La Financière Responsable appoints new chairman

MAPFRE first acquired a stake in La Financière Responsible in 2017, before becoming majority shareholder in February 2023, and the appointment of Thierry Chesneau as president underlines the group’s ambitions for the French sustainable investment market.

Thierry Chesneau holds an Executive MBA from HEC business school and has more than 25 years of experience in the finance sector, principally managing sales and business development functions. He was a founding partner of the Olifan Group (2014-2023) as well as a senior banker, chief quality officer and general secretary for compliance at the Natixis Group.

Commenting on the appointment, Stéphane Prévost, LFR’s chief executive officer, said: “I am incredibly gratefully to Olivier Johanet for his many years as LFR’s executive chairman and for his contribution to our entrepreneurial partnership dating back to 2008. I am delighted that he remains on board as a shareholder in this new stage of our development and I would like to express my appreciation of his renewed confidence in our team and projects. All LFR shareholders join me in welcoming our new executive chairman, Thierry Chesneau, a seasoned professional I have known personally since 2017. We are certain that he will bring to La Financière Responsable the impetus needed to fully execute our strategic activities in the field of socially responsible investment, always serving the needs of our clients and partners.”

While stepping down from his active role as executive chairman of La Financière Responsable, Olivier Johanet remains committed to LFR, both as a shareholder and a member of the governing board, noting: “A new chapter begins for La Financière Responsable, giving MAPFRE, who have been a shareholder since 2017 and majority owner since 2023, the opportunity to become more closely involved in the company’s mission. This was precisely our goal when we first joined forces with MAPFRE a few years ago. As such, we can say that we have achieved what we set out to do. I believe now is the right time to hand over the reins to MAPFRE and the current management team at LFR, which is strengthened by the arrival of a new, highly experienced and consummate professional executive chairman.”

La Financière Responsable’s new executive chairman, Thierry Chesneau, also expressed his appreciation of MAPFRE’s confidence in underpinning its close partnership with LFR: “I share the values and entrepreneurial spirit driving La Financière Responsable’s founders, Stéphane Prévost and Olivier Johanet, and its majority shareholder, MAPFRE. At the end of 2023, when they proposed I come on board to lead the effort to continue developing the Group’s subsidiary, I didn’t have to think twice! Everything is now in place at La Financière Responsable for us to rally together and direct all our expertise and energy to this ambitious development project: a solid foundation, a unique approach to SRI, clear strategic goals set by MAPFRE, a highly professional and motivated team, and last but not least, loyal and satisfied clients”.