Members of the Executive Committee
Benjamin GONZALEZ
Chairman of the Board of Directors
(Executive Committee)
Benjamin Gonzalez founded METabolic EXplorer in 1999 on the basis of his doctoral thesis. A driving force behind the company’s development, he is responsible for its strategy and its implementation, particularly in terms of financing and business development. Under his guidance, the company has now become a European industrial and commercial ETI. Benjamin Gonzalez is an engineer with a doctorate in biotechnology.
Rudolph HIDALGO
Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer
(Executive Committee)
Rudolph Hidalgo has worked with companies in the retail, mass distribution, textile, tourism, training, logistics, digital and renewable energy sectors, helping them to roll out their strategic plans, accelerate their growth and turn their businesses around. As an experienced business leader who has worked in high-stakes environments, he brings to METEX a wealth of experience and success in similar situations. He is currently at the head of Tetraktys Concept Management, a strategic consultancy providing interim management, consultancy and support services focused on accelerating growth and transformation through innovation. Rudolph Hidalgo is a graduate of HEC Paris, NYU Stern Business School and LSE (Trium EMBA).
David DEMEESTERE
Group Vice-President, Industrial Operations
(Executive Committee)
David Demeestere has over 30 years’ experience in managing the industrial operations he is passionate about, holding production management, site management and general management positions in the fine chemicals contract manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry, production of highly active ingredients in confined environments and biotechnology sectors. He has worked for the Synthelabo, Sanofi-synthelabo, Tessenderlo, Astrazeneca, Minakem and Ajinomoto groups, and spent 5 years of his career in Belgium. David Demeestere trained as an industrial chemical engineer.
Laurence CARON
Director of Human Resources
(Executive Committee)
Laurence Caron has 35 years’ experience in industrial groups in the metallurgy, chemicals, dairy products, automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. She held operational positions in marketing, sales, production and quality before specialising in Human Resources. For more than 25 years, she has been structuring the HR function in France and internationally, both in roles with operational responsibilities and in defining and deploying HR strategy in contexts of necessary organisational and cultural transformation. Laurence is an EDHEC graduate and holds a BA honours degree in Business Studies as well as a Masters in Strategy from ICG.
Laurent BASTIAN
Chief Financial Officer, Support and Development
(Executive Committee)
Laurent Bastian has almost 20 years’ experience in operational financial management in sectors such as engineering and construction, renewable energies and utilities, services, etc. He worked for 10 years in management control positions in industrial companies (NAVAL GROUP, ALBIOMA), where he set up management and steering systems. He was also CFO of ESI Group, a listed international software company. Laurent Bastian began his career as a civil engineer at Vinci. He is a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées and the Ecole Normale Supérieure Ulm.
Maria WILTZ
Director of Group Business development Strategy
(Executive Committee)
Maria Wiltz has proven knowledge of the ingredients markets for the life sciences and animal nutrition industries and in strategic business development. For over twenty years, she has supported the development of groups such as RHÔNE POULENC, RHODIA, ADM, AVENTIS, ADISSEO and INNOVI’IA. She also worked with SMEs as a business coach for the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She also worked with SMEs as a business coach for the Paris Île-de-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Maria Wiltz is a graduate of the Sorbonne (DESS in Foreign Trade), Asebuss Washington University (Executive MBA) and ESSEC (Master 2 Digital Leadership).
Edith BRUCKERT
Director of Industrial Transformation
Edith Bruckert has over 30 years’ industrial experience in biomanufacturing at the METEX NoovistaGO site in Amiens. She has worked as a project engineer on a number of investments to develop the site as part of capacity extensions and the introduction of new products, as production manager for the entire site and as technical manager. Edith is a graduate of ENSIGC in Toulouse and holds a master’s degree in bioreactor systems from the University of Manchester.
Manuela FALEMPIN
Business Director, METEX Consumer Care & Biopolymers
Manuela Falempin began her career in the metallurgy industry, working in the aeronautics sector in sales and supply-chain functions. Manuela Falempin joined METEX in 2011 to set up technological, industrial and commercial partnerships with players in the various value chains. As Business Development Manager, she has contributed for several years to the realisation of major agreements and collaborations for METEX. She is responsible for promoting and enhancing METEX’s technologies and products, as well as providing support for innovation and business development as Business Director for METEX Consumer Care & Biopolymers. Manuela holds a Master II in Management and Business Administration from IAE Clermont-Ferrand.
Maud JUGUET
Director of Industrial Property and Regulatory Affairs
Maud Juguet followed a scientific career focused on microbiology and molecular biology before moving into Industrial Property. Maud joined METEX in 2009 to structure the Industrial Property department and the company’s innovation protection strategy. Today, Maud is in charge of the group’s Industrial Property and Regulatory Affairs strategies and their implementation, with the support of her teams. Maud holds a PhD in Molecular Biology, a diploma from CEIPI (Centre d’Études Internationales de la Propriété Intellectuelle) in Trademarks and Patents, and has passed the European Patent Qualifying Examination.
Audrey LACOUR
General Counsel
Audrey LACOUR has a strong interest in the industrial business sector, both in family-owned environments and in listed companies. She has developed business management and project finance programmes at the Université de Droit de Paris Ouest Nanterre and INSEAD Fontainebleau.
A specialist in the EMEA region, Audrey has worked for over 22 years with major players in the agri-food sector as a lawyer, then as an international lawyer based in South-East Asia and in the energy sector as a legal director, managing projects in business and contract law, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, legal compliance, litigation, particularly arbitration, risk mapping and management and intellectual property. Audrey Lacour holds a dual postgraduate diploma (DESS) in private litigation law and a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in public law from the Reims Law School, and was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2018.
Nicolas MARTIN
Senior Vice President, Sustainable Development, Communications and Public Affairs
Nicolas Martin has over 20 years’ experience in the agri-food sector in France and Europe, including more than 10 years in environmental issues. He is responsible for defining and implementing METEX’s CSR policy, as well as the group’s decarbonisation roadmap. Before joining the group in 2018, Nicolas held the position of policy advisor at the European Federation of Compound Feed Manufacturers (FEFAC) in Brussels, where he notably contributed to the harmonisation of environmental footprint calculation methods at European level. Nicolas is a graduate of AgroParisTech (PG98).
Sébastien RIFFLART
R&D and Industrialisation Director.
Sébastien RIFFLART joined the METabolic EXplorer group in 2021. e has more than 18 years of experience in R&D with a career focused on process development for Green Chemistry. He previously worked for TOTAL Energies, where he was involved in the development of bio-fuels and bio-plastics. His career also took him to the United States for 7 years, where he was responsible for building and operating a bio-process laboratory as part of a partnership with the biotechnology company Amyris. Sébastien is a graduate of the Ecole Centrale de Paris and the Ecole Centrale de Lille.
Laurent TOURNOUX
Supply Chain Director
Laurent Tournoux has over 25 years’ experience in Supply Chain and Purchasing, with an End-to-End and Customer Centric vision, approach and skills.
He has worked in various industries: Food, Consumer Goods, Cosmetics, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals at regional and international levels, with positions in France, Switzerland (6 years) and the USA (4 years). For the past 12 years, Laurent has specialised in the creation and/or transformation of “Global Integrated Supply Chain” departments. Laurent is a graduate of Lyon Business School.
Members of the Board of Directors
The METEX Group is governed by a Board of Directors (comprising 6 members, 4 of whom are men and 2 women), assisted by 3 specialist committees and a non-voting director.
Marie-Catherine BOINAY
Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Strategy Committee
Member of the Audit Committee
A graduate of ESCP, a chartered accountant and a certified IFA IEP company director, Marie-Catherine Boinay has 30 years’ professional experience in finance, having spent 7 years in audit at PwC before joining Danone in 1996, where until 2018 she held various roles, from Consolidation Director, International Treasurer to Finance Director France. She has managed large teams and brought them on board for transformation projects. She has an international profile, having lived and worked for 4 years in Japan and sat on the Board of a company in Turkey. Driven by a desire to contribute to the development of innovation with impact, Marie-Catherine has been a business angel since 2019 and sits on the strategic committee of start-ups. She joined METabolic EXplorer’s Board of Directors in 2023 and is also a member of the company’s Strategy Committee and Audit Committee.
Daniel CHÉRON
Member of the Board of Directors
Chairman of the Strategy Committee
Chairman of the Remuneration and Appointments Committee
A graduate in economics from the University of Orléans (France), Daniel Chéron has spent most of his professional career with Limagrain, an international cooperative group specialising in seeds and cereal products, which he joined in 1976. After holding various operational responsibilities , he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Limagrain and Coopérative Agricole Limagrain in 2006. Daniel Chéron was in charge of strategy and its implementation, and was also responsible for monitoring and leading the Group’s various Boards of Directors (including a listed holding company). Daniel Chéron joined METabolic EXplorer’s Board of Directors in 2015, where he brings his expertise in agro-industry and the diversity of agricultural resources.
Jérome DUPAS
Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Strategy Committee
Chairman of the Audit Committee
Jérôme Dupas holds an engineering degree from UTC and an MBA from ESSEC. He has extensive experience in investment banking, both in Paris and London. He was Managing Director of HSBC Investment Bank in Paris, and head of Corporate Finance for Fortis and then BNP Paribas Fortis in France. Jérôme Dupas is currently Managing Director in charge of the Corporate Finance department at Pramex International, a subsidiary of Groupe BPCE.
Benjamin GONZALEZ
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Member of the Strategy Committee
Benjamin Gonzalez founded METabolic EXplorer in 1999 on the basis of his doctoral thesis. A driving force behind the company’s development, he is responsible for its strategy and its implementation, particularly in terms of financing and business development Under his guidance, the company has now become a European industrial and commercial ETI. Benjamin Gonzalez is an engineer with a doctorate in biotechnology.
Magali JOESSEL
Bpifrance representative on the Board of Directors
Member of the Strategy Committee
Magali Joëssel was previously Director of Public Interest Investments at Caisse des Dépôts and then Director of Strategy at Bpifrance. She is now Director of the SPI fund (Société de Projets Industriels). The SPI fund (Société de Projets Industriels) has €800m in funding from the French government, through the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir, and the European Investment Bank (EIB). It was set up with the aim of investing in the industrialisation of innovative projects, very often involving technologies that are unique in Europe, or even worldwide, that are environmentally friendly, create jobs and are located in local areas. Magali Joessel, as representative of the SPI fund, is a member of the Group’s Strategy Committee.
Jean-Philippe RICHARD
Member of the Board of Directors
Member of the Strategy Committee
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Remuneration and Appointments Committee
Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance’s SPI investment fund, Jean-Philippe Richard holds a number of board positions in European industrial SMEs operating in the biomanufacturing and new space sectors. With more than 25 years’ experience in banking and investment, strategy consulting and general management, he has in-depth knowledge of the European bioproduction and biotechnology sectors and brings proven and rare expertise in the industrialisation of innovation, particularly in green chemistry.
Hans VOGELSANG
Censor
After 36 years with the Royal Dutch Shell Group, where he held various positions in the production, sales, marketing, business and technology divisions with responsibilities at national and international level, Hans Vogelsang served on the METabolic Explorer Board of Directors from 2008 to 2017. He has also held a number of operational and board positions in the petrochemical, industrial engineering and industrial services industries. From 2001 to 2002 he was Chief Technology Officer of Basell Polyolefins and from 2003 to 2013 he was a senior independent director of Bodycote International plc (LES: BOY). From 2003 to 2006, he also served as an advisor to British Sugar.
The Audit Committee
reviews the financial statements presented by the Statutory Auditors and ensures that the accounting methods used to prepare the consolidated and parent company financial statements are appropriate and consistent. In 2021, the role of this committee was extended to include monitoring the Group’s non-financial performance. Its remit is now to examine the commitments and orientations of the Group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy, its consistency with the expectations of stakeholders, monitor its implementation and, more generally, ensure that CSR issues are taken into account in the Group’s strategy and its implementation. The Chairman of the Board of Directors or the Statutory Auditors may refer to the Audit Committee any event exposing the Group to a significant risk, and may request that an internal or external audit or study be carried out on any subject that it considers falls within its remit.
The Remuneration and Appointments Committee
akes proposals to the Board of Directors for the appointment of members of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and members of the Board Committees. It also makes proposals to the Board for the remuneration of corporate officers. The Committee is also informed of the remuneration policy for key executives who are not company officers, and may make any observations on this subject. It is also responsible for explaining the decision-making process involved in drawing up a succession plan for corporate officers.
The Strategic Steering Committee
examines the company’s strategic priorities, market trends, the competitive environment and the resulting medium and long-term prospects. It examines all the company’s development projects, in particular major investments and the creation of industrial partnerships. It comprises all the members of the Board of Directors.
A Non-Voting Director is available to the Board of Directors
, its committees and its Chairman to provide advice, analysis and recommendations of all kinds, particularly in technical, commercial, administrative or financial matters. The Non-Voting Director is not a corporate officer and has only a consultative vote at meetings of the Board of Directors and its specialist committees.
There is also a 4ème specialised committee, the Financial Scenario Evaluation Committee, which operates on an ad hoc basis.