ESSEC Appointments: Crédit Agricole, Dassault, eBay, Casino, L’Oréal, France Inter, Choiseul, Forbes 30…

Leaders of major French and international groups, senior managers in the public sector... and a host of alumni in the Choiseul 200, Choiseul Finance de demain and Forbes 30 Under 30! A round-up of recent appointments in the ESSEC network.

Valérie Wanquet (E88) has been appointed CEO at Crédit Agricole Immobilier. She began her career in auditing with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, before joining the accounting and finance division of Crédit Lyonnais (now LCL), where she was Financial Controller of its Singapore branch. From there, she moved on to Hong Kong, where she served, first, as Chief Financial Officer at Calyon and then, as Chief Operating Officer of Crédit Agricole CIB. Since then, she has held a number of finance and management positions within the Group’s subsidiaries.  

Céline Saada-Benaben (E93) has been appointed President of eBay France and General Manager of eBay Italy. She started off as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, before moving into strategic planning with Disney Parks & Resorts. She then fulfilled various marketing and business development roles with phone company T-Mobile in London. For the last 17 years, she has held various management positions at eBay.  

Gilles Ballot (E98) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Carrefour Romania. Following stints at Henkel and Danone, he joined Kenvue, a world leader in consumer health, where he held various marketing and management roles, before moving to the Boston Consulting Group as a project manager. His next move was to Carrefour, where the key positions he has held include Director of Communication and Pricing, Director of Strategic Merchandising Projects, Director of Hypermarkets in Poland, Sales Director for Northern and Eastern Europe and Director of e-Commerce, Marketing and Merchandising in Italy. 

Jérôme Bouyer (E97) has been appointed President of Immunology at AbbVie, the American pharmaceutical company ranked sixth-largest biotech company in the world in terms of revenue. His career began in market analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb, from where he moved into consultancy with AT Kearney and then McKinsey. He then branched off to health, first with Novartis, where he rose to the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer for China, then with AbbVie, where, for the last 12 years, he has held management roles in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the Europe zone. 

Patrice Bondy (EXEC M94) has been appointed Deputy CEO of the Liébot Group, manufacturer of windows and façades based in Vendée, employing more than 4,500 people in 12 companies and with a turnover of €768 million. His first foray into management was with the Somfy Group, initially in sales and then marketing and communication, before he became President of Virax – Stanley Black & Decker Group, the French number 1 and world number 4 for plumbing and HVAC engineering tools. He then led safeguarding procedures, first at the FFC Group and then at Labat & Sierrat. After that, he joined the Liébot Group, initially as CEO of subsidiary Wibaie.  

Jean-François Prévot (EXEC M05) has been appointed CEO of Batigère, a social enterprise for responsible housing with the status of a company, managing more than 100,000 homes – a role he combines with that of CEO of the SLCI Group, a residential property manager in Lyon and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. He started out as a consultant with Arthur Andersen in Luxembourg, before joining Batigère for the first time as head of the legal and tax division. He then became CEO and Chair of the management board of Quadral, as well as Executive Chair of Evel Immobilier in Metz. 

Alain Caekaert (EXEC PROG 19) has been appointed Managing Director of Cérévia, a union of cooperatives for the trade and distribution of cereals from Burgundy, Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Over 25 years, he has held various roles in seed purchasing and supply management – first, at Ralston Purina, then in management positions at Lesaffre in Lille and the United States, at Archer Daniels Midland, also in the US, and at Malteurop in Reims. He then took over as head of the trading department at Vivescia, before returning to Malteurope, where he joined the executive board as Group Chief Commercial, Procurement & Innovation Officer and Managing Director France & Germany.   

Sabine Haltebourg (EXEC PROG 16) has been appointed Associate Director of Citeo Pro, the food-service subsidiary of eco-friendly business Citeo that offers solutions to reducing, reusing, sorting and recycling consumer and retail packaging. With the business for four years, before that, she worked for Veolia for a decade, where she held sales and sector management positions.   

Xavier Hermen (E89) has been appointed Vice-President, Audit and Risk, at Dassault Systèmes. He began his career at Andersen Consulting, before becoming MIS Manager for Crown Cork & Seal – Carnaux Metalbox. He then joined Dassault Systèmes, where he has worked for 25 years, during which time he has held the posts of Director of Planning and Controls, then CFO, first for the Consulting Services Division, then for the Delmia brand, Asia-Pacific and Americas zones, then becoming Vice-President of Worldwide Sales and VP, Group Corporate Finance. 

Angélique Cristofari (M00) has been appointed Finance Director of the Casino Group. She started working at Deloitte, in auditing, before switching to corporate finance management at Hammerson and then returning to Deloitte as a Senior Manager. Next, she joined Galimmo, where she became Finance Director and then General Secretary, and then moved on to Louis Delhaize, where she was Director of Transactions and Arbitration for the Cora Group, then Finance Director. 

Matthieu Bucaille (E82) has been appointed Partner & Global Chief Financial Officer at Brandtech, world leader in generative AI. Also a graduate of The Wharton School, he worked for 25 years for the investment bank and asset management firm Lazard, where he held several management roles, including World Finance Director of Lazard Ltd and CEO of Lazard International. 

Imen Debibi (E13) has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer at Société Générale. Following stints at Citi, HSBC and BNP Paribas, she joined Capgemini Invent, where she advised CAC 40 companies in the fields of banking, health and aeronautics. She then became Head of Payment Open Banking at Société Générale. 

Mehita Fanny (E91) has been appointed Country Manager for Southern Africa at the IFC (International Finance Corporation), a branch of the World Bank specialising in developing countries and one of the most important institutions of its kind in the world. She has worked there for almost 20 years, following initial experience in business development at the APDF (Africa Project Development Facility). 

Stéphanie Quatre (M00) has been appointed Director of Training at the L'Oréal Group. She began her career as a product manager, first at Bayer and then at Janssen-Ortho, before joining Servier, where she rose to the position of Regional Director. Next, she went to L’Oréal, where she has worked for 8 years, consistently in regional management roles for such brands as La Roche-Posay and Vichy. 

Jonathan Curiel (E05) has been appointed Director of Content at France Inter, responsible for programming and digital. Also a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, he started off as economic and social chargé d’affaires at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations in New York. He then joined M6 in the role of Deputy Coordinator before going on to become Editorial Director, then Director-General of Paris Première. He was previously Deputy Director-General of Programming for M6, W9 and 6ter, responsible for magazine programmes and documentaries. He also recently had his essay La société hystérisée published by Éditions de l’Aube (read our article in French).  

Frédéric Rimattei (E99) has been appointed CEO of the University Hospital Nîmes. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris, Columbia, EHESP and INSP, he spent time at the United Nations and the European Commission before committing to a career in public health. He started off at University Hospital Montpellier, where he was, in turn, Deputy Director of Finance and Management Control, Director of Works and Biomedical, and Director of Investment and Logistics. He then moved to University Hospital Toulouse, where he was appointed Deputy Clinical Director and then Director of Real-Estate Assets and Technical Services. His last role before this latest appointment was as Deputy CEO of University Hospital Rennes.  

Twelve alumni are among the 200 business leaders under 40 in the Choiseul 2024 list showcasing those set to play a key role in business. Congratulations to Jean-Baptiste Achard (E17), Co-founder of StaffMe; Matthias Baccino (E10), Director of European Markets at Trade Republic; Clara Chappaz (E12), Director of French Tech; Jonathan Cherki (E11), Founder of Contentsquare; Luc Delage (E11), Deputy CEO responsible for business and financial strategy at MAIF; Anne-Laure Feldkircher (E10), CEO of But; Sarah Finkelstein (E09), Chief of Staff to the CEO of Amundi; Ludovic de Gromard (E11), Founder of Chance; Mikael Guery (E11), Sales Director, France for Sephora; Paul Guyot-Sionnest (E14), Director of External Affairs and Chief of Staff to the President-CEO of Saint Laurent; Alban du Rostu (E16), CEO of Fonds du Bien Commun (read our interview); and Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit (E16), Director of the Circular Economy at the Manutan Group and Co-founder of the ESSEC Global Circular Economy Chair. In addition, four alumni have made it onto the Choiseul Finance de demain 2024 list, which shines a light on talented individuals under 40 who are on the rise and shaking things up in mergers and acquisitions, finance, private equity, asset and wealth management, and fintech. Congratulations to Max Greggory (E16), M&A Director at Oddo BHF; Raphaëlle d’Ornano (E09), Founder of D’Ornano + Co; Mounir Laggoune (BBA 13), Chief Executive Officer of Finary; and Cyrielle Villepelet (E11), Managing Director at Téthys Invest.

Two alumni figure among the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe – Arnaud Delubac (M20), Co-founder of Greenly, and Etienne Louvet (BBA 20), Founder of IONA – and three more have made the Forbes 30 Under 30 France: Baptiste Bonnichon (M20), Founder of Alcelia Conseil and Inspire Villages, Managing Partner of a prizewinning (Salon de l’Agriculture 2023) Charolais cattle farm and a former Coupe de France indoor rock-climbing champion; Marguerite Courtois (E17), Founder of Courtois Paris; and Vincent Garcia (E22), Co-founder of Kikleo with Martin d’Agay (E22). 

Congratulations to all!

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