The Strategic Committee provides guidance for the development of the France China Foundation activities. Its members meet once a year with the «Young Leaders» in France or in China.
Jean-Jacques Annaud began his career by directing television commercials. His first movie “Black and White in Color”(1976), shot in Africa, won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He won his first two César Awards for directing the film adaptation of “Quest for Fire” (1981). He continued to win César Awards for Best Foreign Film and Best Director for “The Name of the Rose” (1986), a film adaptation of Umberto Eco’s popular novel and “The Bear” (1988), respectively.
Jean-Jacques Annaud directed “The Lover” (1992) based on the Novel by Marguerite Duras, where he brilliantly directed both Jane March and Tony Leung. He made the first fiction film in the IMAX 3D format: “Wings of Courage”.
He also directed the war film« Enemy at the Gates »(2001) with Jude Law and Ed Harris. “Two Brothers”(2004), also featuring wild animals, won strong critic support. His latest film is “Black Gold”(2011), an epic drama with Tahar Rahim and Antonio Banderas.
Jean-Jacques Annaud is currently working in China on his next project: the film adaptation of Jiang Rong’s best-selling Chinese novel “Wolf Totem”. Jean-Jacques Annaud graduated from the “Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques” (IDHEC) in Paris. Jean-jacques Annaud is a member of “Institut de France”.
Patricia Barbizet is now Chairman of Temaris & Associés. She began her career within the Renault Group as treasurer of Renault Véhicules Industriels then as CFO of Renault Crédit International. She joined the Pinault Group in 1989 as CFO and has held the position of CEO of Artémis, François Pinault’s family holding, since 1992. She is graduated from the École supérieure de commerce de Paris (a french top business school).
Patricia Barbizet is also Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Fonds stratégique d’Investissement (French Sovereign Fund), and an independent member of the Board of Directors of Total since 2008 and Air France-KLM since 2003. She was Vice Chairman of the Board of Kering until December 2018.
Jean-Paul Agon graduated from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. He joined the L’Oréal group in 1978. After first working in sales and marketing, he was appointed as General Manager of the Consumer Products Division in Greece in 1981 and then, General Manager of L’Oréal Paris in France. In 1989, he was named as the International Managing Director of the Biotherm brand, before being entrusted, five years later, with the role of Managing Director of L’Oréal Germany.
In 1997, Jean-Paul Agon took on the position of Managing Director of the L’Oréal Asia Zone which he created for all the group activities in the region: Professional Products, Consumer Products, Luxury Products and Active Cosmetics.
In 2005, he became the President of L’Oreal USA, and was then quickly appointed as Managing Director of the group. Jean-Paul Agon has been the CEO of the L’Oréal group since 2011.
L’Oréal is the leading global cosmetic group with around twenty prestigious brands throughout the world such as L’Oréal Paris, Lancôme, Maybelline, Garnier, Redken 5th Avenue NYC, Soft Sheen/Carson, Kiehl’s since 1851, Matrix Essentials, La Roche-Posay, Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Giorgio Amani Perfumes, Biotherm and Helena Rubinstein.
Sébastien Bazin, 53, holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the Sorbonne University of Paris and began his career in the finance sector in 1985 in the United States.
In 1997, he joined Colony Capital to install and develop from Paris the European branch of the private investment firm. Within 15 years, he managed and participated in a number of investments in the hotel sector, including the buyout of the luxury hotel chains Fairmont and Raffles, acquisition and Management of hotel assets from La Générale des Eaux, Club Méditerranée, acquisition of a stake in Lucien Barrière Group, and investment in AccorHotels.
Member of AccorHotels’s board since 2005, he was appointed as Chairman and CEO of the Group in August 2013.
Administrator of Théâtre du Châtelet since 2013, Sébastien Bazin took over the presidency of this board on March 26th, 2015. He is also Vice-Chairman of the supervisory board of the Gustave Roussy Foundation.
Mr. Chen Shuang, JP, is currently the Founding & Managing Partner of APlus Partners Management Co., Limited (formerly known as CIMC Capital International Co., Ltd.) , Mr. Chen is also an Independent non-executive director of Yeebo (International Holdings) Limited (stock code: 259).
Previously Mr. Chen was the Chief Executive Officer and President of CIMC Capital Holdings Limited and also the Chairman and President of CIMC Capital International Co., Ltd. , a Director & Deputy General Manager of China Everbright Holdings Co., Ltd.; an Executive Director, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the Management Decision Committee of China Everbright Limited (stock code:165), an Executive Director and the Chairman of China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (stock code:1848), the Chairman and a Non-executive Director of Kinergy Corporation Ltd.(stock code: 3302). He also was the Chairman of Everbright Jiabao Co., Ltd. (stock code: 600622).
Mr. Chen is currently a member of the Board of Director of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, a member of both the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee and Financial Infrastructure and Market Development Sub-Committee of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Chairman of Hua Jing Society, a member of the Mainland Business Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Permanent Honorary Chairman of Chinese Financial Association of Hong Kong, the Founding Chairman of Hong Kong Aircraft Leasing and Aviation Finance Association, a visiting professor of East China University of Political Science and Law, the Vice Chairman of China Mergers and Acquisitions Association, a Strategy Committee Member of France China Foundation, a director of Chinese Life Express Foundation. Previously, Mr. Chen was a counsellor of Our Hong Kong Foundation, a non-official member of Financial Services Development Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Vice-Chairman of Chinese Securities Association of Hong Kong.
Mr. Chen graduated from the East China University of Political Science and Law with a Master of Law degree and a Diploma in Legal Studies from the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong. He is a qualified lawyer in the People’s Republic of China and a Senior Economist. Mr. Chen has over 27 years of experience in commercial and investment banking.
William DING, Fondateur et PDG de NetEase
William DING dirige l’ensemble des activités et de la stratégie du groupe NetEase qu’il a fondé en 1997. NetEase a connu une croissance rapide, et est devenue l’une des plus grosses entreprises digitales cotées au NASDAQ. Sa valeur marchande dépasse 30 milliards de dollars.
Grâce à une connaissance approfondie du marché, William DING et son équipe ont été pionniers dans le domaine du digital : ils ont créé la première messagerie gratuite et les premiers jeux en ligne massivement multijoueurs (MMO) de Chine. Aujourd’hui, la messagerie 163.com de NetEase est la plus utilisée de ce pays, et le groupe devance largement ses concurrents en capacité de R&D pour les jeux vidéo et les produits internet.
En 2015, le Groupe a lancé Kaola.com, plateforme de e-commerce qui connaît une ascension fulgurante, avec 5000 marques internationales et plus de 45 millions d’utilisateurs chinois.
William DING a obtenu un diplôme d’ingénieur de la communication à l’Université des sciences et des technologies électroniques de Chine. Il a travaillé en tant qu’ingénieur chez China Telecom, puis chez Sybase.
M. Thomas Buberl est titulaire d’un master en économie de l’université WHU de Coblence (Allemagne), d’un Master of Business Administration (MBA) de l’Université de Lancaster (Royaume-Uni) et d’un doctorat en économie de l’Université de St. Gallen (Suisse). M. Thomas Buberl a commencé sa carrière au Boston Consulting Group comme consultant pour le secteur banque et assurance avant de rejoindre le groupe Winterthur en 2005 (acquis l’année suivante par AXA), d’abord comme Directeur des Opérations puis Directeur du Marketing et de la Distribution. Il intègre ensuite le groupe Zurich Insurance en 2008 comme Directeur Général pour la Suisse. Début 2012, M. Thomas Buberl est nommé Directeur Général d’AXA Konzern AG (Allemagne)et membre du Comité Exécutif d’AXA. En mars 2015, il devient également membre du Comité de Direction d’AXA et prends la direction générale de la ligne de métier globale santé, puis en janvier 2016, celle de la ligne de métier vie et épargne. Depuis le 1er septembre 2016, M. Thomas Buberl est Directeur Général et administrateur d’AXA.
Laurent Fabius was born August 20, 1946 in Paris.
After his bachelor’s degree, he enrolled in hypokhâgne khâgne and was admitted to the Ecole Normale Superieure of the rue d’Ulm. He graduated in modern literature (agrégation) and integrated the Institute of Political Studies in Paris and then, the National School of Administration (1971-1973). On leaving the ENA, he joined the State Council.
Member of the French Socialist Party since 1974, he headed the office of François Mitterrand, first secretary of the PS, becoming his spokesman. First elected Deputy Mayor of Grand-Quevilly (Seine -Maritime), he becomes a member of the fourth district of Seine-Maritime in 1978, re-elected eight consecutive times since.
After the victory of the left in the presidential election of 1981, Laurent Fabius was appointed Minister for the Budget (1981-1983) and Minister of Industry and Research (March 1983 – July 1984) in the government of Pierre Mauroy.
July 17, 1984, at 37, he was appointed Prime Minister, the youngest in the history of the French Republic. In a difficult international context, he urged the country on the path of modernization.
As an opposition MP for the second time in 1986, Laurent Fabius prepared and supported the re-election of François Mitterrand as President of the Republic in 1988. He became President of the National Assembly. In this position, he led the Socialist list in the European elections of 18 June 1989: he was elected and the Socialist Party achieves its most successful scores in its history.Chairman of the Socialist Group of the National Assembly in opposition, he became President of the Assembly for a second time, after the victory of the “plural left” in the parliamentary elections of 1997. His two terms as head of French MPs made Laurent Fabius as one of the great defenders of the rights of Parliament.
Expert in economic and budgetary matters, he was appointed in 2000 as Minister of Economy and Finance in the government of Lionel Jospin.
Alongside his national responsibilities, Laurent Fabius has held many local mandates. As Mayor of Grand-Quevilly (1995-2000), Regional Adviser (1992-1995), President of the Agglomeration of Rouen (1989-1995) and Chairman of the CREA (Community of agglomeration Rouen-Elbeuf, which includes 70 municipalities and half a million inhabitants), he helped to shape the face of Normandy.
As a Steering Committee member of the Socialist Party since 1979, and first secretary of the PS from 1992 to 1993, Laurent Fabius is one of the key figures of the French left. Convinced as a European, his answer to the 2005 constitutional referendum (rejected by 55% of French) was “No” in order to defend a different Europe, turned more towards growth and solidarity. In 2006, he is a candidate for the Socialist primary for the presidential election with Ségolène Royal and Dominique Strauss- Kahn. In October 2010, Laurent Fabius governed the work of the National Convention for an “international and European New Deal” of the Socialist Party.In 2011, he was commissioned by Martine Aubry, First Secretary of the PS, then by François Hollande, to stimulate and coordinate the work of the mission “First Year”, which prepared the reform agenda to be implemented the day after alternation, in May 2012.
In May 2012, Laurent Fabius was appointed Foreign Minister, and in February 2016, he was appointed President of the Constitutional Council by François Hollande, President of the Republic.
As the son of antique dealers, also as an art lover, Laurent Fabius has taught at several universities in the United States and China. He has published numerous books including The Wounds of the truth (Editions Plon, Policy Book Prize) and The Cabinet of the Twelve Masterpieces. A glance at the paintings that make France (Gallimard, Montaigne Prize).
Laurent Fabius is Grand Cross of the French National Order of Merit.
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. She achieved international prominence through her close collaborations with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at Venice for her performance in his 1992 film The Story of Qiu Ju. She has been credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to prominence in Europe and the United States. In 2006, she was voted the most beautiful woman in China.
Gong has won numerous accolades for her work as an actress; she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Farewell My Concubine (1993) and the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). She has also won two Golden Rooster Awards, a Hundred Flowers Award, and a Cannes Festival Trophy. Other notable film appearances include Ju Dou (1990), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), 2046 (2004), and Miami Vice (2006).
Pansy Ho is a businesswoman and the daughter of Hong Kong and Macau-based businessman Stanley Ho, and the managing director of various companies that her father founded, including Shun Tak Holdings and the Societade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau.
As Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer China’s major stockholder, Pansy Ho also serves as chairwoman of the France Macau Business Association. Johnson&Wholes University in Providence, Rhode Island awarded her an honorary doctorate of business administration in May 2007. In April 2009, she was named Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite in a ceremony at the French consulate-general of Hong Kong.
Hung Huang is a television host, an author, an actress, a media figure, and the publisher of the fashion magazine iLook.
Since early 2012, she has written a weekly column called ChinaFile for Women’s Wear Daily. In 1980, Hung attended Vassar College in the US. In 1984, she had been CEO of the American company Kamskip. Then, she became Representative for the CEO of a German Metal company. In 2000, she became CEO of China Interactive Media Group. In 2007, she was recognized as one of the most influential person in China for her creativity.
JI Qi is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in China, who co-founded “Ctrip.com” (NASDAQ: CTRP), “Home Inns & Hotels (NASDAQ: HMIN)” and founded “HUAZHU HOTELS GROUP LTD.” (NASDAQ: HTHT). All the three companies have been successfully listed on NASDAQ and the market value reaches over US$1 billion for each one. His successful story is the legend in the industry. Under his leadership, all the 40,000 employees commit themselves to keep satisfying travelers and corporate clients with impressive and cost-effective travel experiences. The group currently owns more than 2,000 hotels across over 300 cities in China. Aiming to become one of the world’s leading hotel operator, HUAZHU formed an extensive and long-term alliance with Accor in 2014, offering the customers of both loyalty programs (together 49 million members) the opportunity to access a network of over 5,700 hotels globally, covering the full spectrum of the market from Upscale (Joya, Grand Mercure, Manxin) to Midscale (Novotel, Mercure, Ji, Starway) and Economy (ibis, ibis Styles, HanTing, Elan, Hi).
Frédéric Jousset is the founder and co-chairman of Webhelp, a business process outsourcing company that is the European number three in the field of outsourced customer experience.
After graduating from HEC Paris in 1992, Frédéric Jousset started his career at L’Oréal in 1994. In June 2000, together with Olivier Duha, he founded Webhelp. Their initial goal was to offer online solutions to businesses and the general public. The company quickly became a leader in business process outsourcing, running a number of contact centres in France and beyond and offering a range of customer relations solutions. Their ambition was to become the European leader in the customer experience field. In 2016 Webhelp celebrated its 16th anniversary and has become a major customer experience and business process outsourcing provider (ranked 2nd place in France and 7th in Europe). Webhelp employs more than 35,000 people and is set to have a 2016 turnover of €725 million. Webhelp is present in over 25 countries including France, Morocco, Algeria, Romania, Belgium, Madagascar, United Kingdom, South Africa, the Netherlands, India, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. Since its creation the enterprise has grown exceptionally, increasing its turnover by a factor of twenty over ten years.
Frédéric Jousset is a board member at the French trade union of contact centres, Syndicat des professionels des centres de contacts (SP2C). In addition, he is a member of Medef and of Croissance Plus, of which Olivier Duha was president from 2011 until 2013. With a passion for contemporary art, Frédéric Jousset is a recognised collector and strongly involved in the cultural scene. He was the head of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris between 2011 and 2014, and since 2007 he has held a chair on the acquisition board of the Louvre Museum, of which he is one of the youngest patrons.
Jeffrey Kang is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Cogobuy Group, the largest O2O e-commerce platform for corporate procurement of the electronics manufacturing industry in China.
Jeffrey Kang received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from South China University of Technology in 1991 and started his career in China’s telecommunications sector as a sales engineer, in charge of the components business for Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic from 1992 – 1995.
In 1995 he formed his own company ‘The Comtech Group’, to act as a distribution channel for the sale of electronic components in China. In 2002, the Comtech Group went public and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NASDAQ) as Viewtran (ticker: VIEW).
In 2006 when he was 39, Jeffrey Kang was enlisted by Forbes as one of the richest people in China. He is also one of the youngest businessmen to be included.
In 2011, he established the first online platform for selling IC components in China, Cogobuy, which went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July 2014. In 2013, Jeffrey Kang and his team founded INGDAN, a strategic O2O platform which provides one-stop supply chain services to entrepreneurs. Within two years, INGDAN has become the largest smart hardware innovation and entrepreneurship platform in China.
In 2015, following gains in the share price of his Hong Kong listed company the Cogobuy Group, Jeffrey Kang was among The World’s Billionaires defined in USD by Forbes at age 45 and he has been recognized as the most ‘cross-border’ entrepreneurs.
Peter Viem Kwok is the Chairman of CITIC Resources Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed company that deals in commodities and energy resources.Mr. Kwok received his B.A. degree from National Taiwan University, his M. Phil. from the University of Hong Kong, and his M.B.A., M.A. and PhD in Financial Economics from the University of California Berkeley.In a career in finance and investment services that spans over 30 years, Mr Kwok has occupied senior positions with prestigious international banks and listed companies. In 1997, Mr. Kwok purchased his first vineyard – Chateau Haut-Brisson, a Grand Cru in the Saint-Emilion appellation of Bordeaux, France. In his 17+ years of ownership, Mr. Kwok has invested heavily in the property, and now produces an organic wine that has been lauded by critics.Chateau Haut-Brisson has central role to Mr. Kwok’s effort to promote French culture in China. These have included sponsorship of “Le French May” in Hong Kong and “Concours de Bordeaux” in Wuhan.In 2011 and 2012, he purchased 2 more vineyards – Tour Saint-Christophe and Chateau La Patache.Mr. Kwok has been awarded a Decoration of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France on June 11, 2011. Mr. Kwok is 65 years old. He was born in Vietnam and grew up in Saigon.
Philippe Labro developed a passionate interest for the United States very early on. Recipient of the Fullbright Grant at age eighteen, he left France to study at Washington and Lee University (Virginia) for two years. Thirty years later, this institution would award him an honorary doctorate.
After returning to France, he became a reporter in 1957 for the French radio station Europe 1. He then worked as a senior reporter for Marie France and France Soir magazines, covering the news from the US during the 1960’s. As a TV anchor, he presented the afternoon news for the network Antenne 2 from 1982 to 1983. In 1985, Labro took on the role of program director at RTL, a radio channel over which he presided for fifteen years. In 2005, he went on to co-create the national TV channel Direct 8, now known as D8, where he still hosts the weekly television show Langue de bois s’abstenir (“Tell It Like It Is”).
Convinced of the potential in a union between journalism and literature, Philippe Labro has published works inspired by his personal experience and observations on life. Many of these works are autobiographical, including Des feux mal éteints (“Poorly Extinguished Fires,” 1967), which was based on his military service in Algeria in 1960. In 1986 he received the prestigious Prix Interallié for L’étudiant étranger (“The Foreign Student”). Among his following works were Un été dans l’Ouest (“One Summer Out West,” 1988), which received the Gutenberg Prize, Quinze Ans (“Fifteen Years,” 1993), La traversée (“Dark Tunnel, White Light,” 1996), and Manuella (1999).
The year 2002 saw the release of his book, Je connais gens de toutes sortes (“I Know All Kinds of People”), a compilation of narratives on various public figures, from Ernest Hemingway to François Mitterrand. In 2003 he published Tomber sept fois, se relever huit (“Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight”), an account of his personal struggles. Since then, he has also published Les Gens (“People,” 2009), 7500 Signes (“7500 Signs,” 2010), Mon Amérique (“My America,” Photo Album, 2012), Le Flûtiste invisible (“The Invisible Flautist,” 2013), and On a tiré sur le Président (“The President Has Been Shot,” 2013).
Labro, who believed in professional versatility, ventured into directing with films such as Tout peut arriver (“Don’t Be Blue,” 1969), L’héritier (“The Inheritor,” 1973), L’alpagueur (“Hunter Will Get You,” 1976), La crime (“The Crime,” 1983), and Rive droite, rive gauche (“Right Bank, Left Bank,” 1984). At times journalist, writer and director, Philippe Labro is an unusual man of culture, who was made Commander of the Legion of Honor and of the National Order of Merit.
Philippe Labro is a member of the Supervisory Board of Euro Disney Associés S.C.A. and of the Board of Directors of the French American Foundation. He is also Vice President of the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques (which delivers the César film award), and President of the literary prize Grand Prix RTL-Lire.
Li Zhaoxing served as the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, from 2003 to 2007.
He is Honorary President of the CPIFA (Chinese People Institute of Foreign Affairs)
Li served as the Director General of the Information Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Assistant Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Representative and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United States, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Since 2008, he has served as Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC).
Ma Huateng is an executive Director, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Tencent Co. Ltd. Mr. Ma has overall responsibilities for strategic planning and positioning and management of the Group.
Mr. Ma is one of the Core Founders and has been employed by the Group since 1999. Prior to his current employment, Mr. Ma was in charge of research and development for Internet paging system development at China Motion Telecom Development Limited, a supplier of telecommunications services and products in China. Mr. Ma obtained a Bachelor degree in Computer Sciences from Shenzhen University in 1993. He has more than 19 years of experience in the telecommunications and Internet industries.
Jack Ma is the lead founder of Alibaba Group. After the company’s debut in 1999, he served as Group chairman and Chief Executive Officer for more than a decade, with responsibility for overall strategy and focus. On May 10, 2013, he stepped down as Chief Executive Officer but remains executive chairman and continues to shape the Group’s business strategy and management development.
Jack MA, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute, currently serves on the board of SoftBank Corp., a leading digital information company that is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He is also a director of Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, a company listed on The Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In 2009, Jack became a trustee of The Nature Conservancy’s China program and joined the global board of directors of the organization in 2010. Since May 11, 2013, he has served as chairman of The Nature Conservancy’s China board of directors.
Alain Mérieux holds a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences, he is a former intern at the Hospitals of Lyon and an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. In 1963, Alain Mérieux created BD Mérieux, owned equally by Institut Mérieux and Becton Dickinson. In 1968, Alain Mérieux took over the Presidency of the Institut Mérieux and gave the group its position as world leader in the field of vaccines, both in human medicine and veterinary medicine. He held the presidency until 1994, having in 1985 taken control of the Institut Pasteur Production in France, and in 1989 directed the acquisition of Connaught Laboratories in North America. When Alain Mérieux became, in 1974, the majority shareholder of BD Mérieux, the company took the name of bioMérieux. Alain Mérieux has held the Presidency since that date. This company is now one of the top ten global biological diagnosis firms. From 1986 to 1998, he also assumed the role of Vice-Chairman of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council, in charge of International Relations, Economic Development, Research and Higher Education.
Alain Mérieux also chairs the Mérieux Foundation, a family foundation, recognised as a public service utility, which works in developing countries to build capacity to fight against infectious diseases. The Mérieux Foundation has been cooperating since 2007 with the Ministry of Health of China on the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
During his last visit to China, Alain Mérieux met Chinese Vice-President Xi Jingping who thanked the Mérieux Foundation for its support and contribution to the development of public health programs in China.
Gérard Mestrallet
Education
Graduate of the École Polytechnique
Graduate of the École Nationale d’Administration
Professional experience
2001-2008: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ
1997-2001: Chairman of the Executive Board of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux
1995-1997: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie de Suez
1991-1995: Executive Director and Chairman of the Management Committee of Société Générale de Belgique
1986-1991: Senior Executive Vice-President in charge of industrial affairs
1984-1986: Special Advisor at Compagnie de Suez
Principal other memberships and offices held
Chairman of the Board of Directors of GDF SUEZ Energy Services**, SUEZ Environnement Company** (France), Electrabel**, GDF SUEZ Belgium**
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aguas de Barcelona** (Spain)
Director of Saint-Gobain (France), Pargesa Holding SA (Switzerland) and International Power** (United Kingdom)
Chairman of Paris EUROPLACE Member of the Advisory Board of Siemens AG (from January 23, 2013 onwards)
Virginie Morgon is currently the president of Executive Board of Eurazeo. She has been a member of Eurazeo’s Executive Board since January 2008. At the end of 2012, during the reorganization of Eurazeo in four divisions, Virginie became Chief Investment Officer. As such, she supervises all the investments of Eurazeo.
After working as an investment banker in New York and London since 1991, Virginie became the youngest managing senior partner at Lazard Frères et Cie in Paris early 2001. She was promoted Head of the European Food, Retail and Consumer goods sector in 2006. During 16 years at Lazard, she advised numerous French and international groups such as Air Liquide, Danone, France Telecom Publicis, Renault, Kingfisher/Castorama and Kesa/Darty. Consequently, she has developed an extensive network in Europe as well as international expertise in financial matters.
In April 2013, Virginie joined the L’Oréal’s Board of Directors.
After he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, Jean Nouvel ranked first in the entrance examination of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1966 and obtained his degree in 1972. Assistant to the architect Claude Parent and inspired by urban planner and essayist Paul Virilio, he started his first architecture practice in 1970. Soon afterwards, he became a founding member of the “Mars 1976” Movement whose purpose was to oppose the architects’corporatism and then a founder of French Architecture Union. His strong stances and somewhat provocative opinions on contemporary architecture in the urban context together with his unfailing ability to inject originality into all the projects he undertakes have formed his international image.
His works have gained world-wide recognition through numerous prestigious French and International prizes and rewards. In 1989, The Arab World Institute in Paris was awarded the Aga-Khan Prize because of its role as “a successful bridge between French and Arab cultures”. In 2000, Jean Nouvel received the Lion d’Or of the Venice Biennale. In 2001, he received three of the highest international awards: the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Praemium Imperial of Japan’s Fine Arts Association and the Borromini Prize for the Culture and Conference Center in Lucerne. He was appointed Docteur Honoris Causa of the Royal College of Art in London en 2002. Three years later, he received the annual prize of the Wolf Foundation in Israel “for providing a new model of contextualism and redefining the dialectic between the two salient characteristics of contemporary architecture: concreteness and ephemerality”. The Agbar Tower in Barcelona was awarded the International Highrise Award 2006 in Frankfurt, “as it makes an outstanding contribution to the current debate on high-rises”. Jean Nouvel was the recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2008. In France, he received many prizes including the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture, two Equerres d’Argent and National Grand Prize for Architecture.
Edouard PHILIPPE
Prime Minister of France
Edouard Philippe has been appointed Prime Minister of France on 15 May 2017. He served as Mayor of Le Havre from October 2010 to May 2017 and was a member of French Parliament since 2012.
He was spokesperson for Alain Juppé, candidate in the 2017 presidential election.
He served as Judge on the French Administrative Supreme Court from 1997 to 2002, and then became Managing Director of the newly founded majority governing party UMP.
From 2004 to 2007, he was part of the Debevoise & Plimpton LLP office in Paris as International Counsel, and in 2007 was appointed Head of Public Affairs of the AREVA Group.
Edouard Philippe has a degree from Sciences Po Paris and from the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA).
He published two crime novels in 2007 and 2010.
Arnaud de Puyfontaine is the Chairman of the Management Board of Vivendi.
He has been a member of the Management Board and Senior Executive Vice President in charge of Vivendi’s media and content activities since January 2014.
Arnaud de Puyfontaine started as a consultant at Arthur Andersen and later on, in 1989, as project manager at Rhône-Poulenc. In 1990, he joined Le Figaro as Executive Director. In 1995, as a member of the founding team of the Emap Group in France, he headed Télé Poche and Studio Magazine, managed the acquisition of Télé Star and Télé Star Jeux, and started up the Emap Star Division before becoming Chief Executive Officer of Emap France in 1998. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emap France in 1999, he served from 2000 to 2005 as Chairman of EMW, the Emap/Wanadoo digital subsidiary. In 2006, he was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Editions Mondadori France and headed all digital business for the Mondadori Group in 2007. In 2009, he became Chief Executive Officer of Hearst UK. In 2011, on behalf of the Hearst Group, he led the acquisition of the 102 magazines of the Lagardère Group published abroad. He was later on appointed Executive Vice President of Hearst Magazines International before being appointed Managing Director Western Europe in 2013.
Born in 1964, Arnaud de Puyfontaine is a graduate of the ESCP, the Multimedia Institute and the Harvard Business School program. He was Chairman of ESCP Europe Alumni from 2011 to 2014.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as Prime Minister of France from 2002 to 2005, when Jacques Chirac was President.
As a French statesman, he held such prominent functions as Senator of Vienne, President of the Region Poitou Charentes, Member of the European Parliament, and Vice-President of the French Senate. French Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce and Craft from 1995 to 1997, he was Prime Minister from 2002 to 2005. He led reforms on various topics such as pension, decentralization and health insurance. In 2007, he became vice-President of the right-wing UMP Party. In 2009, French President Sarkozy appointed him as President of the Republic’s personal representative for Francophony : therefore he has been particularly active on the international stage and went to China many times for specific missions. He is also Chairman of the annual French Chinese seminar of the Comité France Chine and of the “Fondation pour la Prospective et l’Innovation”.
Bruno Roger graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po Paris). He has been working for Lazard Frères since 1954. He is a member of the world executive committee of Lazard since 2000. He is President of La Compagnie Financière Lazard since 2002, President of Lazard Frères SAS and Chief Executive Officer of Lazard Frères Bank since 2009.
Bruno Roger is also Honorary president of Eurazeo since 2004. He has been Member of the Board of several companies like Saint-Gobain, Sofina or Thomson and Member of the Supervisory Board of Crédit Immobilier Industriel Sovac, Axa and Pinault Printemps. Bruno Roger is President of The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence since 2005. He was appointed” Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor” and was named “Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres”.
Hubert Védrine served successively as a diplomatic advisor, spokesman and General Secretary under the presidency of François Mitterrand, from 1981 to 1995.
From 1997 to 2002, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Lionel Jospin, under the presidency of Jacques Chirac. In 2003, he created a geopolitical consulting company, Hubert Védrine Conseil. He is the author of many books on geopolitics or about François Mitterrand. November 14, 2012 he gave the President Hollande a report on “the consequences of the return of France to the integrated command of NATO, on the future of the transatlantic relationship and the prospects for European defense”. His latest book La France au défi, about the reform in France, was published in March 2014.
Architect Wang Shu is teaching at the China Academy of Art, Southeast University and Tongji University. He is the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and was conferred upon the degree of honorary Doctor of Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the president of the jury for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 and a member of the jury of the fifth theme of the Prix Pictet. He is also a member of the International Advisory Panel for Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.
He established Amateur Architecture Studio with his wife Lu Wenyu in 1997.
He’s been working and doing research on the re-establishment of contemporary Chinese architecture, which reflects in his projects like the Ningbo Historic Museum, the New Campus of China Academy of Art in HangZhou, the Tengtou Pavilion for Shanghai Expo, the Ceramic Houses, the Vertical Courtyard Apartment, the Ningbo Contemporary Art Museum, etc.
Wang Shu has been awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2012. He also received the Gold Prize from France Architecture Academy in 2011.
He and Lu Wenyu are the winners of the Schelling Architecture Prize 2010.
His projects have been published widely around the world in numerous magazines and books. His works have been exhibited in important venues throughout the world. He’s also been invited by universities and institutes around the world to give lectures and speeches.
Wang Yan founded SINA.com. He holds a BA degree in Law from the University of Paris.
Together with Li Songbo, Wang Yan established the International Network Department of Stone Lifang in 1996. In June of the same year, he established one of the earliest commercial Chinese websites – Lifang On-line. Wang Yan accumulated much experience in website planning, management and marketing, and with the joint efforts of Wang Yan and his colleagues, the website became one of the most popular Chinese websites with the highest number of visits. The website completed its merger with Huayuan Information Website successfully in 1999, and together they established Sina. The company is much appreciated by Chinese people, and in particular Sina Weibo, the most popular social network in China. Wang Yan was CEO of Sina from 2001 to 2012. He is now responsible for Sina Charity fund.
Yan Pei-Ming is a contemporary artist with a worldwide reputation.
Born in Shanghai, he settled in France in 1983. He studied for five years at Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Dijon. Then he studied 2 years at Institut des Hautes Etudes en Arts Plastiques of Paris. In 1993, he became a fellow at Villa Medici in Roma. Yan Pei-Ming performs mostly portraits. Yan Pei-Ming focused his research mainly on identity. He apprehends the invisible and absent character of human being in his behaviour as a whole, at a sense of humanity that is difficulty to grasp. He made portraits of children, political figures or showbiz personalities, and is also interested in landscapes. In fact, he is best known for his paintings of monumental size portraits of famous personalities like Mao Zedong, but also from very close relatives like his own father. Faces painted by Yan Pei-Ming are shown in close-up, which gives them a surprisingly lively presence, whilst depersonalizing them: the artist claims working on “anti-portrait”.
Yu Long is currently Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras and the co-director of MISA Shanghai Summer Festival. While Yu Long’s vision and efforts continue to make the Beijing Music Festival the hub of musical life in China’s capital, he tours with his orchestras regularly in China and in major music cities throughout the world.
As a guest conductor, Long Yu has performed with leading orchestras and opera companies worldwide including Orchestre de Paris, Hamburg State Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Munich Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony.
In 1992, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Central Opera Theatre in Beijing and involved in the planning of the first Beijing New Year’s Concert later that year and served as its conductor for three consecutive years. He created opera productions for The Urban Council of Hong Kong for five successive years. In 1998, he led the creation of the Beijing Music Festival and has been its Artistic Director ever since. Under his leadership the Beijing Music Festival is regarded as one of the world’s most important music festivals. In 2005, with the provincial government’s support, he built up the Guangzhou International Summer Music Academy and became its Chairman for the following three years. He also established the MISA Shanghai Summer Music Festival in 2010 and the Guangzhou Asian Music Festival.
Born in 1964 into a music family in Shanghai, Yu Long received his early musical education from his grandfather Ding Shande, a composer of great renown, and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory and the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. He was the recipient of the 2002 Arts Patronage Award of the Montblanc Cultural Foundation. He also has been awarded the Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2003, the title of L’onorificenza di commendatore by President Berlusconi in 2005 for his outstanding contribution in the field of music and culture. In 2010, Yu Long received an Honorary Academician from the Central Conservatory of Beijing for his great dedication on cultural exchanging and music development in China.
Zeng Fanzhi graduated from the Oil Painting Department at Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, and now lives in Beijing. As one of the most important contemporary artists in China, his works have been widely exhibited at various art institutes in the world, and fully appreciated by many critics.
In the beginning of his artistic career, based on own life experience, the observation on society, and own inner reflection, Zeng Fanzhi painted apocalyptic and expressionist images to present the fascination of art with his superior and delicate painting techniques. His representative works, such as Hospital Series and Mask Series, were widely acclaimed and presented not just in Chinese Contemporary art milieu and global art scope as well. He has been challenging himself for breakthrough and evolution since then, as his latest “Landscape Series” reveals that he has been exploring a unique expressive language originating from Chinese traditional art to forge his paintings. It sheds light onto Chinese traditional art and resuscitates its visual charm in a contemporary context. Hence, he has thus defined an emerging contemporary art style in which the Chinese tradition and its gist are embedded.
Zeng’s talent is liberated from any conventional type or style of art as his creations contain a fusion of aesthetics and mysticism. He combines the eternal and the present, the abstract and the concrete. Portraying the seemingly vague yet sensible, livingly pursuing the deeper meaning. Critics think that Zeng’s works could often influence viewers’ perception of the art they used to be aware of. Such expressionist force is likely to stem from the eternal tension between his memories and the reality, and free switch between history and contemporaneity. His works, whether it is abstract or concrete techniques, or expressionist or mysticism style, always have unique images to constantly explore the relationship between real world and historical structure, social and natural environments and their relationship with human beings.
Zeng has never stopped exploring art techniques, which assures his works are highly appreciative and visually influential. He has quiet personality, seemingly lives in his own space, and independently and calmly observes all around him. He also has strong curiosity, and a sensitive perception of surroundings. His sharp and deep paintbrush strokes reveal the seven emotions and six desires (in Buddhism) in the real world, and sublime negative feelings, such as sorrow, fear and anger, to cheerful, inspiring and sharable life experiences.
Apart from art, Zeng endeavours his effort continuously to charities and art education. Since 2006, he has made donations to disaster areas, funds for students, academic and public institutions, and has been donating his works to charity auction. He believes what comes from the society should be used for the society, and will always participate in philanthropy.
Zhang Xin graduated with a Master’s Degree in Development Economics from Cambridge University. She was hired by Barings Plc to work in Hong Kong. She soon moved to Goldman Sachs and started working for the investment bank in New York City. In 1994, she switched to Travelers Group before returning to her hometown, Beijing. She co-founded Hongshi (meaning Red Stone), which became SOHO China, with her husband Pan Shiyi in 1995.
SOHO China is the largest property developer in central Beijing.
Zhang Xin has won many prestigious international awards for her role as a patron of visionary architecture in China and as an innovative entrepreneur.
Zhang Xin is a member and Young Global Leader of World Economic Forum, Davos, a member of Asia Business Council and a Board Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dr. Ya-Qin Zhang is currently the President of Baidu. Prior to joining Baidu, Ya-Qin Zhang was Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, Chairman of Asia R&D Group and Microsoft China, and made outstanding contributions to the Internet and software industry. Ya-Qin Zhang is a Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and International Academy for Europe and Asia as well as an Honorary Fellow of Hong Kong University of Science and technology. He has been granted more than 60 US patents and published more than 500 papers and 11 monographs. He is an honorary or guest professor at more than 20 prestigious universities, and advisor to several government agencies. Ya-Qin Zhang is also the vice Chairman of Committee 100, a group of leading Chinese-Americans to promote the political, scientific, social, and economic exchanges between the US and China.