The Board of Directors (Conseil d'administration) of Veolia Environnement has seventeen members; among them, eleven Directors were considered to be independent by the Board of Directors, after reviewing the opinion of the Nominations and Compensation Committee; a censeur attends the Board's meetings, in which he participates in an advisory capacity.
The Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for setting the company's strategy and overseeing its implementation. It approves the financial statements, the appointment of the Chairman and the agenda of the Annual Shareholders Meeting.
- The Board of Directors
- Wide-ranging powers of supervision and control
- Three specialized committees for better decision-making
The Board of Directors
Henri Proglio, 61 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2013);
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Electricité de France.
Henri Proglio is a graduate of the École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC). He joined Compagnie Générale des Eaux in 1972 and was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CGEA in 1990. He was appointed Executive Vice-President of Vivendi Universal and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi Water in 1999. He became Chairman of Veolia Environnement's Management Board in 2000 and Chairman of the Board of Directors and was Chief Executive Officer from April 2003 to November 27, 2009, on which date he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement following his appointment as Chairman and Managing Director of Electricité de France (EDF) by decree of the President of French Republic issued during the Ministerial Council meeting of November 25, 2009.
Louis Schweitzer, 68 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2011);
Vice-president of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement since November 27, 2009;
Member of the Nominations and Compensation Committee since April 30, 2003.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Astra-Zeneca (United Kingdom).
Louis Schweitzer is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and was a financial controller in the Treasury department. From 1981 to 1986, he was chief of staff for Laurent Fabius (who was successively junior Budget Minister, Minister for Industry and Research and Prime Minister). In 1986, he joined Renault's senior management and then successively held the positions of director of planning and management control, chief financial officer and Executive Vice-President. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Renault in December 1990, then Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in May 1992 until April 29, 2005, when he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Renault. Louis Schweitzer did not wish to seek the renewal of his term of office as Director of Renault during the annual general meeting held on May 6, 2009. He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Veolia Environnement Board of Directors on November 27, 2009.
Jean Azéma, 57 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2011).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chief Executive Officer of Groupama.
Jean Azéma holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture de Purpan (ESAP), as well as a degree from the Centre National d'Etudes Supérieures de Sécurité Sociale (CNESS). He began his career at Union Départementale de la Mutualité Agricole des Pyrénées Orientales in 1975, moved to the Centre National d'Etudes Supérieures de la Sécurité Sociale from 1978 to 1979, and to the Union Départementale de la Mutualité Agricole of Allier from 1979 to 1987. From 1987 to 1995, Mr. Azéma served as financial director of Groupama Vie, investments director for Groupama, account management and consolidation director at Caisse Centrale des Assurances Mutuelles Agricoles (CCAMA) and insurance director at CCAMA. In 1996, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Groupama Sud-Ouest, in 1998, Chief Executive Officer of Groupama Sud and in June 2000, Chief Executive Officer of Groupama. Jean Azéma is currently Chief Executive Officer of Groupama SA and of Fédération Nationale Groupama, Chairman of the Fédération Française des Sociétés d'Assurance Mutuelles and deputy Chairman of Fédération Française des Sociétés d'Assurance.
Daniel Bouton, 60 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014);
Member of the Nominations and Compensation Committee since April 1, 2005;
Member of the Accounts and Audit Committee since November 2, 2009 and Chairman of this Committee since January 1, 2010.
Principal positions held outside the Company:
Chairman of DMJB Conseil;
Senior Advisor of Rotschild & Cie Banque.
Daniel Bouton holds a degree in political science, is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and is a former financial controller in the Treasury department. He has held a number of positions in the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry, including that of budget director, between 1988 and 1991. In 1991, he began working at Société Générale, serving as Chief Executive Officer starting in 1993, and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer starting in 1997. He was appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors of Société Générale in May 2008, then resigned from his duties of Director and President of the bank in May 2009. In November 2009, Daniel Bouton incorporated a consulting company, DMJB Conseil, of which he is the Chairman.
Pierre-André de Chalendar, 52 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2011);
Member of the Accounts and Audit Committee since May 7, 2009;
Member of the Strategy Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee since May 7, 2010.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain.
Pierre-André de Chalendar is a graduate of ESSEC and the École nationale d'administration (ENA). He holds the rank of Government Finance Inspector. In November 1989, he joined Compagnie de Saint Gobain where he held various positions, before being appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer in May 2005, Director in June 2006 then Chief Executive Officer in June 2007, and he was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie de Saint Gobain in June 2010.
Thierry Dassault, 53 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Censeur on the Board of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Président of Keynectis.
At the end of 2006 Thierry Dassault established the investment company TDH, specialized in emerging technologies (and which holds shares in Aquarelle, Bernardaud, Keynectis, Halys, I-Ces and Oletis), and was appointed adviser for the N.T.I.C. to the President of Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault.
In 2004, he led the foundation of Keynectis corporation (the French leader in digital certification), of which he is chairman.
From 1994 to 2006 Mr. Dassault was President of Dassault Multimedia, which acquired shares in Infogrames, Gemplus, Infonie, BFM, CdandCo, Net2one, Emme and Welcome Real-time.
Mr. Dassault was formerly Associate Producer and Director of Advertising and Institutional Films at Claude Delon Productions (1985-1993), Chief Executive Officer of an alarm systems company (1982-1984), and in charge of civil equipment at Electronique Serge Dassault in Brazil (1979-1981).
He is vice-Chairman of the Kidney Foundation (Fondation du rein) and is a member of the Boards of Gaumont, Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, Halys, I-Ces, Keynectis, Socpresse (Le Figaro), Particulier and Finances Editions.
Mr. Dassault was elected President of the 58th National Session of the IHEDN, a French national defence academy and think tank; he is Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur and is an air force Colonel of the French military reserve.
Jean-François Dehecq, 70 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman of the Sanofi Espoir Foundation.
Jean-François Dehecq is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers. After having been a mathematics teacher from 1964 to 1965 at the Saint-Vincent de Senlis Catholic high school, he became a scientific research intern in the army's nuclear propulsion department. In 1965, he joined the Compagnie Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA, which later became Elf Aquitaine). After four years in the economics department (1965 to 1969), he became executive assistant (1969 to 1970), and then operations engineer (1970 to 1971) at the Lacq plant, a major gas production site in France. In 1973, he became Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi, a major division of Elf Aquitaine. From 1982 to 1988, he was deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi before assuming full management authority in February 1988. In 1999, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi Synthelabo and, in 2004, organized the Sanofi-Aventis merger. From 2007 to 2010, Jean-François Dehecq was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sanofi-Aventis.
Augustin de Romanet de Beaune, 49 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2013).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chief Executive Officer of Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.
Augustin de Romanet de Beaune is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and of the École nationale d'administration (ENA). He began his career in the budget department of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. In 1990, he was a finance attaché with France's permanent mission to the European Community in Brussels, before returning to the budget department in 1993 as head of the budgetary analysis and policy office. In 1995, he became a technical advisor in the office of the Minister of the Economy and Finance, and then chief of staff to the junior Budget Minister. After having been a budgetary advisor to the deputy Budget Minister, government press secretary and project leader with the French Ministry of Economy and Finance from 1995 to 1997, Augustin de Romanet de Beaune became deputy director and project leader with the office of the budget director, then deputy director charged with the transportation sector in the budget department. In 1999 and 2000, he was successively appointed manager of Oddo et Compagnie and managing partner of Oddo Pinatton Corporate. In 2002, Augustin de Romanet de Beaune was appointed to the position of chief of staff of the deputy Budget and Budgetary Reform Minister and deputy chief of staff of the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry. From 2004 to 2005, he held the positions of chief of staff of the Minister of Employment, Labor and Social Cohesion, deputy chief of staff of the Prime Minister and deputy Secretary General to the Presidency of the Republic. After having been finance and strategy vice-president and a member of the Executive Committee of the Crédit Agricole Group since October 2006, Augustin de Romanet de Beaune was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Caisse des Dépôts in March 2007.
Antoine Frérot, 52 years old
Principal positions held within the Company :
Chief executive officer of Veolia Environnement ;
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term : 2014).
Born on June 3, 1958 in Fontainebleau (France), Antoine Frérot is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and holds a doctorate from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. He started his career in 1981 as an engineering researcher at the Central Research Office for French Overseas Departments and Territories. In 1983, he joined the Center of Study and Research of the École nationale des ponts and chaussées as project manager and then become assistant director from 1984 to 1988. From 1988 to 1990, he was in charge of financial operations at Crédit National. In 1990, Antoine Frérot joined Compagnie Générale des Eaux as an official representative and, in 1995, became Chief Executive Officer of CGEA Transport. In 2000, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of CONNEX, the Transport Division of Vivendi Environnement, and member of the executive committee of Vivendi Environnement. In January 2003, Antoine Frérot was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Eau, the Water Division of Veolia Environnement, and Senior Executive Vice President of Veolia Environnement. Since November 2009, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Environnement.
Paul-Louis Girardot, 77 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014);
Member of the Accounts and Audit Committee since April 1, 2005;
Member of the Strategy Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee since September 14, 2006.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Veolia Eau - Compagnie Générale des Eaux.
Paul-Louis Girardot was a director and Chief Executive Officer of Vivendi until 1998. He focused principally on developing the Veolia Environnement Group's utilities concessions, particularly in the water sector. In addition, he contributed significantly to Vivendi's activities in the telephone sector, in particular mobile telephones. He also worked to expand the Veolia Environnement Group's business in the energy services sector and in the decentralized production of electric power (cogeneration), through the Dalkia subsidiary. Paul-Louis Girardot has been Chairman of the supervisory board of Veolia Eau-Compagnie Générale des Eaux since 2001.
Olivier Costa de Beauregard, 50 years old
Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault
French S.A.S. with a share capital of €512,851,968, having the registration number 400 628 079 with the French Registry of Trade and Companies.
Principal positions held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014)
Member of the Nominations and Compensation Committee since May 7, 2010;
Member of the Accounts and Audit Committee since May 7, 2010.
Description:
Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault works in the aeronautics and military sector and invests in various other sectors.
Permanent representative on the Board of Directors:
Olivier Costa de Beauregard
Mr Olivier Costa de Beauregard passed the agrégation examination of History and is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and of the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) (1984-1986). He was Financial Controller in the Treasury department from 1986 to 1990 and became a project leader with the Chief Investment Officer of the Union des Assurances de Paris (UAP) in 1991. Mr. Costa de Beauregard was on the Prime-Minister's staff from 1993 to 1995 as the Chief Technical Counsel of the Public Facilities, Accomodation and Transportation sectors and was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of AXA-UAP France in 1996. In 1998 he was appointed Executive Officer of Crédit Commercial de France. Finally, Mr. Costa de Beauregard joined in 2005 the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault of which he is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
Esther Koplowitz
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014).
Principal positions held outside the Company:
President of the Esther Koplowitz Foundation;
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of F.C.C.
Esther Koplowitz (Marquise de Casa Peñalver) is the President of the Esther Koplowitz Foundation, which she created herself. Exclusively financed by contributions from its founder, the Esther Koplowitz Foundation is intended, firstly, to provide social and healthcare assistance to seniors, to the physically and mentally handicapped, to minors, and to people with problems of social integration or threatened with exclusion for physical, social or cultural reasons and, secondly, to support research. Since the time of its creation, the Esther Koplowitz Foundation has donated more than EUR 100 million, mainly devoted to building and fitting out homes for the elderly and underprivileged suffering from severe physical or mental handicaps (seven centers) and to the creation of a the Esther Koplowitz Biomedical Research Center (CIBEK by its French acronym), which aspires to set the standard in its field in Spain. In recognition of her commitment to the social and humanitarian sectors and to research funding, Mrs. Koplowitz, a Spanish business leader, has won numerous awards, including the Grand Cross of Civil Merit from the Spanish government, The Golden Cross of the Civil Order of Social Solidarity, from Her Majesty the Queen of Spain, the Blanquerna Prize, from the regional government of Catalonia, the Arms of the City of Barcelona, the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Valencia; the Silver Medal of the Valencian Council of Culture; the Gold Medal of the Regional Community of Madrid; the Grand Cross of Health of Madrid; the Imserso Infante Cristina Prize for Social Merit in 2008; the Gold and Diamond Insignia of the Foundation of the Orphans of the Spanish National Police Force; the Montblanc Prize for the best company manager of 2004; and, finally, the Business Leader of the Year Award, granted by the US-Spain Chamber of Commerce in 2007. Member of the supervisory board of Veolia Environnement from 2000 to 2002, Mrs. Koplowitz is also vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the strategic committee and majority shareholder of the Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) specializing in environmental services, renewable energies, infrastructures and cement. She is also Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cementos Portland Valderrivas, member of the Board of Directors of WRG (U.K.), ASA (Austria) and Alpine (Austria), as well as Chairman of the Board of Directors of B-1998, S.L. For several years now, Veolia Environnement and F.C.C. have jointly held a subsidiary, Proactiva Medio Ambiente S.A., present in Latin America.
Philippe Kourilsky, 68 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2013);
Chairman of the Strategy Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee since September 14, 2006.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Professor at the Collège de France
Philippe Kourilsky is a graduate of the École Polytechnique, and holds a doctorate in sciences from the University of Paris. He has devoted his career to life sciences research. He has held numerous management positions in the public and private research sectors, and in particular was the Director of Research at the CNRS and Director General of the Institut Pasteur from 2000 to 2005. Philippe Kourilsky is currently a professor at the Collège de France, a member of the Académie des Sciences and holds honorary doctorates from several foreign universities.
Serge Michel, 83 years old
Principal positions held within the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014);
Chairman of the Nominations and Compensation Committee since April 30, 2003.
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chairman of Soficot.
Serge Michel has spent his entire career in the construction and public works sector. After having held the position of Executive Vice-President with the Compagnie de Saint-Gobain group and been Chairman of Socea, he chaired the SGE group until 1991 and the CISE group until 1997. He was Executive Vice-President of the Compagnie Générale des Eaux until 1992. He is currently Chairman of Soficot, a business management and investment consulting company he founded in 1997.
Baudouin Prot, 59 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2011).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas.
Baudouin Prot is a graduate of the École des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) and of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA). From 1974 to 1983, he was successively the deputy to the prefect of the Franche-Comté region, financial controller in the Treasury department and deputy to the energy and raw materials director general in the Ministry of Industry. He joined Banque Nationale de Paris in 1983, where he held various positions before being appointed Executive Vice-President in 1992 and Chief Executive Officer in 1996. After having been appointed director and Executive Vice-President of BNP Paribas in March 2000, he has been a director and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas since June 2003.
Dr. Mohd Alhamadi, 47 years old
Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company
Qatari company having the registration number 29271 with the Qatari Trade Registry.
Principal position held within the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014).
Permanent representative on the Board of Directors:
Dr. Mohd Alhamadi
Qatari Diar is 100% held by Qatar Investment Authority, which is the sovereign fund of the State of Qatar. The Fund is a world class investor in development and property and works in twenty countries in the Middle-East, Africa and Europe. Qatari Diar has a total investment amount of more than USD 60 billion.
Georges Ralli, 62 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2014).
Principal positions held outside the Company:
Chief Executive Officer, Vice-Chairman and Managing Partner of Lazard Frères Gestion SAS;
Chief Executive Officer of European Investment Banking Business of Lazard Group LLC (United States of America).
Georges Ralli holds a graduate degree (DESS) in banking and finance from the University of Paris-V and is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and of the Institut Commercial in Nancy. In 1970, he joined Crédit Lyonnais, where he held various management positions until 1981. In 1982, he served as secretary of the Savings Development and Protection Commission. From 1982 to 1985, he headed the financial negotiations department of Crédit du Nord. He joined Lazard in 1986, and became managing partner in 1993 and jointly headed the mergers and acquisitions department of Lazard LLC starting in 1999. Since 2000, Georges Ralli has been Deputy Chairman and a member of the Executive Committee of Lazard LLC (United States). Since 2006, he has been the Co-Chairman of the European Investment Banking Committee of the Lazard Group LLC (United States) and a member of the European Advisory Board. He was head of the Maison française from 2006 to 2009. He currently manages the European M&A activities (Chairman of Maison Lazard) and Asset Management activities (President of Lazard Frères Gestion).
Paolo Scaroni, 63 years old
Principal position held within the Company:
Independent member of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement (expiration of term: 2013).
Principal position held outside the Company:
Chief Executive Officer of ENI (Italy).
Paolo Scaroni holds a degree in economics from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York. After having spent a year with McKinsey & Company following his MBA, between 1973 and 1985, he held various positions with Saint Gobain, ultimately heading the "flat glass" division. In 1985, Paolo Scaroni became Chief Executive Officer of Techint, while at the same time holding the positions of deputy Chairman of Falck and Executive Vice-President of SIV, a joint venture between Techint and Pilkington plc. He became Chief Executive Officer of Pilkington plc in 1996, a position he held until May 2002. He was Chief Executive Officer of Enel from 2002 to 2005 and in June 2005 became Chief Executive Officer of Eni, a position he still holds.
Wide-ranging powers of supervision and control
Chaired by Henri Proglio, the Board of Directors is responsible for setting the company's strategy and overseeing its implementation. Furthermore, under the company's articles of association, certain signifi cant decisions are submitted for the committee's approval. For instance, out of the 11 sessions held in 2007, 4 exceptional sessions were dedicated to acquisition projects and the June 2007 capital increase. The average attendance rate was 77.9%.
Directors can meet senior executives, background files are prepared on topics scheduled to come up for discussion, and the Senior Executive Vice President and General Secretary attend Board meetings. In 2007, the Board was kept fully briefed and informed about the company's fi nancial situation and cash position by the reports drafted by the Accounts and Audit Committee. It dedicated a session to a review of the company's main strategic guidelines, which took the form of a presentation and discussion of the long-term plan and included presentations by the heads of the four divisions.
Three specialized committees for better decision-making
The Accounts and Audit Committee
The Accounts and Audit Committee reviews the appropriateness of the accounting methods used and expresses an opinion on the half-yearly and annual consolidated financial statements. It is informed of the means implemented and organization in place for internal audits and control and expresses an opinion on the Statutory Auditors' work plan and fees.
The committee met six times in 2007 with an average attendance rate of 77.8%.
- Murray Stuart (Président)
- Jean-Marc Espalioux
- Paul-Louis Girardot
The Nominations and Compensation Committee
The Nominations and Compensation Committee annually assesses the independence of Board members and makes proposals to the Board concerning the remuneration of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 2007, it proposed the cooptation of Augustin de Romanet de Beaune as a director and carried out a formal assessment of the operation of the Board of Directors.
The committee met three times, with a 100% attendance rate.
- Serge Michel (Président)
- Daniel Bouton
- Louis Schweitzer
The Strategy, Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee
The Strategy, Research, Innovation and Sustainable Development Committee was set up in 2006 and met 10 times in 2007 with a 100% attendance rate.
The committee analyzes and assesses the company's strategy in innovation, technology watch and Research and Development, and identifies areas for improvement. Members: Philippe Kourilsky (Chairman), Jean-Marc Espalioux and Paul-Louis Girardot.
- Philippe Kourilsky (Président)
- Jean-Marc Espalioux
- Paul-Louis Girardot
