ESSEC Appointments: Matignon, BPCE, Fleury Michon, Villa Albertine and More

Public policy-makers, major group leaders, higher education players, and an artist in Los Angeles! We take a look at some of the recent appointments in the ESSEC network.

Emmanuel Moulin (E92) has been appointed Chief of Staff to France’s new Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal. Also a graduate of ENA and Science Po, he began his career at the French Treasury as assistant in the Transport office, followed by the Monetary Policy office. He was then appointed Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank in Washington and Secretary General of the Paris Club, prior to a stint in the business world as a senior banker with Citigroup, specifically for the public sector in France and Belgium. He returned to the public sector to take up the position of Deputy Chief of Staff to Christine Lagarde, then Minister for the Economy, Finance & Industry, and went on to become an economic advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy. At the end of Sarkozy’s presidential term, Emmanuel returned to the private sector, holding the successive roles of Assistant Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of the Eurotunnel group, before being made Managing Director of Mediobanca bank. He made a second return to politics, initially as Chief of Staff to Bruno Lemaire, Minster for the Economy, Finance and Relaunch, and oversaw the general management of the French Treasury for almost 4 years.

Pascal Ghoson (E14) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Oxurion NV, a Brussels-based bio-pharmacy player which develops new-generation ophthalmic therapies. He began his career in merchant banking with Lazard, Goldman Sachs and Rothschild & Cie successively, then co-founded Findrive, a simplified car leasing solution, for which he raised €22M before selling his shares and becoming Chief Financial Officer of Energisme, a data platform for energy efficiency. 

Flavien d'Audiffret (E99) has been appointed Group CEO of Thom Group, Europe’s leading affordable jeweller, boasting 8 brands in 6 countries and more than a thousand retail outlets. He began his career in consulting with Masaï and Bain & Company, prior to joining Coca-Cola Enterprises where he held various managerial roles in finance, business unit, marketing and sales, etc. He then moved to Amazon as Senior Category Leader, before becoming Digital & Strategic Director of SMCP (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot, De Fursac). He has been a senior executive with the Thom Group for 3 years.  

Thibault Vidal (E99) has been appointed Managing Director of Léon Grosse Immobilier, a subsidiary of the leading French public works company with 2,500 employees and a turnover of €800M. He began his career by co-founding Askndeal, a call for tender platform for individuals. He then worked for TMIS Consultants prior to joining Bouygues Immobilier, where he stayed for almost 20 years, rising to the position of regional Commercial Property Director and then Managing Director of the COVERO subsidiary, specialised in the conversion of business premises into housing.

Géraldine Fiacre (E93) has been appointed CEO of the glassmaker La Maison Française du Verre, renowned for its Pyrex® and Duralex® brands. She began her career in marketing with PepsiCo, before joining the Barilla Group, where she worked for almost 20 years, rising to the position of Managing Director Switzerland. She then took over the general management of the Bolton Food group.

Anne-Marie Graffin (E83) has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of Valneva, which produces and markets vaccines, specifically for Chikungunya, Zika and Lyme Disease. She began her career in mass retail, initially with Leclerc, and moved into marketing, launching the Malibu and Baileys brands in France. She then joined the healthcare sector to successively become Brand Director at URGO Laboratories, International Group Head at ROC, Executive Vice-President of Sanofi Pasteur MSD and Chief Executive Officer of BigBooster. Currently a consultant for the pharmaceutical industry and specialised in linking up biotechnology and medical technology start-ups with EU investors, she also sits on the administrative boards of Nanobiotix, Sartorius Stadium Biotech and Vetoquinol.

Philippe Teisseire (E03) has been appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer Catering at Fleury Michon. He began his career in auditing with Alcan, Placoplatre and Safran successively, prior to joining BIC, where he rose to the positions of Chief Financial Officer Europe and later India. He has been with the general management of Fleury Michon for 4 years, winning the 2022 Responsible & Sustainable Financial Director Prize for his efforts.

Valérie Combes-Santonja (E00) has been appointed Director of Impact and member of the executive committee tasked with steering the BPCE Group’s environmental and social impact. She held various positions in the financial sector in her early career (with Amundi, Crédit Agricole CIB and Crédit Lyonnais), particularly in sales, change management and marketing. She then joined the Caisse d’Épargne Languedoc-Roussillon bank to develop the Banque des Décideurs en Région [regional policy-makers’ bank], prior to being made Director of Strategy & Operational Efficiency. She then held the successive roles of Director of Transformation and executive committee member of the Banque de Proximité et Assurance (BPA), followed by board member of Caisse d’Épargne Loire Centre in charge of the Banque des Décideurs en Région unit.

Benoît Coutier (M02) has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of Akwel, an equipment and systems manufacturer for the automotive sector, which boasted a turnover of €990M, 9,400 employees and 37 plants in 2022. He has worked for this family-run firm for 20 years, in the roles of auditor, Head of Analysis & External Growth, manager of the Brazilian subsidiary and Legal Affairs Director. 

Olivier Airiau (EXEC PROG 20) has been appointed Financial Director of the Banque Française Mutualiste, which serves 1.2 million customers via 25 entities devoted to civil servants and public sector employees. He began his career as Financial Manager for Central Africa with Sodexo, prior to joining Société Générale, where he held various positions, specifically related to acquisitions and the integration of various Central and Eastern European banks. He was then successively appointed Administrative & Financial Director of Société Générale’s financial property leasing subsidiaries, Deputy CFO at Crédit Immobilier de France and Chief Financial Officer at Socram Banque. He is also one of the co-founders of Ekinoé, an eco-friendly brand of balanced animal feed. Read our article (in French). 

Claire Duthu (E14) has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Padam Mobility, the French leader in demand-responsive transport. She began her career with Capgemini Invent, specialising in State matters and citizen life. She then moved to Padam Mobility while further developing personal commitments, as a partner of Time for the Planet and member of Railcoop, etc.

Nicolas Fasquelle (E98) has been appointed Head of Development for the Reden Solar group, an independent solar energy producer in Southern Europe and Latin America. Also a Harvard graduate, he began his career by launching the Student Planet initiative, a survey across 24 countries on students’ hopes and ambitions for the 21st century. He then moved into consulting, notably with Altran (now Capgemini Engineering) in Boston, Bain & Company in Paris and Altai Consulting in Kabul. He relocated to Madrid and joined the energy sector, successively becoming Strategic & Development Director at Dhamma Energy and MD Middle East, Africa & New Territories at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), before returning to Dhamma Energy, as CEO this time. He then went on to take over the general management of renewable energy in France and Spain with Plenitude.

Clément Scherrer (E06) has been appointed head of Strategic Planning at the advertising agency Buzzman. He has spent his entire career in this sector, initially with BETC, where he worked alongside brands such as L’Oréal, Ubisoft, Disneyland Paris and Bledina, followed by Herezie, where he oversaw the Harrys, Bjorg, Francine and Spotless Group accounts.

Pierre-Emmanuel Ster (E10) has been appointed Internal Communications & Employer Branding Director at Louis Vuitton. He began his career in strategic planning with the Leo Burnett advertising agency, prior to joining Google, where he spent 8 years, rising to the position of Global Account Executive Luxury. He was then made Content & Experience Director of L'Oréal Professional Products. 

Anne-Flore Maman Larraufie (PHD 12) has been appointed Dean of École Polytechnique Executive Education. Also a graduate of Saint-Cyr Special military Academy, she began her career with various positions in the business world, notably with EADS and Guerlain (LVMH Group). She then founded her consultancy SémioConsult® while teaching in several major schools and universities worldwide, including ESSEC, HEC, Institut Français de la Mode (French Institute of Fashion), Ca’ Foscari di Venezia and Shanghai Normal University. She is also a delegate of INPI (French National Intellectual Property Institute) for the EU and expert advisor in French-made products and luxury to the French Ministry for the Economy. 

Jean-Baptiste Barfety (E11) has been appointed Executive Director of the ICP-ESSEC Business and Common Good Chair. Also a graduate of ENA, he began his career with PM Édouard Philippe’s government, drafting the Notat-Sénard report at the origin of the creation of the purpose- and mission-driven company. He then moved to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) prior to his appointment as Secretary General to the Council for Inclusion in Employment. At the same time, he created both Turbin, an inspirational journal offering testimonies, analyses and feedback on meaningful professions, and Projet Sens, a non-profit initiative run by committed leaders aimed at restoring meaning to work. 

Jamal Ouazzani (E14) has become a resident artist at Villa Albertine in Los Angeles, the US counterpart of the Villa Médicis in Rome, for his documentary project, also supported by the Arab World Institute (Paris), exploring the implications of the representativeness of multidimensional Arab or Muslim identities in films and series. He began his career with international advertising agencies in Paris, Dubai, Shanghai and New York, then became a freelance strategic consultant for major companies. Having read some 500 books on gender, sexualities, racism, religion and feminism, he decided to become a screenwriter, filmmaker and podcaster, to transmit unifying and inclusive ideas.

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