Perrine Bismuth (E05) appointed President of ESSEC Alumni

The entire ESSEC Alumni team and the members of the Association's governance are delighted to announce the appointment of Perrine Bismuth (E05) as President of ESSEC Alumni, succeeding Olivier Cantet (E87), President for the last six years.

A Message from Olivier Cantet (E87)

It is with great emotion that I conclude my term as President of ESSEC Alumni.

It is a situation full of ambivalence, these six years of presidency have brought me much more pleasure and happy memories than they have demanded of me.

I already have the feeling that this change of presidency will enrich ESSEC Alumni, broaden our visions, stimulate new energy for great projects led by Marie-Pierre Schickel (E95), General Director, and Perrine Bismuth (E05) who will succeed me in April. 

I am deeply proud of what the Association has become: a united and powerful community that seeks to have a positive impact on the world.

Over the past six years, we have focused 100% of our resources on serving you through our lifetime and annual membership fee, developing relevant services, initiating a student-graduate continuum and highlighting the achievements of our alumni.

A professional team is committed to supporting you every day through our services and events. The Maison des ESSEC has moved to Avenue de Friedland (Paris 8). The governance of the Association has been strengthened with a gender-balanced Board of Directors that is representative of the School's different programmes. We have also intensified our personal relationships and synergies with Vincenzo Vinzi and his teams, as well as with the Foundation.

As I come to the end of my time in office, I am delighted to keep on enjoying these moments when our diversities come together, when participation and benevolence pay off and when the general interest brings more and more of us together.

Welcome Perrine, I wish you great joy and success as President of the Association!

Olivier Cantet (E87)

Perrine Bismuth (E05) appointed President of ESSEC Alumni

As an entrepreneur, a communications expert and a committed and networked woman, Perrine's profile is perfectly aligned with ESSEC Alumni's future needs.

Be the entrepreneur of your life:

Since the age of 25, Perrine has always been an entrepreneur. While at ESSEC, she set up her first company in the publishing of entertainment licences with a health prevention focus. She went on to develop La Deuxième Maison, a pioneer in CSR consulting, which she sold ten years later.

However, for Perrine, being an entrepreneur does not necessarily mean creating a start-up. The entrepreneurial spirit goes far beyond that. ‘It's about identifying what's missing in society, in a market or in an organisation, and taking the initiative to create it. It's about having the ambition to make an impact and giving yourself the means to make it happen! There are many of us with entrepreneurial backgrounds that are changing the world. We just need to shine more light on them to inspire all types of entrepreneurs.’ Perrine

Bouncing back at every stage of your personal and professional life:

Now a founding partner of FrenchFood Capital, an investment platform specialising in the food sector with €450m under management, Perrine's ambition is to help French food champions emerge by supporting the development of committed SMEs in the sector. With a varied, agile and sometimes bumpy path, Perrine shows that there is not just one model for success: "Career paths are not always one success after another. The important thing is to know what to do with all those times when you don't succeed." Perrine

The network, always the network:

Perrine is the founder of the FrenchFood Network, a network of 1,000 decision-makers in the food industry, and the initiator of FoodCamp, which brings together over 200 leaders in the sector for 2 days every year. In just 5 years, the FoodCamp has become the sector's must-attend event.

Convinced that the strength to accelerate comes from the network, when it does not create it, she has always been part of entrepreneurial networks such as CroissancePlus, Réseau Entreprendre, Willa, Apm...

"When I founded my first start-up, I didn't hesitate to pick up the phone and call some alumni executives. That's how I got the support of Gilles Pélisson (E79), whom I didn't know at all! Being part of a community as strong and solid as ESSEC is an opportunity you have to take advantage of." Perrine

ESSEC Alumni, her next adventure :

Perrine was co-opted into the governance of the Association in September 2024, replacing a resigning member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, and her co-optation was approved at the General Meeting on 14 March 2025. All the members of the Board of Directors then appointed her President of the ESSEC Alumni Association, succeeding Olivier Cantet (E87), in accordance with article 1.1 of the Association's rules.

Since October 2024, she has also been a member of the ESSEC Supervisory Board, alongside other graduates: Nathalie Collin (E88), Bruno Patino (E90), Olivier Cantet (E87) and Pierre-André de Chalendar (E79).