Philippe Tillous-Borde, key player in French agribusiness, has died

Philippe Tillous-Borde, one of the major players in French agro-industry, died on Saturday December 17. He was 76 years old. It is at the origin of the emergence of a powerful industrial sector stemming from the cultivation of rapeseed and sunflower, relying in particular on the outlet for biofuels. A non-food use of agricultural products which has not failed to arouse controversy.

An agronomist by training, he began his career in the Oleafin group. In the early 1980s, he contributed with Jean-Claude Sabin to the birth of the Sofiprotéol group. He was CEO from 1983 to 2012.

Sofiprotéol, little known to the general public despite the acquisition of emblematic oil brands such as Lesieur and Puget, has established itself in agrofuels, with diester, animal feed with its subsidiary Sanders, oleochemicals, but also has a strong financial arm to invest in the agri-food industry.

Read also: Philippe Tillous-Borde, CEO of Sofiprotéol: “Plant chemistry is a necessity for the development of agricultural production”

From 2000, the presidency of Sofiprotéol was ensured by Xavier Beulin, appointed ten years later to the presidency of the agricultural union FNSEA, until his death in 2017. The proximity between Sofiprotéol and the FNSEA had been debated. But the links remain strong, since Arnaud Rousseau, successor to Mr. Beulin as president of the agro-industrial group is now a candidate for the succession of Christiane Lambert at the head of the FNSEA in 2023.

Public utility

In 2012, Mr. Tillous-Borde ceded his position as Chief Executive Officer to Jean-Philippe Puig and became Chairman of the Avril Foundation, the new name of the Sofiprotéol group since 2015. This foundation, recognized as being of public utility, became the main shareholder of the Avril group transformed into a partnership limited by shares. The name Sofiprotéol has remained attached to the financial investment subsidiary.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Sofiprotéol restructures the biodiesel activity of its subsidiary Diester Industrie

Mr. Tillous-Borde therefore closely followed the destinies of the Avril group until 2021. The company then weighed 5.8 billion euros, with a presence in Europe but also in the Maghreb. A networker, he has played his influence throughout his career with political authorities in Paris and Brussels.

A rugby lover, he also remained attached to his region of origin, the Basque Country. He had chosen to tell his professional destiny without evading his problems of visual impairment in a book entitled A visionary businessman, 40 years at the service of an agricultural ambition for Francepublished by Eyrolles in 2015.

source site-30