Who’s who

Benoit began his career in 1994 in an Executive Search Company; he worked mainly for imaging Industry (Kodak). He joined Safran in 1998 and held different positions in HR, working for several activities in Telecom and Defense. In 2007, he was appointed as Vice President Human Resources and Communication of Snecma Propulsion Solide. He led the social and HR issues of the merger between Snecma Propulsion Solide and SME Energetic Materials till the inception of Herakles. In September 2012, Benoit moved to India to establish Shared Services and to lead Human Resources for Safran in India. In September 2015, Benoit was named Vice President Human Resources Europe/Middle-East/Africa and India.

Yves started his career at the Ministry of Finance between 1970 and 1984. In 1984, he joined the management of Rhone-Poulenc where he held operational positions in France and Africa and the position of HR Director in the US. From 1998 to 2000, he was the Deputy Cabinet Director to Martine Aubry, French Minister of Employment and Solidarity, with responsibility for employment, integration and training. Between 2000 and 2010, he was Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Social Affairs at Thales. In this capacity, he introduced a new approach to management, promoted forward planning and negotiated two important European agreements introducing European standards for professional development and assessment. He was Social Responsibility advisor in FSI (The French Sovereign Found, now BPI) from 2010 to 2013. Since 2012, he has been Chairman of AFPA (the French agency for the vocational training of adults). He created the European HRD Circle in 2010 and is still its chairman today.

Stéphane was head of human resources for Pechiney Electrométallurgie from 1994 to 2001. He was named Vice President, Talent Management for the Pechiney group in 2004, then continued his career at Alcan-Pechiney, where he was named Vice President, Human Resources, Environment, Health and Safety at Alcan Packaging in 2006. He joined Alstom in 2010 to manage the human resources impact of the planned acquisition of Areva T&D by the Alstom-Schneider Electric consortium. In 2013, he was named Vice President, Human Resources for International Financial Services and Networks at Société Générale, prior to joining the retail banking unit in France in 2015, tasked with implementing its transformation plan.

Hervé Borensztejn is a partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ Paris office and is a member of the Leadership Consulting Practice. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Hervé was partner in a consulting firm specializing in strategy and transformation where he significantly grew the corporate transformation business. Previously, he was chief human resources officer of Converteam - General Electric Power Conversion for four years. Prior to that, he served as chief people development officer at EADS Group for 10 years. Hervé started his career working with the Corporate University of Vivendi to accelerate its transformation. Hervé is an associate professor at La Sorbonne University where he teaches human resources at master and executive master levels. He is the author of Growing Talents, a Corporate Duty, which was published in 2008.

After different positions in the Ministry of Social Affairs on employment and healthcare, issues, Xavier joined Thales in 2002. After being in charge for the Air Systems Division, he became SVP for International Human Resources in charge of South Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and The Middle East at Thales), always travelling from one country to another while being in charge of anticipation and employer branding. He became Executive Vice President for Human Resources and Labour Relations at Air France in 2012. He joined Bolloré in October 2016.

Agnes spent her whole career in multicultural environments. She gained her former experience in various companies such as Vivendi Universal, italcementi of Valeo, where she heId senior positions in Human Resources Management and Communications. As such, she was involved in domestic and cross-border operations. Prior to joining Elior, she served as Group HR SVP for Arjowiggins, the world's leading manufacturer of technical and creation papers. Agnes joined Elior Executive Committee as Group HR SVP early 2009.

François holds a masters degree in law. He started his career in 1986 as HR manager at Philips. He then moved to Alcan where he held various HR positions at plant, regional, business group and corporate levels based in France, Switzerland and Canada. His last position was Vice-president Human Resources Environment Health and Safety for Rio Tinto Alcan, the aluminum division of Rio Tinto, headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Francois joined Vallourec as group HR VP early 2010.

Hervé joined Rhône Poulenc in 1983 where he held various positions in Human Resources in France and in the United States.
He has served as Human Resources Vice President for the pharmaceutical research and development in France, for Rhône Poulenc Rorer international operations as Senior Vice-President for the Nutrition Division of Aventis.
He joined Thales Group in 2000 where he was successively Vice- President Human Resources Naval Division and Land and Joint Systems Division.
He was appointed as Senior Vice-President for DCNS Group in 2007 and advisor to the CEO.
He is now the HR Director of the French continuous learning association, AFPA.

Christophe joined the EDF group in 1982. He has held several management positions in Departmental, Regional and Inter-regional Units in the electricity and gaz distribution sector. In 2007, he was appointed to head up the project to create and the manage the new Shared Services Division of the EDF Group. He was the Director of Human Ressources, Health & Safety and the Enedis Transformation project from 2014. SInce July 2017, he holds the position of Group Senior Executive Vice-President, Human Ressources Division.

Loïc's career began in 1980 at Thomson-CSF Aeronautical Equipment. In 1993 he was appointed HR Director for the Paris Chamber of Trade and Industry, before joining the office supplies company Guilbert (PPR Group) as HR and Communications Director in 1998. He joined Thales in 2001 where he held different positions. He became head of Engeeniring and Innovation at the French vocational training organization in 2013 before being appointed VP HR Industrial Affairs at Sanofi in 2014. He is now a consultant supporting Executives, HR Managers, projects teams or companies to lead transformations while increasing motivation and social coherence.

After working for Andersen Consulting in Paris and Chicago, Claude joined Usinor-Sacilor with different positions dealing with HR, industrial restructuring and early workforce planning. He joined the Group in 1994 with the creation/merger of Messier-Dowty, then in charge of HR development and industrial relations for the French subsidiary. He became HRD in 1997. In 2001, Claude was appoin- ted as Group VP HR of Messier-Dowty International. He became VP of HR of Sagem Defense Security in 2007. He is also a Professor at Science-Po Paris. He is now Business Group HR VP at Faurecia.

Paul began his career at SNECMA (aeronautics) holding various Human Resources positions in the Paris and Alsace Regions. He joined Steelcase Strafor (Office Furniture) in 1992 as Human Resources Director for France and then as Factory Director for the Wood Division in Chartres. He then joined Tetra Pak (Packaging Industry) in 1998, holding successively positions of Human Resources Director in France and Vice-President Human Resources for the Business Unit Aseptic of Tetra Pak in Lund (Sweden). In 2005, he was appointed Executive Vice-President Human Resources for the Sidel Group in Paris. He was back to Tetra Pak in 2008, running Human Resources responsibilities for the Supply Chain worldwide, then for South Europe. He was appointed Cluster Leader HR Europe and Central Asia in 2014. Paul Mayer is a tutor of the International Track of CIFFOP since 2007.

Jérôme began his career at Société Générale before joining Credit Lyonnais in 1989 with successive responsibilities for the public debt market, then for a portfolio of bond issuers within the financial markets department. In 1998, he joined the Human Resources department as manager for employment policy and labor relations. From 2001 to 2004 he was director of labor and social relations for Credit Lyonnais. He was responsible for the same area for Credit Agricole beginning in 2003 and worked on the social rela- tions aspects of the merger between Credit Lyonnais and Credit Agricole. He became director of Human Resources of LCL in 2005. He joined Caisse des Depots in 2007 as an advisor to the CEO. Since February 1, 2008, Jerome has served as Director of Human Resources for Caisse des Dépots and a member of the public institution's and Group's executive committees. In December 2012, he became General Secretary for Transdev. Jérôme has been appointed EVP Corporate Secretary and member of the Air France-KLM Executive Committee as from July 21, 2016.

Since January 2009, Jean-Christophe has been Director of Human Resources France and Group Social Relations at of Solvay (following merger with Rhodia). He graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Paris and has a degree in economic science and a Master’s Degree in social law. For 5 years, he was a labor inspector in the Paris suburbs and then a judge at the administrative court of Versailles for three years. Between 1991 and 1993, he worked as an advisor with the Ministry of Labour. In 1994, he joined Renault and became Director of Social Relations Group, Director of HR and legal affairs for Mercosur in Brazil, and finally HR manager for engineering centres in France. He was the president of the French association of HR managers from 2010 to 2014. Since October 2019, he has been appointed Head of AXA Group employees Relations.

Isabelle started her career at the Crédit Lyonnais in 1989, working in New York and Paris, mostly in corporate functions. In 1997, she went to Prague for 3 years and developed recruitment and social audit activities for Carrefour, which was settling in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Back in France, she went back to Crédit Lyonnais and kept working in HR. She joined Amundi in 2010 as deputy HR Director and became Senior HR manger one year later.

In 1985, Philippe began his career as an assistant for labour issues at FRAMATOME's Chalon Saint Marcel plant. In 1992, he was appointed Human Resources Manager for the industrial equipment depart- ment. In 1996, he became head of FRAMATOME's Human Resources Department, before becoming Vice President, Human Resources at FCI and a member of the Executive Committee in 1999. In 2002, he was appointed Vice President for Human Resources and Communication at FCI. Since January 2004, he was Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources for the group. In October 2005, he became member of the group's Executive Committee. He joined Alixio in January 2013 and became its effective CEO.

Rainer has been the head of the Human Resources department of the largest German trade union, IG Metall, since 1998. He has also been responsible for the organizational department and coordinating executive tasks. He has experience from various supervisory boards in the industry for more than 30 years. Currently, he is a member of the supervisory boards of the GEA Group in Düsseldorf and the Schunk Group in Heuchelheim. He has also been an honorary judge at the Federal Labour Court in Frankfurt/Main. In December 2014, he became chairman of the board of trustees at the European Academy of Labour and in October 2015 managing director at the Academy of Labour gGmbH, both in Frankfurt.

Until 2014 Cornelia was the Global Head of HR at GEA Group AG, a leading manufacturing company. Prior, she was a member of the board of directors at Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG, responsible among others for Human Resources. Before that, she held various executive positions in national as well as international HR Management with Coca-Cola as well as Deutsche Bank. She has a long track record in transformation projects such as Post-Merger-Integration and Business Transformations as well as substantial experience in restructuring and collective bargaining. She is a founding member of the German Federal Association of HR Managers (BPM) and is part of their Executive Committee. She was a member of the supervisory board of the HPV Hamburger Pensionsverwaltung e.G. and is part of the executive committee of the European HR Director’s Circle. She is now Director Human Resources Europe & International at Mondi.

Stephen is head of HR research development at IES with responsibility for developing innovative new projects and programmes with IES partners and other collaborators. Stephen returned to IES in April 2016 after spending 15 years as Director of Research and Managing Director at The Work Foundation. Stephen has conducted research and consultancy on high-performance work practices, employee reward strategy, performance management, staff engagement and retention, and 'good work'. He has a special interest in workforce health and wellbeing, having led a number of national and international projects focusing on workforce health and the impact of chronic illness on productivity and social inclusion. He is the Project Director of a major impact evaluation project for the Work and Health Joint Unit which is tracking the progress of health-led trials for people with mental health and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

Wendy has over 25 years’ experience in Human Resources in a career spanning private and public sectors.  Wendy is currently the Director of Human Resources for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which is the public body responsible for developing and building the new venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  She has worked for the ODA since April 2006, which is when the Authority was set up, and she has a portfolio that includes HR strategy and operations, equality & inclusion, and corporate business continuity / crisis management. Wendy has previously held senior HR roles in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and EDF Energy.  She has also worked in HR for Standard Chartered Bank and Littlewoods. Wendy is particularly interested in creating healthy, resilient and agile organisations which enable high employee engagement, job satisfaction and peak performance.

After working in the car industry and as a journalist Steve wrote a PhD and book called Management and Managed: Fifty years of Cri- sis at Chrysler. After several years as a visiting professor at Grenoble University he became Professor of European Employment Studies at London Metropolitan University in 2000, the year he published Management, Work and Welfare in Western Europe. Three years later, then Director of Londonmet's Working Lives Research Insti- tute, he wrote Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité at Work: Changing French Employment Relations and Management. In the last three years he has published three jointly edited books: Globalizing Employment Relations, Globalization and Precarious Forms of Pro- duction and Employment, and Changing Work and Community Identities in European Regions.

Bernard Perry is the Managing Partner of TRANSEARCH UK and is based in the London office. The UK is a critical node in the international network of executive search and human resource consultancy practices that characterise the TRANSEARCH global partnership. An engineer and consultant by background, he brings over twenty years of international executive search experience, with a focus on Board and senior executive appointments across an industrial spectrum that encompasses advanced engineering, specialist manufacturing, associated support services and professional services. Throughout most of career, Bernard has assisted the UK divisions of major international companies, often in high security, regulated sectors such as defence, aerospace, nuclear and consultancy. Structured and effective key account management and the development of deep, long term client relationships underpins success that is focused on high quality outcomes. This often involves cross-border mobility and introducing appointed candidates into complex multi-country reporting structures. Bernard adopts a highly collaborative approach with clients and colleagues alike, which is crucial for the successful delivery of assignments at this level. Bernard has been involved with the European HRD Circle for several years and has been actively pursuing opportunities to develop the Circle’s activities in the UK, as well as supporting the Circle’s annual conference. Bernard is a Chemical Engineering Graduate and spent his early career in Brussels, where he worked at the European headquarters of two international industrial market research and competitive intelligence consultancies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a fluent French speaker.

Dirk started his professional growth in the company in 1995 and during the years held various positions, including HR Director and Retail Director in both France and Germany. Prior to his involvement in Total he worked in the Foreign Trade Department of GDR in Paris from 1987 to 1989 and then joined Bull- Group and Bull AG Deutschland, working in the sphere of Business Development, HR Development and Training Projects. As HR consultant, he manages the training center for small oil companies in Germany and created Euraccess GmbH

Bruno started his career in 1991 in charge of the management of skills and training at Sollac. One year later, he became project manager in charge of employment and skills and internal consultant at Cogema. Appointed HR Director for Volkswagen Finance in 1995, he was recruited as HR manager for France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands at Johnson & Johnson Consumer in 1999. He was HRD Europe at Office Dépôt from 2002 to 2008 and is now Head of HR Sanofi Europe & France.