INDEPENDENT
DIRECTOR,
LUXEMBOURG
ABOUT ME
In brief
Background in finance and industrial engineering.
Strategic and creative thinker.
Broad personal interests.
Skilled writer in 3 languages.
Proven ability to build consensus.
Strong personal values and integrity.
Immaculate reputation.
Graduate from ETH Zurich and HEC Paris.
Completed INSEAD's International Director Programme (IDP) in 2020.
CORE SKILLS
Where I stand out
STRATEGY
I enjoy thinking ahead and out-of-the-box, anticipating a variety of scenarios and defining strategies to seize opportunities and to counter adversities.
At micro-level, I also enjoy analysing and improving corporate processes.
NUMBERS
My skills focus on valuation, financial modelling and financial analysis.
Where others satisfy themselves by simply applying formulas they often barely understand, I acquired deeper skills from HEC in Paris, which I regularly refresh and update.
WORDS
I love the power of the spoken and the written word.
I enjoy summarising complex matters in simple terms to convey clear, compelling and understandable messages able to be endorsed by the audience and win its buy-in.
VALUES
At board level, highest integrity and personal values are essential. It's about leading by example.
Ethics and sustainability have always been a true part of my culture, rather than buzzwords imposed by a marketing department.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Banking, consulting and boards
Since 2011
OWNER, VALUE ASSOCIATES SA
Value Associates serves (i) entrepreneurs and wealthy families, (ii) institutional clients and (iii) the Luxembourg government. Services provided focus on strategy, valuation, M&A assistance, family governance, financial modelling, process analysis and optimisation.
Since 2014
BOARD ROLES
My board experience career started in 2014 with a family-controlled investment company. Since then I have been a director in several other family holding companies, as well as in the non-profit and institutional segments (see below).
2002 - 2010
PARTNER, DELOITTE LUXEMBOURG
I joined the firm as a director in 2001 and was appointed partner in 2002. I was in charge of corporate finance, providing M&A, capital raising, due diligence and financial modelling services, as well as strategic advice to institutional and private clients, from Luxembourg and abroad.
1995 - 2001
BANQUE GÉNÉRALE
I started my career in asset management. I then moved to the office of the secretary general, where I got to know all layers of a bank and learned corporate communication. Thereafter I worked in asset-liability management before heading the corporate finance department.
BOARD ROLES
Advisory, commercial and non-profit
BANQUE RAIFFEISEN
Non-executive director and member of the advisory board
Banque Raiffeisen is a cooperative bank, which means that its profit remains with the bank instead of being distributed to shareholders. As such, Raiffeisen has sustainability built into its DNA. I have honest admiration for Mr. Raiffeisen and his peers who fathered the cooperative model some 200 years ago.
GROUPE COFINIMMO
Non-executive director in Luxembourg SPVs
Cofinimmo has been a member of the BEL20 stock market index since 2003. The Group's rental property value exceeds €4 billion, representing a total area of nearly 2,000,000m² spread over Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain. I am a director in seven Luxembourg entities of the Group and am also in charge of the local office administration.
FONDATION PETERS
Independent director
The fundamental values of Fondation Peters are Human Development, Solidarity, Fellowship and Social Responsibility. The foundation was established by Jean and Hélène Peters in 2013. I appreciate its approach to aim at making a difference to valuable causes selected with effort and care.
FAMILY HOLDINGS
Non-executive director
I am a director in several holding companies managing family wealth. In most cases I am advising on underlying investments via Value Associates, my consulting company. Typical subjects include M&A, investment due diligence and financial modeling.
COPENHAGEN INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS
Non-executive director in the Luxembourg-based managing limited partner of several funds
CIP specialises in energy infrastructure investments and is among the largest fund managers globally within renewables.
SANTÉ SERVICES SA
Non-executive director
An affiliate of Fondation Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, Santé Services is a specialist provider in the field of catering, logistics and consulting in the health sector.
HENDERSON PARK ADVISORS (LUXEMBOURG) SÀRL
Non-executive director / Manager
Henderson Park is a private equity real estate manager headquartered in London, with additional offices in Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and New York. Its investment strategy focuses exclusively on real estate investments, primarily in Western European capital and gateway cities.
ACADEMICS
The foundation of everything
2020
INSEAD
INSEAD'S International Director Programme is one of the most reputable certifications for professional directors. The programme took place in Fontainebleau over 3 sessions of 3 days each.
1994
HEC PARIS
In-depth studies of corporate and market finance. 1-year Master in International Finance programme taught in Jouy-en-Josas near Paris.
1993
ETH ZURICH
Industrial engineering studies over 5.5 years (of which one year spent in the industry). I specialised in information technology, more specifically software and telecommunication networks.
Ongoing
VARIOUS
I regularly refresh my skills with online certificates (e.g. from LSE or MIT) or professional trainings in valuation or other areas.
PROJECTS
Selected achievements since 2000
GOVERNANCE SIMPLIFICATION AT BANQUE RAIFFEISEN
In a two-year project, I advised Banque Raiffeisen in the complex restructuring of its cooperative network, whereby the bank absorbed its main shareholders, the Caisses Raiffeisen. The new structure preserves the cooperative spirit of the founders while saving costs and simplifying governance and regulation.
ACQUISITION OF POST'S CCP CLIENT BASE
I advised Banque Raiffeisen in the tender process launched by Post Luxembourg, which was seeking a banking partner for its financial services activity (CCP). As a result, Banque Raiffeisen gained access to ca. €1bn in client deposits.
SOLVING A SHAREHOLDER DISPUTE
I advised the private reference shareholder in a €200 million energy project in (i) buying back the shares of his co-investor in a climate of dispute, (ii) restructuring the financing with the development banks involved and (iii) assist in the negotiations with a private investment partner replacing the initial co-inverstor.
LAUNCH OF THE DIGITAL FUND
I advised the Ministry of the Economy in connection with the set-up and launch of the Digital Fund, aimed at strengthening the ICT start-up eco-system in Luxembourg.
COMPLEX PROPERTY REDEVELOPMENT, LONDON
I provided financial modelling and project management assistance from 2011 to 2019 on a complex £100m property development near Trafalgar Square, London. I have been a director in the property holding company which carried out and financed the project from 2014 to 2020.
M&A ASSISTANCE IN THE PAYMENT SECTOR
I advised Cetrel, the card payment services cooperative owned by Luxembourg’s universal banks as well as Post Luxembourg, in its sale process targeted to a larger international player as well as its conversion to a limited liability company. Cetrel was ultimately acquired by Six Group, owned by the Swiss Stock Exchange.
BANK RESTRUCTURING DURING THE 2008 CRISIS
Mandated by the interbank creditors of Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg, I provided evidence of several deficits in the initial restructuring plan on a €1bn loan portfolio, which led to a revised restructuring plan and an alternative buyer for the bank.
INSURANCE M&A AND REGULATORY ASSISTANCE
After coordinating a broad due diligence, I helped securing the first Luxembourg license ever granted to a non-insurance shareholder, allowing a private equity fund managed by J.C. Flowers to acquire and operate one of Luxembourg’s largest life insurance companies. In this mandate, I learned how value is created in private equity funds. And some other "lessons for life".
LAUNCH OF AN ONLINE BANK
I initiated a joint-venture between Banque Générale du Luxembourg and TD Waterhouse, at that time the second-largest on-line broker in the world, which led to the creation of Internaxx (now Swissquote Bank Europe). I wrote the underlying business plan, the memorandum of understanding and the shareholder agreement, setting the foundation of a major Luxembourg online broker that is still active today.
INTERESTS
BODY
Golf, Yoga, Sailing, Running, TRX, Swimming
MIND & SOUL
Yoga, Contemporary Art, Design, Architecture, Exceptional Opera Voices
BRAIN
Bridge, Mathematics, Economics, Computer Algorithms, Languages, Communication, Public Affairs