THE INSTITUTE FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE EXPLORES THREE PRINCIPAL ISSUE AREAS:

The ever-changing balance of power among boards of directors, shareholders, executives, and other key stakeholders in the governance of companies and other private entities.
The evolving powers, rights, duties, and practices of boards of directors.
Controversial, emerging and important topics in corporate governance.

The Institute for Corporate Governance pursues three main activities:

Research & Publications: to understand and promote best practices in corporate governance.
Organising Conferences & Seminars: to bring interested professionals and students together for discussion and continuing education.
Preparing Leaders & Rising Board Members: to prepare executives rising to boards, and business and law students, for corporate governance challenges.

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What is Corporate Governance?

It’s about how power is exercised over a corporate entity.
It’s the system by which corporate entities are directed and controlled.

It’s the rules, practices, mechanisms, procedures, people, and relationships by which power is exercised in a corporate entity.

Boardroom Simulation

What happens in a corporate board room nearly always stays in the board room, and interested outsiders don’t get to see how boards work in practice. Tools that teach concepts of corporate governance can help a little, but if learners can’t apply the concepts in a real-world way to the workings of a corporate board, then they won’t really understand how boards work in practice.
We have a solution: a boardroom simulation with a difference. After simulating a company board meeting, learners compare their performance with that of experienced practitioners videotaped in the very same board meeting situation.

History of the ICG

The Institute for Corporate Governance (the ICG) emerged from the KPMG Professorship in International Corporate Governance at ESCP Business School. That professorship, which supported research and teaching activities on the subject of corporate governance, ended in 2021.

The ICG was created by ESCP Professors of Law David Chekroun and Drew Shagrin, and ESCP Senior Fellow Patrick-Hubert Petit, with the participation of a community of business and policy leaders, corporate directors, lawyers, academics, alumni, and students.

The Team

The Institute for Corporate Governance is led by its founders David Chekroun and Drew Shagrin and an advisory board chaired by Patrick-Hubert Petit. A community of fellows and students contributes from time to time to the work of the Institute, and a team of contributing professionals regularly helps with the Institute’s infrastructure and logistics.

Executive Directors

David CHEKROUN

Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School

David Chekroun is a Tenured Professor of International Business Law at ESCP Business School and is the faculty chair for the Law &Finance program. Doctor of Law of the Sorbonne Law School, obtaining an Master in European Business (MEB/MBA) of ESCP, he lectures various courses in the field of corporate governance and International Business Transactions for law and business students in Europe (Paris/London/Berlin), in the Middle East and in the United States.
At ESCP, he is the director of the Law & Finance major, that offers students, an unparalleled combination of legal and financial education. He designs and develops with faculty and top executives for European companies executive education programs with a special focus on law and business skills. He was the KPMG Professor in International Corporate Governance. He is the co-founder of the Institute for Corporate Governance.
He was visiting professor of Law at NYU Abu Dhabi and Cardozo School of Law in New York City, Global Hauser Research Fellow at NYU School of Law, adjunct professor at the Sorbonne Law School. His research interests are mainly, Corporate governance, International Business Law, Law & Finance, and FDI screening. He has published a number of articles in the field of international Business Transactions and he is one of the editors-in-chief of the International Business Law Journal. He is a member of the Scientific Council, Institut des études et de la recherche sur le droit et la justice (IERDJ). As a member of different think tanks, he crafts innovative policies and organize conferences on corporate governance and international business in Paris, London, Abu Dhabi and New York.
He is admitted to the Paris Bar and is the founder of a boutique law firm dedicated to supporting clients with their corporate governance challenges and their foreign direct investment projects.

Drew SHAGRIN

Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School

Drew Shagrin is a Permanent Affiliate Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School in the department of Economics, Law and Humanities. At ESCP, his teaching addresses a broad range of topics at the intersection of law and business, including contracts, company law, intellectual property, finance, and corporate governance. In addition, he teaches Corporate Governance & Ethics at the Sciences-Po Paris School of Law.
His research focus is corporate governance. He co-directs the Institute for Corporate Governance at ESCP, and co-edits the corporate governance section of the International Business Law Journal.
A member of the bar of the State of California, he practiced transactions law there for nearly a decade, focusing on complex public-private partnership transactions and rising to partner in a San Francisco law firm. He also spent ten years as an entrepreneur in France.
He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of California at Berkeley, and an AB from Dartmouth College.

Advisory Board

The Advisory Board provides guidance to the Executive Directors.
Opinions expressed on the ICG website in no way reflect the opinions and beliefs of any employer of an advisory boardmember.

Patrick-Hubert Petit

Corporate Governance Expert

Patrick-Hubert Petit

Patrick-Hubert Petit is an ESCP graduate and a French chartered accountant. He spent more than 30 years with KPMG acting as Audit and Advisory lead engagement partner for major listed companies. He also held managerial responsibilities at KPMG both in France (Head of Audit practice, chairman of the Audit Committee Institute, vice-chair of the KPMG Foundation) and internationally (notably coordination of the French-speaking sub-Saharan African practices). Since 2020, Patrick is acting as independent consultant (training and advisory services) in the corporate governance field. He is co-author of a recent book (”New challenges of Corporate governance”), publishes articles and participates actively in 2 working groups at the French Institute of Directors (‘Audit committees chairmen club’ and ‘ESG club’). Patrick is also a board member of non-for-profit organizations, Senior advisor of ‘Women In Africa’ (training and empowerment of female African entrepreneurs) and a member of the ESCP International Advisory board.

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Wendy Becker

Board Chair and Portfolio Director

Wendy Becker

Wendy Becker is a senior board Chairman and director. Currently, she is Chairperson of Logitech International SA, a Non-Executive Director of Sony Corporation, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and Oxford University Press, having previously been on the Whitbread plc, NHS England, Great Portland Estates plc and Ocado plc Boards. She is Chair of the British Heart Foundation, having previously held leadership roles on the boards of Cancer Research UK, the Prince’s Trust and the English National Ballet. She is a Trustee and sits on the Council of the University of Oxford.

In her executive career, Wendy was CEO of Jack Wills, Global Chief Marketing Officer and member of the Executive Committee at Vodafone Group plc, and Managing Director of TalkTalk. Wendy spent 15 year at McKinsey and Company in both San Francisco and London. She started her career at Procter & Gamble. She received an MBA from Stanford University and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College.

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Xavier Bedoret

Audit Committee Chairperson

Xavier Bedoret

Xavier Bedoret is active on the boards of directors and audit committees of listed companies, family businesses and in the public sector. He is also a lecturer in governance in various professional associations and business schools in Europe. He is co-founder of an association to support boards in the social profit sector.

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Julien Brami

Former CEO of a French-listed wealth manager

Julien Brami

Julien Brami is the former CEO of UFF bank, a French listed wealth manager. Before that, Julien held a number of roles within the insurance and banking industry in France (AXA, Caisse des Dépôts, CNP Assurances, Aviva..) covering business, corporate governance, financial regulatory compliance, M&A and actuarial sciences. Julien has also held non-executive roles within insurance companies, banks, private equity firms and asset management companies. Julien has a degree in actuarial sciences.

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Magali Castano

Senior Vice President at People & Culture Technip Energies

Magali Castano

Magali Castano is the Senior Vice President of People & Culture of Technip Energies. Prior to this role, she served as TechnipFMC’s Vice President Human Resources & Communications Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa from January 2017 and as Vice President People Development, Corporate, from January 2018. From 2011 to December 2016, she held various Human Resources leadership positions at Technip, including Head of Talent Management Region Europe, Africa and India and as Vice President Talent Management, Corporate. Prior to joining Technip, she had been in various Human Resources management positions in Shell’s Downstream Europe organization. She started her career in Human Resources at Stellantis (PSA Group). She holds a master’s degree in business from HEC Paris.

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Donna Costa

Corporate and Nonprofit Director

Donna Costa

Donna Costa is a former executive of Mitsubishi Chemical in the United States, Germany and Japan. She has a background in law, compliance, governance, ethics and risk management. She is currently an advisor to corporations and nonprofits on corporate and business strategy and ESG. She has served as a board member on corporations in the US, Canada, Brazil and Japan, and on the boards of a number of nonprofits. Donna has been a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Corporate Fellow in the US since 2014, was accredited by the Japanese Board Training Training Institute in 2014, and earned her Certificate of Sustainable Capitalism and ESG from Berkeley Law in 2021.

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Alberta Di Giuli

Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School

Alberta Di Giuli

Alberta Di Giuli is a professor of Finance at ESCP Business School in Paris. Her research focuses on ESG, Climate Finance, Corporate Governance, Media Coverage, and Political Connections. She holds a PhD from Bocconi University. She is a Research Member of the ECGI (European Corporate Governance Institute). She has presented her research at numerous major academic and practitioner conferences and her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Financial Intermediation.

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Florence Didier-Noaro

Non-executive director, founder and CEO of Innwise

Florence Didier-Noaro

Florence Didier-Noaro is non executive director of Forsee Power, Senior ESG advisor and member of Blue like an Orange Sustainable Capital investment committee and member of Groupe Bouchard strategic committee.

Florence has founded innwise to advise companies’ leaders in industry and financial services to accelerate integration of environmental and social considerations in strategic planning and decision making, with the belief that the contribution of business is key to meet Sustainable Development Goals.

Florence has developed expertise in the field of sustainable finance, Corporate Social Responsability and financial and non- financial performance management and reporting. Florence is a former Deloitte partner and led the sustainability practice in France until 2017. Florence is graduated from Neoma and EM Science Po Paris.

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Pascal Durand-Barthez

Senior Advisory Consultant at “Associes en Gouvernance”

Pascal Durand-Barthez

Pascal Durand-Barthez is a partner of Associés en Gouvernance, a French consulting firm specializing in corporate governance. Lately an avocat, member of the Paris bar, he had previously spent most of his career as an in-house counsel. He was the General Counsel of GEC-Alsthom (now Alstom) between 1988 and 1996, then General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Alcatel from 1996 to 2006. He joined private practice in 2007 as Of Counsel to the Paris office of Linklaters (until 2013) and specialised in corporate law and governance matters. He was the Secretary General of the French High Committee of Corporate Governance (AFEP-MEDEF) between 2013 and 2017. Pascal is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris and a docteur en droit. He published various books and articles on international legal matters and corporate law, most recently a Guide de la Gouvernance des Sociétés (Dalloz, Paris, 4th edition due early 2023). He lectures at Sciences Po Paris and HEC Paris, is vice-chair of the Corporate Governance Committee of Business at OECD (on behalf of MEDEF, the main French employers association), an active member of IFA (the French Institute of Directors) and chair of the Advocacy and Policy Committee of ecoDa (the European Confederation of Directors’ Institutes).

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Isabelle Grauer-Gaynor

Financial Reporting Expert

Isabelle Grauer-Gaynor

Isabelle Grauer-Gaynor is a financial reporting expert. She currently heads ESMA’s Corporate Finance and Reporting Unit covering areas related to Issuer Disclosure and Corporate Governance (Prospectus Regulation, Shareholder Rights Directive, and the Transparency and Non-Financial Reporting Directives).

Her previous roles included Partner in the Mazars Financial Reporting Technical Services team for nearly 5 years; IFRS Technical Director of the French accounting standard-setter (the ANC) for 6 years; and working for PwC for 15 years, of which 2 in Germany, in various capacities ranging from external audits and international financial due diligence assignments to internal and external IFRS training and financial reporting advisory services. She is a French Chartered Accountant, and is an ESCP Business School alumna.

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Geneviève Helleringer

Professor of law, Oxford University & ESSEC Business School

Geneviève Helleringer

Geneviève Helleringer is a law professor ESSEC Business School and Oxford University, and an ECGI research member. She publishes on corporate governance, private equity, and contracts. Her monograph on contract terms (2010) was awarded four prizes and her book Operating Law in a Global Context (2017) is widely used by researchers and practitioners. Geneviève is also co-author of Goode and McKendrick’s Transnational Commercial Law (3^rd ed, due 2023) and an editor of the Journal of Financial Regulation (Oxford University Press) and of the Oxford Business Law Blog. Before completing her doctoral work, Geneviève worked for Shiseido in Japan, and later practised corporate and commercial law at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York and at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris (1999-2004). Geneviève received her PhD in Civil Law from the Sorbonne (2010) and her Juris Doctor in Common Law from Columbia Law School (1999). She had previously studied at ESSEC Business School and Sciences Po Paris; she also holds an MSc in Experimental Psychology (2014) from Oxford.

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Cédric Laverie

Head of French Research at Institutional Shareholder Services

Cédric Laverie

Cédric Lavérie is Head of French Research at Institutional Shareholder Services based in Paris. He manages a team producing research and voting recommendations on French companies for institutional investor clients globally, engaging with management and directors and monitoring corporate governance developments. Previously, he was Head of Corporate Governance at Amundi in charge of proxy voting and shareholder dialogue, globally, and, prior to that, worked as a governance analyst at CAAM and AXA IM. Cedric holds graduate degrees in Banking-Finance from Paris II University, International Economic Law from Paris X University, and Politics from New York University.

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Daniel Lebègue

Honorary Chairman of French Institute of Directors

Daniel Lebègue

Mr Lebègue is the Honorary Chairman of the French Institute of Directors. He has a long standing career in finance, economics, governance and sustainable development. Mr Lebègue was the former CEO of the French Treasury Department, Ministry of Economics and Finance. He is also the former CEO of BNP (Banque Nationale de Paris). He also directed the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. He was the Board member of several major companies (Technip, SCOR, Areva, Agence France Locale, etc.). He also worked in the NGO sector as the Honorary Chairman of Transparency International France. Mr Lebègue also teached Finance at University level at Sciences Po Paris.

Véronique Magnier

Professor of Law at Paris-Saclay University

Véronique Magnier

Véronique Magnier is Professor of Law at Paris-Saclay University. She is the co-Director of the Master’s Program on ‘Business, Tax and Financial Market Law’, the founder of the Master’s Program on ‘Law, Entrepreneurship and Digital’, of the Program for undergraduates on ‘Law and Advisory’, and of the Paris-Saclay legal clinic. She is also involved in annual Executive programs for business lawyers and consular magistrates. As an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law center, she teaches an annual course for LLM international students, ‘Comparative corporate governance’, since 2010.

For ten years (2009-2020), Véronique was the director of a research institute at Paris-Saclay University, the Institute ‘Droit Ethique Patrimoine. She devotes most of her research to corporate law, corporate governance and business ethics from national, comparative, European and International perspectives. She is the co-author of the textbook ‘Traité de Droit commercial-Ripert et Roblot-‘ (LGDJ ed.), and the author of two books : « Comparative corporate governance, Legal perspective » (E. Elgar ed., 2017) and ‘Déontologie et éthique d’entreprise (France University Press ed., 2022). She coordinated various works, like ‘La gouvernance des sociétés cotées face à la crise’ (LGDJ, coll. Droit des affaires, 2010), ‘Entreprise et développement durable’ (Dalloz, 2013), and ‘Blockchain et droit des sociétés’ (Dalloz 2020). She regularly participates in conferences in France or abroad. She supervises doctoral thesis.

As an active member of the board of directors of the NGO Transparency International France since 2014, Véronique participates in debates on draft legislation and supports companies in their anti-corruption programs. She is affiliated to expert associations such as Société de Législation comparée, Trans Europe Experts, European Corporate Governance Institute.

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Valérie Moatti

Dean of Faculty at ESCP Business School

Valérie Moatti

Valérie Moatti, PhD, is the Dean of Faculty at ESCP and Professor of Strategy and Supply Chain Management at the Paris campus. She is a member of the non-executive board of the EESC ESCP, as well as the board of Directors of the foundation ESMI Turin (ESCP Turin campus). She has a business experience of 10 years in international companies (Procter & Gamble and Kering) where she held several executive and non-executive roles (non-executive board member of several start-ups in her venture capitalist activity for Kering). Her research covers growth strategies and the interface between strategy and supply chain management. Her recent published work focuses on the social and environmental impact of the supply chain and on manufacturing location decisions. Her work was published in international journals, notably “Strategic Management Journal”, “Journal of Business Ethics” and “International Journal of Logistics”.

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Michael O'Leary

Author of “Accountable: The Rise of Citizen Capitalism”

Michael O'Leary

Mr. O’Leary is a Partner at L Catterton focused on impact investing. Before joining L Catterton, Mr. O’Leary was a Managing Director at the investment firm Engine No. 1. Previously, he was on the founding team of Bain Capital’s impact fund and invested in consumer, industrial, and technology companies through Bain Capital’s private equity fund.

He is the co-author of ‘Accountable: The Rise of Citizen Capitalism’ (HarperCollins 2020), which profiles the promise and challenges of the sustainable investing movement. He and his writing have been featured in The Atlantic, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, and The New York Times, among others.

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Gilles Pillet

Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School

Gilles Pillet

Gilles Pillet is Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School in the department of Economics, Law and Social Sciences. He holds a Doctorate in Private Law and a Post-Doctoral qualification for the Supervision of Research in Law, both from Paris 1 (Panthéon-Sorbonne) University. He teaches national and comparative Business Law and notably Contract and Company Law.

At the same time he lectures Contract Law at the Sciences-Po Paris School of Law and is a legal consultant to the National Bar Council since 2008. As such he has namely worked on matters such as Third Party Funding, class actions, and the reform of French Contract Law.

Prior to joining ESCP Europe he was an assistant Professor at University of Paris XII where he taught Credit Law, transactions concerning payment, debt and transfers, Property Law, Securities Law, and the influence of Human Rights on Private Law.

He’s also a former legal practitioner (admitted to the Paris bar) and has collaborated for more than ten years with lawyers entitled to appear before the Court of Cassation.

His research focuses on business contracts, their relationships with economics and ethics and Islamic Finance. He’s in charge of the International Business Law Journal division’s dealing with innovative contractual practices.

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Jean-Florent Rérolle

Corporate Governance Consultant

Jean-Florent Rérolle

Jean-Florent Rérolle was a valuation partner with EY and KPMG and Managing director at Houlihan Lokey, an investment bank, and at Morrow Sodali, a proxy solicitor. He is a co-founder of the Institut Français des Administrateurs and author of numerous reports or articles on financial valuation and corporate governance issues. He is a member of the board of Ethifinance, a rating agency.

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Pierre Rodocanachi

Retired Senior Vice President and Managing Partner for the Southern Europe region of Booz-Allen Hamilton

Pierre Rodocanachi

Pierre Rodocanachi is a retired Senior Vice President and Managing Partner for the Southern Europe region of Booz-Allen Hamilton. He served as a Director and later Chair of the advisory Board of Booz Allen from 1987-2012. During his career, Pierre has been involved in all dimensions of governance. He served as Director and Chair of the Carrefour Audit Committee from 2002-2005; on Vivendi’s Advisory board from 2004-2016; as Chair of the HR Committee, Governance Nomination and Compensation Committee and Vice Chairman of the Group Supervisory board. He also sat on international boards in the UK, the Netherlands and France. From 1997 to 2000, he chaired the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Pierre has chaired several research committees on governance for the French Institute of Directors (IFA), the European EcoDa and contributed to several published articles.a

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Jean Philippe Roulet

Corporate Governance Consultant

Jean Philippe Roulet

Jean-Philippe Roulet holds a DEA in private law and a DEA in public law from the University of Paris X Nanterre. During his career at ORANGE, he was from 1997 to 2010, Director of the financial and corporate law department within the group’s Legal Department.

From 2010 until March 2017, he held the positions of director in charge of governance and the secretariat of the Board of Directors of Orange and of “Chief compliance officer” of the General Secretariat of the group. From 2017 to 2019, he then served as Secretary General of the High Committee for Corporate Governance (HCGE), the body responsible for the proper application of the Afep-Medef Code. At the French Institute of Directors, he was President of the IFA Club of Secretaries of the Board of Directors, Director of the Content Division and leads training courses for directors.

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Eliane Rouyer-Chevalier

Independent Director / Non-executive Board Member

Eliane Rouyer-Chevalier

Eliane Rouyer-Chevalier has been an Independent Board member at Legrand since 2011. She is also NED at Ipsos, member of the Audit Committee since 2019. In 2022 she created the Executive Education Masters: in Governance & Climate at Paris Dauphine University, after having created a Masters for Investor Relations and Financial Communications at the same University in 2013. She is an expert consultant in emerging markets through missions at IFC World Bank. She has been a member of KPMG International Corporate Governance program since 2017. She was EVP from 2009 to 2012, member of the Executive Committee at Edenred, leader in payment solutions. Prior to this, she was Head of IR at Accor until 2009 and chaired the French Association of Investor Relations (IR Cliff) for 10 years until 2014. Eliane Rouyer-Chevalier has a Master’s Degree in Economics from Paris Assas University of Law and Economics. She was honored by the French distinction as Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.

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Ndiaga Sarr

Independent expert comptable, ISA Board member (ISA- Senegalese Institute of governance) in charge of training.

Ndiaga Sarr

Ndiaga Sarr graduated as a French certified public accountant and, in 2003, he founded KPMG Senegal which he managed until October 2021 as Senior Partner. He was a member of the council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Senegal, and led the drafting of applicable accounting standards in 2018.

He has extensive experience in advisory services and statutory audit in various sectors, both for SME/SMI and large companies and he worked with international donors such as the Ford Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He also has experience in the audit and organization of development programs (more than 100 missions per year) for projects financed in the context of multilateral cooperation (World Bank, AfDB, BOAD, European Development Bank, the EU), and also in lateral cooperation with various international cooperation agencies. He carried out missions in several african countries: Guinea, the 8 WAMU countries, Djibouti, the Republic of Congo, Lesoto, Ghana, Liberia.

Ndiaga has led numerous seminars in corporate governance in various sectors for directors, general managers, executives and audit committees. He is a trainer in the areas of money laundering and public procurement code. He led the study of the impact of growth regarding SME / SMI companies in Senegal. He initiated the creation of ENACTUS (the world’s largest experiential learning platform aiming at helping students in more than 2000 campuses in 33 countries) and also of ‘Montpellier Business School’ in Dakar. He was a founding member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Senegal (AMCHAM) in 2003.

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François Sicard

Corporate lawyer at Vivien & Associés

François Sicard

François Sicard is a corporate lawyer at Vivien & Associés, an independent French law firm in Paris. His main areas of expertise are corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance ; he advises both listed and non-listed entities. He is also a guest lecturer at Paris-Saclay University since 2017, where he has taught several classes, in relation with whistleblowing and CSR. François holds a Master in Management from ESCP Europe and a master degree in corporate law from Paris-Saclay University.

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Yves-Thibault de Silguy

Vice-Chairman of VINCI

Yves-Thibault de Silguy

Yves-Thibault de Silguy has a degree in law from the Université de Rennes, a master’s degree in public law, and is a graduate of the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, public service section, and the École Nationale d’Administration. From 1976 to 1981, he worked at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the European Commission from 1981 to 1985. He then worked at the French Embassy in Washington as a Counsellor (economic affairs) from 1985 to 1986.
From 1986 to 1988, Mr de Silguy was an adviser in the Prime Minister’s office with responsibility for European affairs and international economic and financial affairs. From 1988 to 1993, he headed the international affairs department of the Usinor Sacilor Group, before being named its Director for International Affairs.
From 1993 to 1995, he was Secretary-General of the Interdepartmental Committee for Questions of Economic Cooperation in Europe and, at the same time, adviser for European affairs and vice-sherpa in the Prime Minister’s office, assisting in the preparation of summits of the industrialised nations. From 1995 to 1999, Mr de Silguy was European Commissioner responsible for economic, monetary and financial affairs.
From 2000 to 2005, he was Chair of Medef’s European Policy Committee.
In January 2000, he became a member of the Executive Board of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux, then served as Chief Executive Officer of Suez from 2001 to 2003. He was then Executive Vice-President of Suez from 2003 until June 2006. Mr de Silguy was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of VINCI on 1 June 2006 and resigned from all his appointments at Suez.
On 6 May 2010, he was appointed Vice-Chairman of VINCI and Lead Director of the Board. Since October 2018, he has been Vice-Chairman of VINCI.

Vincent Smith

Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School

Vincent Smith

Vincent is an assistant professor in law and ethics at ESCP Europe and has been an English solicitor for over 20 years, practising regulatory (competition), commercial and EU law in both London and in Brussels. He has also been a British civil servant, working as a legal Director at the UK telecommunications regulator (Oftel) and as Senior Director (head) of the competition enforcement division at the Office of Fair Trading, leading the 180 strong team combatting cartels and anticompetitive behaviour, and dealing with merger control. He took his first degree in England in law and French and then a Masters degree in European law at the University of Liège in Belgium. He has a PhD in law from King’s College, London.

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Eric Thomas

General Counsel

Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas graduated from the French University Paris Panthéon Sorbonne. He spent most of his career in the high-tech industry and participated as general counsel to most of the restructurings which took place in Europe in this industry. He began his career in 1981 in the petroleum industry at Total as International Tax Lawyer. In 1986, he joined the Matra/Lagardere Group where he worked for more than ten years mainly on M&A matters related to the high tech activities of the group ( space, defence, automotive telecommunications industries..). During this period, he was involved in Aerospatiale Matra privatization process and became General Counsel of the same. He was thereafter right from its inception in 2000 up until 2004 appointed as EADS first General Counsel (former Airbus). He joined Rexel and thereafter Thales from 2006 to 2011 as General Counsel. In early 2012 he was appointed as EDF General Counsel. From July 2014 to the end of 2021, he returned to the Lagardère group as General Counsel. He is moreover member of several professional associations and a lecturer.

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Monica de Virgiliis

Non-executive Director at Airliquide S.A.

Monica de Virgiliis

A former +$1Bn division senior manager in the semi conductor industry, and later chief strategy officer at the French Atomic and Alternative Energy Commission where I have enriched my perspective on disruptive innovation for a future low carbon economy, I have embraced energy transition as a mission by developing a portfolio of non-executive director roles at European energy and technology companies. I bring an in-depth knowledge built across +20 years within a fast moving, capex-intensive industry, combined with an extensive experience as non-executive director across various stages of the energy value chain. I am currently the Chairwoman at SNAM S.p.A. a leading European operator in natural gas transport and a Supervisory Board member at ASM International N.V. the Europe’s second largest semiconductor equipment maker. As aside, I have founded and am chairing Chapter Zero France, which is a forum that enables non-executive directors and chairs to gain awareness and understanding of the business risks associated with the climate challenge, assess the resilience of their business strategy and generate value through adaptation and mitigation opportunities. Chapter Zero France is formed under the auspices of the World Economic Forum as a part of the global Climate Governance Initiative along with more 25 other Chapters across the world.

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Fellows

Pascale Accaoui Lorfing

Associate Researcher at CREDIMI, University of Burgundy

Pascale Accaoui Lorfing

Pascale Accaoui Lorfing obtained her PhD with distinction at Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas in 2008. She is an associate researcher at CREDIMI at the University of Burgundy. As of 2020, she is a guest lecturer at ESCP Business School where she teaches International Investment Law and Arbitration.

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Megha Bansal

Former Senior Associate with the International and M&A tax team at Deloitte, UAE

Megha Bansal

MEGHA BANSAL, is a J.D. Candidate at NYU School of Law, NY, US. She was previously a Senior Associate, International and M&A Tax at Deloitte Dubai, UAE. As an international tax advisor with four years of professional experience in the Middle East, she is passionate about the intersection of business, law and policy. She graduated with a B.A. in Economics (Hons.) from New York University Abu Dhabi, and has studied, worked and lived in India, the UAE, Spain and the U.S.

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Tanya Bansal

Former strategy associate at the office of director general of Economic affairs at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development

Tanya Bansal

Tanya is currently a 1L at NYU School of Law as a Jacobson Law & Business scholar. Prior to this, she worked on the strategy team of HE Al Qubaisi, the Director General at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED), where she helped drive strategy formulation and execution oversight of projects & policies with high strategic impact for Abu Dhabi’s economy.

Tanya has 4 years of management consulting experience at Monitor Deloitte (ex-Monitor Group), with a specialization in advising governmental entities across KSA and the UAE on economic competitiveness, investment attraction, cluster development, innovation and livability.

Interested in the intersection of government, law and business, Tanya holds a B.A. in Economics from New York University Abu Dhabi and a Minor in Business & Finance from NYU Stern.

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Fahmi Ben Abdelkader

Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School

Fahmi Ben Abdelkader

Fahmi Ben Abdelkader is the academic director of the Executive Master in International Wealth Management and professor of finance at ESCP Business School. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a master’s degree in International Economics from Sorbonne University of Paris1. In 2011, he won the International Doctoral Prize for Research Work in Economic Studies by the CEDIMES Institute, in recognizing “his expertise on the economies of the MENA region and in endorsing his analysis of institutional change and development in this region”.He has co-authored a book on the role of governance institutions and trust in the development process in the MENA region (Institutions de gouvernance, confiance et développement dans les pays arabes. Éditions l’Harmattan. 2014: Associated press article La Tunisie piégée par le capitalisme clanique, Le Monde, 17 avril 2014.) He has served as a consultant to the World Bank where he conducted surveys on corporate governance systems of State Owned Enterprises in the MENA region. He has also contributed to surveys on “Private Sector Diagnostics” in this region. He has worked at Labex ReFi (Excellence Laboratory on Financial Regulation) as a scientific coordinator and a member of its Executive Committee.He has taught a wide range of courses in Corporate Finance and Economics. He is responsible of the corporate finance courses in internationally recognized masters at ESCP, including the EMBA (Ranked 5th worldwide by the financial Times) and the Master in Management (Ranked 5th) Since 2014, he has taught more than 1000 executives Including non-financial managers, entrepreneurs, board directors, lawyers who come from more than 40 different countries and nationalities. He has designed customized training programs and workshops for managers and board directors of international corporations.

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Sara Bertin

Chief Country Economist at African Development Bank Group

Sara Bertin

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Jean-Pierre Bertrel

Emeritus Professor at ESCP Business School

Jean-Pierre Bertrel

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Alexander Blumrosen

Member of the Paris and New York Bars at Polaris Law

Alexander Blumrosen

Alexander Blumrosen is an American attorney admitted to the Bars of New York and Paris; he is the founding partner of the Paris law firm Polaris Law specialized in the litigation and arbitration of international commercial business disputes, with particular experience as counsel and arbitrator in technology, IP and cross-border privacy matters.

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Claire Campbell

Solicitor

Claire Campbell

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Régis Chemouny

EMA Head of Real Estate at KPMG France

Régis Chemouny

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Walid S. Chiniara

Advisor to Business Families

Walid S. Chiniara

Walid S. Chiniara is an international finance lawyer, an activist, and a thought leader in the field of governance, its history, and philosophical foundation. After 15 exciting years practicing law across several jurisdictions, Walid spent the last 25 years serving families in business, looking to preserve and grow their Wealth in the hands of future generations. He worked alongside a large number of iconic families from around the world, building family offices, managing conflict, and devising family-specific tools, tailored to address their needs and those of the NextGen family business entrepreneurs. Over the years, he forged himself a reputation as the go-to person for mission impossible family business succession planning, and the 7-Step Methodology™ he has developed has been recognized by his peers as a game changer. For many, it has become the family business succession planning tool par excellence. He is an accredited Mediator and a member of the Quebec Bar. He is also, a member of the Family Firm Institute (FFI), the Society of Trust and Estate Planners (STEP), and The International Academy of Trust and Estate Law (TIAETL). Walid is a published author and a regular guest speaker at a number of regional and international forums, and once a year, he facilitates the Family Governance Module, Cercle des Dirigeants, at École Supérieure des Affaires, Beirut. He also contributes to The Henley Family Office Program, Henley Business School, University of Reading, United Kingdom. He recently shared his experience in a book titled: Dynastic planning: a 7-Step Approach to Family Business Succession Planning and Related Conflict Management.

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John J. Clarke, Jr.

Co-Chair, Corporate and Securities Litigation at DLA Piper

John J. Clarke, Jr.

John Clarke is co-chair of the Corporate and Securities Litigation practice for DLA Piper LLP (US). He represents clients in complex litigation and internal investigations involving securities and financial instruments, trust indentures, merger and stockholder derivative litigation, financial institutions, structured transactions, and bankruptcy and fraudulent transfer claims. He is past chairman of the Banking Law Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

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Maroussia Clavel

Strategy & organisational development consultant

Maroussia Clavel

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Hervé Crès

Professor of economics at NYUAD

Hervé Crès

Hervé Crès is a Professor of Economics at New York University in Abu Dhabi. He has been previously a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, at HEC and at Sciences Po in Paris; he has also taught at the University of Copenhagen, the University of Geneva, Koç University in Istanbul and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. A mathematical economist by training, he studies the theoretical foundations of market and democratic mechanisms. More to the point, he searches for governance rules in corporations, and other collectives on the market, for which the interplay between trading and voting fosters economic efficiency and political stability. Hervé Crès has held various leadership positions, among which Dean at New York University in Abu Dhabi, Deputy Director of HEC Grande Ecole, and Vice-president and Interim Director at Sciences Po.

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Laurent Dargent

Editor in chief at Dalloz actualité and Head of the strategic lawyers committee at Lefebvre Dalloz

Laurent Dargent

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Martine Derdevet

President and Founder of MAIAO CONSEIL

Martine Derdevet

With a PhD in international and European law, and more than 32 years of solid experience within groups and transnational companies, Martine Derdevet has adopted a multidisciplinary and pragmatic approach to issues related to CSR and more specifically to human rights, while remaining close to the wishes of companies.

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Ghislain Deslandes

Professor at ESCP Business School

Ghislain Deslandes

Ghislain Deslandes is a professor at ESCP Business School, in the Law, Economics and Humanities Department (LEH). His work in management sciences has been published in European Management Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Management Learning, Organization and Organization Studies. He has also published several books with Puf, including Essai sur les données philosophiques du management (2013), Critique de la condition managériale (2016) and, more recently, Érotique de l’administration (2023). A former programme director at the Collège International de Philosophie (CIPh), he is also the author of various philosophical articles and essays, such as Antiphilosophy of Christianity (Springer, 2021) and The Idea of Beginning in Jules Lequier’s Philosophy (Lexington books, 2023).

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Maxence Duault

General Director of ESA Business School and President of the CCI France Liban

Maxence Duault

Myriam Epelbaum

Lawyer at Bredin Prat

Myriam Epelbaum

Myriam Epelbaum is a lawyer at Bredin Prat. Her practice focuses primarily on corporate governance, advising numerous listed companies including in relation to ESG matters. She also assists clients on M&A transactions, as well as securities law matters, especially those involving major governance issues. Myriam gives seminars in company law at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and the University of Paris Dauphine. She has participated in several working groups set up by the Haut Comité Juridique de la Place Financière de Paris (HCJP) (the Paris Financial Market Law Committee) and is the Rapporteur of its Say-on-Climate working group.

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Duncan Fairgrieve

Professor of Comparative Law at Université Paris-Dauphine PSL, Senior Research Fellow in Comparative Law, British Institute of International & Comparative Law, Avocat à la Cour (Paris Bar) | Barrister (Bar of England & Wales)

Duncan Fairgrieve

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Mathias Forteau

Professor of Public Law at University Paris Nanterre

Mathias Forteau

Mathias Forteau is professor of public law at the University of Paris Nanterre (France) and is an International Law specialist. He was also adjunct professor at NYU between 2015 and 2018. He is the author and co-editor of many books and articles in French and English in the field of public international law (in particular co-author of the last edition of the treatise Droit international public with A. Miron and A. Pellet). He is a member of the United Nations International Law Commission. In the last 20 years, he also acted as advocate-counsel for States in a number inter-State cases before international courts and tribunals.

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Tony Fratto

Global Head of Communications at Goldman Sachs

Tony Fratto

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Frédéric Fréry

Professor at ESCP Business School

Frédéric Fréry

Frédéric Fréry is a professor at ESCP, where he is the academic director of the Global Executive PhD programme, and at CentraleSupélec. His teaching focuses on strategic innovation and management. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University and a Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He has published numerous books and articles, including Stratégique, the best-selling strategy textbook in the French-speaking world (13 editions), and 100 Idées Impertinentes pour Mieux Manager, the first original book in French published by the Harvard Business Review. He has been an expert with the Association Progrès du Management (APM) since 2000, is a columnist on the Xerfi platform, and regularly appears in the economic media.

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Aubin Gonzalez Lapos

Co-founder of Kayros; Secretary-General at France-Amériques; Lecturer at Sciences Po

Aubin Gonzalez Lapos

For more than 15 years, Aubin Gonzalez Lapos has been a French lawyer practicing M&A and corporate law in France and Africa, with a growing practice in sports law. Aubin is the Secretary-General of the nonprofit France-Amériques, and the founding chair of the nonprofit Berkeley Global Society, in both cases fostering dialogue among people from different cultures. Aubin’s latest initiative is Kayros, a company that provides business and legal solutions related to IT and legal tech. Aubin teaches Political Institutions at Sciences Po Paris.

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Orphée Grosjean

Partner at Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier

Orphée Grosjean

Orphée Grosjean is a Partner at Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier where he started his career. He was seconded at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York in 2016. Orphée is mainly active in mergers and acquisitions, securities law and corporate governance matters (and also has experience in related litigation and regulatory investigations). He regularly advises public and private companies as well as private equity funds. Orphée also teaches banking and financial regulation law at Sciences Po Paris.

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Marina Guérassimova

Publisher and editorial director, at Fusions & Acquisitions Magazine

Marina Guérassimova

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Valéria Guimarães De Lima E Silva

Professor of Business Law at ESCP Business School

Valéria Guimarães De Lima E Silva

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Haykel Hajjaji

Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP

Haykel Hajjaji

Haykel Hajjaji is a senior transactional lawyer focusing on Middle East corporate, M&A and commercial transactions. Advised on complex transactions totaling $50 billion in highly regulated sectors, including pharmaceuticals, power, telecom and infrastructure.

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Samer Iskandar

Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School

Samer Iskandar

Samer Iskandar has been teaching finance at ESCP Business School since 2010.

He holds a B.Sc. (Econ.) in Monetary Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science; an Executive MBA from ESCP Europe; and a Ph.D. in Finance from Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Samer Iskandar has over 20 years of experience in capital markets, corporate finance and corporate governance, in Europe and the Middle East.

He started his career at BAII (part of BNP Paribas group) in Paris, managing a fixed income arbitrage fund. Samer Iskandar was also a senior writer and editor at the Financial Times, writing about the capital markets in London; as European Union Correspondent in Brussels; then covering French companies, financial markets, and mergers and acquisitions. He has also been an executive director at Euronext group, Europe’s largest stock exchange, and worked on negotiating and integrating the acquisitions of the LIFFE derivatives exchange in London and the merger with the Lisbon Stock Exchange.

At ESCP Business School Samer Iskandar teaches Corporate Finance, International Finance and Fixed Income Markets in the Master in Management programme; Portfolio Management and Fixed Income Markets in the MS International Wealth Management; and Entrepreneurial Finance in the EMDIEL programme. He lectures regularly at ESA Business School and the Institute for Finance and Governance in Beirut.

Samer Iskandar sits on the boards of directors of several companies, including Banque Libano-Française, one of Lebanon’s largest banks, where he is Chairman of the Audit Committee, and 961 Beer, Labanon’s leading independent brewery.

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Ioannis Kokkoris

Professor of Competition Law and Economics, Director of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies

Ioannis Kokkoris

Ioannis Kokkoris is Co-Director of the Competition Law Forum and Senior Research Fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

He is also Professor of Competition Law and Economics at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, UK as well as Dean for International, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, UK. He is Director for Global Engagement at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies and Executive Director at the Institute for Global Law, Economics and Finance. He was Executive Director at Sino-UK Centre for Commercial Law, Economics and Business and Global MBA Programme Director at the University of London.

He is Special Advisor to Lithuanian Competition Council and Non-Governmental Advisor to the International Competition Network for the UK Competition and Markets Authority.

He is also Senior Consultant at the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the OECD, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

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Maxime Lefebvre

Former Ambassador, Professor of International Relations at ESCP Business School

Maxime Lefebvre

Maxime Lefebvre, born in 1967, is a career diplomat and a professor at ESCP Europe. He began his diplomatic career in 1994, has been working as a technical councellor at Hubert Védrine’s Cabinet office and as a deputy director of the policy planning staff. He was posted in Berlin and in Brussels (European Union) and was ambassador / permanent representative to the OSCE in Vienna.

He has written a lot of books and articles about international relations and European policy.

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Henry Lesguillons

Emeritus Professor of Law, Editor-in-Chief of IBLJ, Director of Lamy Contrats Internationaux.

Henry Lesguillons

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Spyros Maniatis

BIICL Director

Spyros Maniatis

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Jonathan Marsh

International General Counsel at

Total Marketing & Services

Jonathan Marsh

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Pierre Mazeau

CSR Consultant & Lecturer

Pierre Mazeau

Pierre Mazeau has been working at Electricité de France (a French electricity utility –160 000 employees-) from 1981 to 2022. He held several senior positions in Human ressources and as head of CSR in the Sustainable development department from 2009 to 2022.

He has been involved in several international Social Responsibility initiatives such as GRI (elected member of the stakeholder council 2008-2013) and UNEP/SETAC life cycle initiative (integration of social and socio-economical aspects into LCA).

He has been an expert for Industry in the French delegation in the ISO 26000 project and convened the ISO Task Group 5 (guidance on SR core issues (2004-2010) and he chaired the Sustainable development/social responsibility committee at AFNOR 2012-2019.

He represented EDF and was the vice-chair of the association EDH ( enterprises for human rights) till 2020.

He was the executive director of the association Global Compact France 2014-2015

He teaches Social Responsibility at University Paris est Créteil , University Paris-Cité, University Sorbonne Paris Nord and Rennes school of Business

He is the founder of the consultancy Yrieix Conseil since 2020.

Pierre Mazeau graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris and from University Paris IX Dauphine University DEA in Human Resources.

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Sam Meurant

Researcher in Management & Governance

Sam Meurant

Sam Meurant holds two master’s degrees, one in Management from ESCP Business School and one in Philosophy from Université Paris-Nanterre. For the last two years, he has dedicated his time simultaneously to research as a Fellow Researcher in the New Professorship Management Professorship at ESCP Business School and as a full-time Data Analyst.

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Marie Michel-Verron

Corporate Lawyer (PSL)

Marie Michel-Verron

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Quentin Moreau

Head of Investments at Otium Leisure

Quentin Moreau

Quentin Moreau obtained a Master’s in Management in 2017 at ESCP Business School. As of 2022 he is head of Investments at Otium Leisure.

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Christophe Moussu

Professor of Finance at ESCP Business School

Christophe Moussu

Christophe Moussu received the ESCP degree, a Master in “Money, Finance and Banking” from the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, a PhD in Finance from the University of Dijon and a HDR from the University of Lille 2. After a first experience in venture capital, he received a research grant of the National Scientific Research Center to undertake a PhD. He pursued his doctoral work as a Research Fellow at Simon School of Business Administration (Rochester University) and joined the ESCP Europe faculty in 1993.

Since then, he developed and took the responsibility of numerous programs (Master level and Executive). He teaches Corporate Finance and Financial Theory and is currently head of the Major in Finance in the Master in Management Programme. He was the former scientific advisor for the Finance program at ESA (Beirut) and for numerous executive programs. He currently works on the interaction between the health and leverage policies of firms, the impact of labor regulation on financial leverage, the financial policies of State-controlled companies and the incentives in financial institutions. He is also visiting Professor at the College of Europe and the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbone. He has advised several companies on their investment and financial policies and their organizational architecture.

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Krys Pagani

Partner at Alkyne Avocats and Head of the strategic lawyers committee at Lefebvre Dalloz

Krys Pagani

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Val Myteberi

Associate Dean for Graduate, International & Online Programs at Cardozo School of Law

Val Myteberi

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Sara Razai

Research Fellow & International Projects Lead at British Institute of International and Comparative Law

Sara Razai

Dr Sara Razai holds a PhD in Law from University College London. She specialises in empirical legal research with particular focus on judicial-decision making, law and justice in the Global South. Her research has fed into policy-making and she has provided different actors and stakeholders with policy recommendations and programmatic responses at national and international levels.
In addition to her research, Sara i is the International Projects Lead at the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and is working closely with the Director toward expanding BIICL’s presence internationally. She holds a senior research membership at UCL Judicial Institute, and is a Lecturer in Law at Westminster University in London and Associate Lecturer at Sciences Po, Campus Menton.

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Gaëtan Roé

Tax Partner at Ambre Associés

Gaëtan Roé

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Darren Rosenblum

Full Professor & Associate Dean at McGill University

Darren Rosenblum

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Eric Seassaud

Partner at SQUAIR Law Office and Member of the Paris Bar

Eric Seassaud

Eric Seassaud, a member of the Paris Bar, advises clients throughout the world in two main areas. The first is major projects, particularly in the environment, energy and infrastructure, and transport sectors, whether in the bidding phase or the execution phase. The second main area is business ethics and compliance, including anti-corruption, international sanctions, data privacy (GRDP), competition, and the duty of care regarding human rights, health and safety, and the environment. He’s the vice-president and co-founder of the “Association Française du Contract Management” and President of the French National AFNOR Commission “Compliance and Governance of Organisations.” He currently teaches at the University of Paris I – Sorbonne, at the University of Paris II – Assas, at ESCP Business School, and at the Albert School. He has also taught in the past at the University of Paris-Dauphine and at the School of the Paris Bar (EFB). He holds a Ph.D. in law, a postgraduate master’s degree in international business law and management from ESCP Business School, a postgraduate master’s degree in public business law, and an undergraduate master’s degree in political science.

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Jared Slosberg

Executive chair at Senzo Health

Jared Slosberg

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Vanessa Strauss-Kahn

Professor of Economics at ESCP Business School

Vanessa Strauss-Kahn

Vanessa Strauss-Kahn is a Professor of Economics at ESCP Europe since September 2008. She received a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University and has been faculty member at INSEAD for 7 years. Recently, she worked at The American University of Paris (AUP) as Associate Dean of the Graduate Business School and Associate Professor of Economics and Finance. She has also worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., the Inter American Development Bank, as well as for the United Nations Development Program on specific missions.

She taught microeconomics, managerial economics and several topics related to international trade, globalization and regulation to MBA and Executive students at INSEAD, Baruch College International Programs (Singapore and Paris) and AUP.

Irina von Wiese

Senior Advisor at FGS Global

Irina von Wiese

Irina von Wiese was elected to the European Parliament in 2019, representing Liberal Democrats (London constituency). During her mandate, she served as Vice-Chair of the Human Rights subcommittee, member of the AFET, LIBE and PETI committees as well as the cross party Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct. She was elected to the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee of the European Endowment for Democracy.

Before her election, Irina held the position of Antitrust and Compliance Director at the GSM Association. She has extensive work experience as a competition lawyer both in private practice (incl. Allen & Overy LLP) and in the ICT Sector (including BT Global Services), specialising in EU and UK competition law and global compliance programmes.

Irina qualified as German lawyer and UK solicitor (England & Wales), and holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

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