1er April, the day Christel Heydemann took office at Orange, Catherine MacGregor, boss of Engie since 1er January 2021, will no longer be the only general manager of the CAC 40. There is no doubt that the latter will not regret an icon status which had not brought luck to her predecessor, Isabelle Kocher. And like never two without three, the 1er July 2022, Antoine Frérot, the CEO of Veolia, will step aside to take the presidency, leaving the controls of the world leader in environmental services to Estelle Brachlianoff, 49, his number two since 2018.
Eleven years after the entry into force of the Copé-Zimmermann law, imposing a quota of 40% of women on boards of directors, the feminization of executive committees and other management committees of large companies is therefore progressing, but in small steps. To accelerate this opening, the Rixain law of December 24, 2021 now imposes a quota of 30% in 2027, then 40% in 2030 of women “among senior executives and members of governing bodies”. “This law gives for the first time a legal existence to the management teams. For this reason, it will have consequences on feminization, but not only “, warns Sébastien Thevoux-Chabuel, director of responsible investment at Comgest.
If women struggle to reach the top of the pyramid, it is not for lack of opportunities. Since 2020, seventeen CAC 40 companies have experienced a change at their head
At the same time, women presidents remain rare in the CAC 40. The 1er July 2020, Angeles Garcia-Poveda took over the presidency of Legrand and, since June 2021, Barbara Dalibard has held that of Michelin. At this stage, no leader of the elite of the rating has won the Holy Grail of CEO – thus combining the prerogatives of president and general manager – dear to the French establishment, even if this model is no longer dominant. Within the SBF 120, two “pédégères” have made a name for themselves: Stéphane Pallez (FDJ) and Christel Bories (Eramet). Technically, Sophie Bellon, the president of Sodexo, is not far away: since the departure of the general manager, Denis Machuel, in September 2021, she occupies the two chairs, pending the appointment of a replacement (or a replacement ).
If women struggle to reach the top of the pyramid, it is not for lack of opportunities. Since 2020, seventeen CAC 40 companies have experienced a change at their head, or are about to experience one in 2022, like Orange or Veolia. L’Oréal, Capgemini, Michelin, Bouygues: all these groups welcomed, who a brand new president, who a general manager, who both. In doing so, a majority of them separated the two mandates, as required by the canon of British-style governance. The State shareholder has made it a matter of principle of varying intensity: it wanted the establishment of a two-headed structure at Renault or Safran, but not at EDF or at Thales, where the CEO, Patrice Caine, should see his mandate renewed in 2022.
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