ESSEC Appointments: Legislative elections, Forbes Women, Ordre du Mérite, Légion d'Honneur...

Twelve alumni at the National Assembly, three among the Forbes 40 Women in 2024, four in the Giverny x Le Point ranking, one Chevalière of the Ordre National du Mérite, one Légion d'Honneur...and one multi-award-winning comedian! Here’s a round-up of recent appointments in the ESSEC network.

A dozen alumni are among the members elected to the new National Assembly: Alexandre Allegret-Pilot (E13) elected in the 5th constituency of Gard; Thibault Bazin (E09) re-elected in the 4th constituency of Meurthe-et-Moselle; Charles de Courson (E74) re-elected in the 5th constituency of the Marne and who now holds the record as the longest serving MP; Olivia Grégoire (M02) re-elected in the 12th constituency of Paris, who was Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Trade, Craft Trades and Tourism in the outgoing government; Laurent Jacobelli (E92) re-elected in the 8th constituency of Moselle; Guillaume Kasbarian (E10) re-elected in the 1st constituency of Eure-et-Loir, who was Minister Delegate for Housing in the outgoing government; Louise Morel (E22) re-elected in the 6th constituency of Bas-Rhin; Franck Riester (M98) re-elected in the 5th constituency of Seine-et-Marne and who was Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, responsible for Foreign Trade, Territorial Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad in the outgoing government; Nicole Sanquer (IMHI 97) was elected in the 2nd constituency of Polynesia, returning to the National Assembly after leaving it during the previous term; Eva Sas (E93) was re-elected in the 8th constituency of Paris; Jean-Philippe Tanguy (E11) was re-elected in the 4th constituency of the Somme; and Stéphane Vojetta (E97) was re-elected in the 5th constituency of the French living abroad.  

Aïda Moudachirou-Rébois (E02) has been appointed Senior Vice President & Global General Manager of MAC Cosmetics in the United States. She spent 15 years working for L'Oréal between Paris, London and New York in various marketing roles, before moving on to manage a business unit before becoming Global Head of Brand Activation & Omnichannel Consumer Engagement at The Body Shop. She later joined Johnson & Johnson, where she was responsible for up to four brands simultaneously (seven in all), including Le Petit Marseillais and Neutrogena. She then became Senior Vice President Global Marketing at Revlon.

Frédéric Guetin (EXEC MBA 07) has been appointed Chairman and CEO of ETEX Building Performance, which has been active in the construction sector for 120 years through its Siniat and Promat brands. He started out in retailing with Auchan and Leroy Merlin before joining Fieldturf Tarkett, the world leader in sports flooring, where he spent over 13 years before becoming Senior Vice President Sales France, Europe, Asia & Africa. He then joined Bostik, a producer of bonding solutions for manufacturing, construction and the general public, where he managed several business units over a period of eight years. Subsequently, he became Chief Executive Officer of paints and coatings company AkznoNobel France and Western European Director of Simpson Strong-Tie France, a manufacturer of connections for structural wood assemblies. Meanwhile, he became involved in the Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat.  

Kammy Brun (EXEC MBA 23) has been appointed Managing Director of the French subsidiary of Simera Sense, a South African company that designs and manufactures high-resolution optical cameras for small Earth observation satellites. She began her career at Airbus Defence & Space, before successively becoming Director of Development at Euroconsult, President of Women in Aerospace Europe (WIA-E), Managing Director of the French subsidiary of HEAD Aerospace Group and Vice-President of Strategy and Development at SkyFi App. She then founded Kalaxie, a consultancy specialising in new business models for the aerospace industry ('Newspace').  

Aurélia Jantzem Livet (E04) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the French subsidiary of Zambon, an Italian pharmaceutical company with a presence in Europe, America and Asia, with 2,900 employees and total sales of €899 million. She worked for Nestlé for almost 10 years, in Paris and New York, before moving into healthcare, firstly at Sanofi, where she rose to the position of Global Marketing Manager for the Consumer Healthcare division, then at Beiersdorf, where she became head of the Pharmacy & Parapharmacy business unit, and finally at Ipsen, where she became General Manager for Consumer Healthcare in France. She then joined Mayoly Spindler as General Manager Pharma for France.  

Adrien Guerra (M04) has been appointed UK & Nordic Country Manager for Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, a subsidiary of the Japanese group which publishes and distributes video games and entertainment products linked to franchises such as Pac-Man, Soulcalibur, Tekken, Dragon Ball and Naruto. He started out in IT engineering at Ericsson before launching telecoms startup Starloop AB. He then moved into business development at Iconoclate communications agency. He then returned to the digital world, first at Electronic Arts as Senior International Marketing Manager, then at Bandai Namco Europe, where he was Marketing and Communications Director for France and Benelux.   

Anne-Brigitte Spitzbarth (E06) has been appointed Group Vice President HSE & Low Carbon Strategy at Thales. She taught humanities and social sciences at university before switching to the corporate world, firstly at Lafarge, where she worked for 15 years, successively holding the positions of European Public Affairs Director in France, Audit Director in Malaysia, Managing Director in Mauritius and Global Supply Chain Vice-President. She then specialised in sustainable development, firstly at CEVA Logistics in Paris, where she became Group Senior Vice President HSE & Sustainability, and then at Heidelberg Materials in Baden-Württemberg, where she became Group Senior Vice President ESG. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Séché Environnement, heading the CSR Committee.  

Rémi Maeno (E09) has been appointed Vice President & Head of Global Vertical Markets at Worldline, the world's 4th largest provider of payment solutions. He started out as a strategy consultant with Corporate Value Associates before launching the startup Urbanity. He then joined Ingenico Group, where he worked for over 6 years, rising to the position of Merchant Services Business Strategy Director. 

Stéphane Perrault (EXEC MBA 11) has been appointed CFO of Kering Beauté, the subsidiary specialising in skincare and cosmetics for the Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen brands. He began his career in auditing at KPMG, then joined WarnerMedia as a financial analyst before moving into beauty. He spent almost 20 years with Beauté Prestige International, a group with operations in 80 countries and total sales of €400 million, rising to the position of Chief Financial Officer. He then held similar positions at Shiseido, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions, La Bouche Rouge and Maison Ferrand. 

Richard de Cabrol (E14) has been appointed Senior Manager France of the European Institute of Technology Manufacturing Ecosystem, responsible for developing a community of innovation to support the continent's reindustrialisation. He started out at the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in Switzerland before becoming Chief Marketing Officer of trading startup MoneyPush. He then worked as a freelance consultant, notably for the Winfield Racing School, before joining the Renault group, where he successively held the positions of Marketing Director for sports cars and Director of the Software République incubator and startup ecosystem. Meanwhile, he served as Vice-President of Public Affairs at France AutoTech, got involved with ESSEC Alumni as an administration board member and head of the Automobile & Mobility Club, and launched the ACF AutoTech Grand Prix.

Elisabeth Moreno (EXEC MBA 06) has been awarded France's Légion d'Honneur for her efforts to promote equality. After an initial career as an executive in the construction and public works sector, in telecoms with Orange and then in digital technology with Dell, Lenovo and HP, she took centre stage as Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity and Equal Opportunities. Today, she is extending her commitments as founder of the association La Puissance du Lien (which works to develop gender, intergenerational and regional links within companies and public institutions), chair of the Femmes@numérique foundation, member of the Sanofi Group's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Council, chair of the Board of Directors of the Ring Africa impact investment fund (French-speaking West Africa) and member of the Board of Directors of Each One (a startup specialising in the inclusion of refugees within large companies). 

Natacha Hochet-Raab (E95) has been made a Chevalière of France's Ordre National du Mérite. She has worked for the LVMH group for almost 20 years, including stints in cosmetics at Sephora, leather goods at Louis Vuitton and fashion at Christian Dior Couture, before joining the Fred jewellery brand, for which she is now Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Japan. She is also actively involved with ESSEC Alumni as an administration board member and sponsor of the EWA Boost' mentoring programme run by ESSEC Women Alumni for ESSEC women graduates. 

Three alumnae are among the Forbes 40 Women of 2024: Camille de Dominicis (BBA 11), co-founder and managing director of the Cuban Rum Eminente spirits brand within the LVMH group; Rose Mariton (E15), co-founder of Coquillettes Club, which offers activity kits to instil a taste for healthy, sustainable food from an early age; and Tatiana Monseur (E16), co-founder of Polygon Therapeutics, a solution for improving the way cardiovascular diseases are treated. 

Four alumni have been included in the Giverny x Le Point 2024 awards, which recognises 50 players in the environmental and social transformation under the age of 40: Tanguy de Bienassis (BBA 09), Finance and Investment Analyst for the International Energy Agency; Arnaud Delubac (M20), co-founder of the startup Greenly, which specialises in carbon footprinting for businesses; Paul de Marnix (M14), Managing Director of 21, the social innovation accelerator run by the French Red Cross and Nexem (see also our interview); and Sarah Chouraqui (E09), Managing Director of Wings of the Ocean, an association dedicated to preserving oceans and coastlines. 

Two awards were given to Cécile Moroni Engevik (E08), who also works as a keynote speaker specialising in diversity, inclusion, intercultural management and women's leadership, is involved as president of ESSEC Alumni's Norway Chapter, and has a career in stand-up comedy in Oslo. She was awarded the Norwegian Comedian of the Year Prize ("Stå opp Prisen") and the Trophée des Français de l'étranger (presented by the Minister at the Quai d'Orsay) for 'her ability to write hilarious but insightful material and to engage with the times by using humour to bring cultures together and shake things up, her openness and generosity towards other comedians, and the way she juggles stand-up routines in three languages (Norwegian, English and French)'.

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