ESSEC Appointments: Balenciaga, Amundi, Webhelp, Vestiaire Collective, Forbes 30 Under 30, and More

Leaders of major groups, impact economy players or public institutions, a Knight of the National Order of Merit...and 3 winners of the Forbes 30 Under 30! We take a look at some of the recent appointments in the ESSEC network.

Laura du Rusquec (E06) has been appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Balenciaga. She began her career as an analyst with Morgan Stanley prior to moving into the luxury sector, where she held various management positions in strategy, business development and finance at Kering and Pomellato. She joined Balenciaga around 7 years ago, to manage business on the EMEA and international level. 

Sarah Finkelstein (E09) has been appointed Chief of Staff to the general management of the Amundi group. Also a graduate of ENA, she began her career with the French Treasury, where she worked in the savings and financial markets office, followed by the Inter-Ministerial 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 & Finance and was subsequently appointed Secretary General of the State Shareholdings Agency (APE). Prior to this latest appointment, she was Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State for foreign trade and attractiveness.

Valérie Blandin (M01) has been appointed BtoC Managing Director of Heppner, the leader in transport & logistics solutions between France and more than 150 countries, with turnover exceeding €1 billion and some 3,500 employees worldwide. She began her career in the office supplies sector, initially with JM Bruneau, followed by the Manutan group, where she held various sales positions. She then moved into logistics and transport with successive marketing management roles at DHL Express and XPO Logistics. Prior to this latest appointment, she was the Europe Manager of PlantSwitch, a manufacturer of biodegradable packaging and food utensils.

Valérie Brisac (E96) has been appointed Managing Director of the Communauté des Entreprises à Mission [Community of Benefit Corporations]. Following a stint in town-planning at Scet, she spent more than 10 years in consulting with Bossard Consultants and Capgemini Consulting. She then held successive marking management positions at Nexity and Allen & Overy. Prior to this latest appointment, she was Executive Director of the Grand Défi [Major Challenge], a ‘participative process calling on companies and their ecosystem to create a new model for economic, humanist and regenerative prosperity.’

Paul de Marnix (M14) has been appointed Managing Director of 21, the social innovation booster of the French Red Cross and Nexem, the leading representative for non-profit organisation employers in the social, social-medical and health sector. Also a graduate of Panthéon – Assas University and King’s College London, he began his career as a political consultant at the European Parliament, prior to becoming Chief Advisor in strategic communication and public affairs with APCO Worldwide, then communication advisor to the French National Assembly and the Ministry for Labour successively. Prior to this latest appointment, he was the Director of Communication & Institutional Relations at Nexem.

Nicolas Droin (E93) has been appointed Managing Director of the Lyon National Auditorium-Orchestra. He has already held similar positions in the culture sector, in particular with the Chapelle Royale / Orchestre Champs-Elysées orchestra, the Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, the Accentus chamber choir, and the Paris & Opéra Comique chamber orchestra. 

Jean-Baptiste Decaix (EXEC MBA 06) has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Webhelp. Also a graduate of CentraleSupélec, he began his career with Lucent Technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. He gained initial sales experience at Completel, before moving to Australia to become a consultant at Bain, followed by Senior Advisor for Noble Endeavours, which works to provide underprivileged communities in the Philippines with access to drinking water and health services. He has spent the last 10 years in senior management positions with Webhelp in London. 

Thomas Hezard (E14) has been appointed Chief Strategy Officer of Vestiaire Collective. Following an initial career in consulting with Roland Berger and The Boston Consulting Group, he joined the French unicorn 5 years ago and has held various sales and customer-related positions. 

Marie-Laure Seguela (E92) has been appointed Administrative & Financial Director of Gedeon Media Group, a producer of feature films for cinema and documentaries, for which it has worn more than 500 awards. The Group’s productions are broadcast on major French and foreign channels (BBC, Channel 4, Discovery Channel, PBS, National Geographic, RAI, ZDF, etc.). Marie-Laure began her career in auditing with Coopers & Lybrand, before rising to various financial management positions with Allociné, Gaumont, Disneyland Paris, Marionnaud, Bruno Saint-Hilaire and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Prior to this latest appointment, she was president of the financial leaders’ network DFCG, where she notably steered projects to support female careers in impact finance and entrepreneurship in partnership with Raise Sherpa and Finance Innovation.

Jean Anglade (E77) has been appointed President of the France - Venezuela Chamber of Commerce... for the sixth time! He began his career at the French Embassy in Caracas before joining Crédit Lyonnais in a business development role. He then took over the general management of the urban planning and property development player Prefinca. He subsequently spent 10 years with Alstom, until he was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the modelling portal Models of the World. A decade later, he rose to the position of Managing Partner of the consultancy firm Danexi International. He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Dinbog, a recruitment platform for the creative sectors.
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Lucien Boyer (E85) has been made a Knight of the National Order of Merit by Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (E02), Minister for Sports and the Olympic & Para-Olympic Games. He began his career in marketing management with the French America’s Cup team, followed by the Larousse-Lamborghini Formula 1 team, prior to founding Lifestyle Marketing Group, which joined Havas Sports & Entertainment a few years later. Within this group, he rose to the position of Global President & Chief Executive Officer, before moving to Vivendi, where he held various general management and marketing positions. At the same time, he was an administrator at Le Five and Sporsora. He went on to create the annual international forum Global Sports Week, and the Inspiring Sport Capital investment fund. 

3 ESSEC alumni feature in the Forbes 30 Under 30 2023, its annual ranking of 30 talents under the age of 30: Léa Philippot (E19), co-founder of Mindology, which produces French-made CBD oils; Tristan Maurel (E20), co-founder of Umiami, which offers ‘plant-based meat’ with the same taste and nutritional qualities as animal meat, but for fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and Valentine d’Harcourt (E21), co-founder of Anga, which transforms the initially non-recyclable plastic waste from mass retail into interior design materials. 

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