFF; Igor de Limur (E98), Managing Director of Jefferies; Jérôme Dumond (E07), Deputy General Manager of Afiniti; Pierre-Etienne Durand (E98), Head of Strategy & Corporate Development for the Edmond de Rothschild group; Tony Estanguet (EXEC M07), President of Paris 2024; Jérôme Fabre (E02), CEO of La Compagnie Fruitière; Domitille Fafin (E10), Communication Director for the Air Liquide group; Manuel Flam (E02), CEO of Vadim; Régis Folbaum (E98), Director of Payments for La Banque Postale; Antoine Fruchard (E09), multi-entrepreneur; Nicolas Gheysens (E99), Director of GBL; Elise Ginioux (E06), Executive Committee member at Generali France in charge of communication, sustainability and public affairs; Olivier Grémillon (E03); Sébastien Guillo (E08), Director of Blunomy; Mehdi Khoubbane (E99), Vice-President China for L’Oréal’s Consumer Products division; Carine Kraus (E02), Director of Engagement for Carrefour; Yann Le Touher (E07), Assistant Director of Patron & Business Partner Relations at the Louvre; Alexandru Nicolae Marin (E12), Managing Director France and Vice-President of the Auto1 group; Cassandre Mariton (M01), lawyer with PRD Avocats; Vincent Menuet (E03), Senior Vice-President and Head of Public Affairs & Security for Suez; Nicolas Namias (E02),Chairman of the Board of BPCE; Jocelyn Olive (E05), Deputy Managing Director Food of Teract; Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (E02), French Minister for Sports and the Olympic & Paralympic Games; Laurence Pera (E06), Head of Strategic Partnerships with the TF1 group; Côme Perpere (M06), Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft France; Bertrand Picard (E05), CEO of Natural Grass; Sébastien Proto (E00), Deputy General Manager in charge of Networks for Société Générale and Crédit du Nord; Marie Sellier (M04), Vice-President for Public Affairs at Vivendi; Alexandra Serizay (E98), Chief Tech & Services Officer of Sodexo; Maxime Tassin (E06), Head of Customer Engagement at Octopia; Héloïse Temple-Boyer (E00), Deputy CEO of Artemis; Benoît Verbrugghe (M99), Managing Director USA of Ardian; Laure Verdeau (E08), Director of Agence Bio, and Thierry Vincenty (E97), Senior Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships Europe and Managing Director France at IMG.

See the full ranking (in French).

Did you spot other ESSEC in the Choiseul ranking? Let us know!

Want more content? Join us now so that we can keep bringing you news about the ESSEC network. 

Image : © AdobeStock