Laurent Mignon

Laurent Mignon
Nationality	French
Occupation	Business executive, banker
Title	Group Chief Executive Officer, Wendel
Known for	Chairman of Groupe BPCE, Group CEO of Wendel, Board member of LVMH

Laurent Mignon is a French business executive and banker who has held senior leadership positions across several of France's largest financial and industrial institutions. He served as Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe BPCE, one of France's leading banking groups, before assuming the role of Group Chief Executive Officer of Wendel, a prominent French investment firm. In addition to his executive responsibilities, Mignon served as Chairman of the French Banking Federation (Fédération bancaire française, or FBF) beginning in September 2022, succeeding Nicolas Théry of Crédit Mutuel. In 2023, French luxury conglomerate LVMH proposed his appointment to its Board of Directors, a move that underscored his standing within the upper echelons of French corporate governance. Mignon's career has spanned banking, insurance, asset management, and private equity, placing him at the center of France's financial landscape for more than two decades.

Career

Laurent Mignon's career has been defined by leadership roles at some of France's most significant financial institutions. His progression through the French banking and investment sectors has encompassed retail banking, insurance, asset management, and investment holding companies.

Groupe BPCE

Mignon served as Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe BPCE, one of France's largest banking groups. Groupe BPCE, formed from the merger of the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Épargne networks, is a major cooperative banking institution with significant retail, corporate, and investment banking operations across France and internationally.

In his capacity as Chairman of the Management Board, Mignon represented the group at major public forums and industry events. In June 2021, he participated in the 8th edition of the "Big Bang des Entreprises," a business event organized by the French newspaper Le Figaro. This event, held on June 3, 2021, brought together business leaders and entrepreneurs to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing French companies.

In July 2022, it was announced that Mignon would become President of the French Banking Federation (FBF) effective September 1, 2022, replacing Nicolas Théry, who had served as Chairman of Crédit Mutuel. The FBF serves as the professional organization representing all banks operating in France, and the chairmanship of this body is one of the most prominent positions in French financial governance.

French Banking Federation

On September 1, 2022, Laurent Mignon formally assumed the chairmanship of the French Banking Federation, succeeding Nicolas Théry. The FBF represents banking institutions operating within France and serves as the sector's primary interlocutor with government authorities, regulators, and international banking organizations. The position of FBF Chairman rotates among the heads of France's major banking groups, and Mignon's appointment reflected both his seniority within the French banking sector and the prominence of Groupe BPCE among France's banking networks.

As FBF Chairman, Mignon was tasked with representing the interests of the French banking sector during a period of significant economic and regulatory change in Europe, including the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates, and evolving European banking regulations. The appointment was announced jointly by the FBF and Groupe BPCE in July 2022.

Wendel

Following his tenure at Groupe BPCE, Laurent Mignon became Group Chief Executive Officer of Wendel, one of France's oldest and most established investment firms. Wendel, listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, has a long history as a family-controlled holding company with investments spanning industrial, financial, and technology sectors.

Under Mignon's leadership, Wendel pursued an active strategy of expansion into private equity and alternative asset management. In November 2023, the Financial Times reported that Wendel was seeking further acquisitions in the private equity industry following its acquisition of a controlling stake in UK-based buyout firm IK Partners. The acquisition of IK Partners marked a significant strategic shift for Wendel, signaling the firm's ambition to build a broader alternative asset management platform alongside its traditional investment holding activities.

In October 2025, Wendel was reported to be in negotiations to acquire a controlling stake in Committed Advisors, a private equity secondaries specialist managing approximately €6 billion in assets. This proposed acquisition, if completed, would further consolidate Wendel's position in the European alternative investment management industry. The move into secondaries—a growing segment of private equity focused on the buying and selling of existing fund commitments—represented an expansion of Wendel's strategy into new areas of asset management under Mignon's direction.

Wendel's portfolio also includes a significant stake in Bureau Veritas, the French testing, inspection, and certification company. Bureau Veritas, in which Wendel holds a 35.5% ownership stake, is a CAC 40 constituent and one of the world's largest companies in its sector, operating in 140 countries with approximately 79,000 employees and generating $6.34 billion in revenue in 2024. The management of this stake in Bureau Veritas is a key component of Wendel's investment portfolio.

Board Membership at LVMH

In March 2023, LVMH, the French luxury goods conglomerate and one of the world's most valuable companies, announced that it would propose the appointment of Laurent Mignon as a new member of its Board of Directors. At the time of the announcement, Mignon was identified as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Wendel.

The appointment was covered by several media outlets, including Women's Wear Daily (WWD), which described Mignon as a "seasoned finance executive," and TheIndustry.beauty, which characterized him as a "finance maven." The proposed appointment to the LVMH board placed Mignon alongside one of the most prominent collections of directors in French corporate life, reflecting his reputation in the French business community.

Board Membership at TotalEnergies

Laurent Mignon also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of TotalEnergies, the French multinational integrated energy company. In March 2025, TotalEnergies announced the convening of its Annual Shareholders' Meeting, scheduled for May 23, 2025, at which the Board of Directors—of which Mignon is a member—had met under the chairmanship of Patrick Pouyanné. His presence on the TotalEnergies board further illustrates his cross-sector involvement in French corporate governance, extending beyond banking and investment into the energy sector.

Recognition

Laurent Mignon's appointments to the chairmanship of the French Banking Federation and to the boards of LVMH and TotalEnergies represent significant markers of recognition within the French business establishment. The chairmanship of the FBF, in particular, is reserved for the leaders of France's foremost banking institutions and serves as an acknowledgment of both personal standing and institutional importance.

His appointment to the LVMH Board of Directors in 2023 was noted in the international business press, with WWD and TheIndustry.beauty highlighting his extensive finance background as a factor in the luxury conglomerate's decision. Board positions at companies of the scale and visibility of LVMH and TotalEnergies are among the most prominent in European corporate governance, and Mignon's inclusion on both boards reflects the breadth of his reputation across industries.

The Financial Times coverage of Wendel's strategic expansion under Mignon's leadership also pointed to his role in reshaping the firm's direction, particularly through its acquisitions in the private equity sector.

Legacy

Laurent Mignon's career trajectory illustrates the interconnected nature of France's corporate and financial elite. Through his leadership of Groupe BPCE, one of the country's largest cooperative banking groups, his chairmanship of the French Banking Federation, his role as Group CEO of Wendel, and his board memberships at LVMH and TotalEnergies, Mignon has been a participant in and architect of significant developments in French banking, investment, and corporate governance.

At Wendel, Mignon has overseen a strategic transformation of the firm from a traditional investment holding company toward a more diversified alternative asset management platform. The acquisitions of IK Partners and the proposed acquisition of Committed Advisors represent a clear strategic pivot that has reshaped Wendel's identity in the European investment landscape.

His tenure at the head of the FBF placed him at the center of policy discussions affecting the entire French banking sector during a period of macroeconomic uncertainty and regulatory evolution. The combination of executive leadership, industry representation, and board-level governance across banking, luxury goods, energy, and private equity marks Mignon as one of the more broadly engaged figures in contemporary French business.