
Board of directors
The Board of Directors collectively represents all shareholders. It acts in the social interest of the Bank and ensures its propoer function. Its missions are to approve strategic guidelines, monitor and ensure their implementation in line with Societe Generale's values, and comply with the highest international standards of governance, ethics and risk management. Its members are chosen for their experience, expertise and independence.
The Board of Directors aims to be composed of an equal number of men and women and to reflect diversity.
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Lorenzo Bini Smaghi
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Independent DirectorLorenzo Bini Smaghi- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Independent DirectorYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2014 – 2022
Biography
An Italian national, with a degree in Economic Sciences from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium and a Ph.D in Economic Sciences from the University of Chicago, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi began his career in 1983 as an Economist at the Research Department of the Banca d’Italia. In 1994, he was appointed Head of the Policy Division of the European Monetary Institute. In October 1998, he became Director General of International Financial Relations in Italy’s Economy and Finance Ministry. He was Chairman of SACE from 2001 to 2005. From June 2005 to December 2011, he was member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. From 2012 to 2016, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of SNAM in Italy. From 2016 to April 2019, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Italgas in Italy. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of Societe Generale, a post he has held since 2015.Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Chairman of the Board of Directors: SNAM (Italy) (from 2012 to 2016), ChiantiBanca (Italy) (from 2016 to 15th May 2017), Italgas (Italy) (from 2016 to April 2019).
Director: TAGES Holding in Italy, (from 2014 to December 2019).Follow Lorenzo Bini Smaghi on Linkedin
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Frédéric Oudéa
Chief Executive Officer
Frédéric OudéaChief Executive Officer
Supervisor of the Service Units: General Secretary, Finance, Audit & Inspection and Human Resources & Communication
Other mandates held in French listed companies:
Director : Cap Gemini (since 2018)Frédéric Oudéa is a graduate of the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale d’Administration. From 1987 to 1995, he held a number of posts in the French senior civil service, Audit Department of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Budget Ministry and Cabinet of the Ministry of the Treasury and Communication. He joined Societe Generale in 1995 and went from being Deputy Head to Head of the Corporate Banking arm in London. In 1998, he became Head of Global Supervision and Development of Equities. Appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer of the Societe Generale Group in May 2002. Appointed Chief Financial Officer in January 2003. Appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Group in 2008 and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Societe Generale from May 2009 to May 2015. In May 2015, the Board of Directors separated the offices of Chairman of the Board of Directors and of Chief Executive Officer, and appointed Frédéric Oudéa Chief Executive Officer.
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William Connelly
- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Chairman of the Risk Committee and member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeWilliam Connelly- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Chairman of the Risk Committee and member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2017-2021
Biography
Graduated from Georgetown University in Washington (USA). From 1980 to 1990, he was a banker at Chase Manhattan Bank in the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom. From 1990 to 1999, worked at Barings then ING Barings as Head of Mergers and Acquisitions in Spain and subsequently as Head of Corporate Finance for Western Europe. From 1999 to 2016, performed various functions in the Investment Banking Division at ING Bank N.V. (Netherlands). His latest positions were Global Head of Corporate and Investment Banking and member of the Executive Committee, as well as Chief Executive Officer of ING Real Estate B.V. (an ING Bank subsidiary).Other offices held currently in foreign listed companies:
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Aegon N.V. (Netherlands) (Member since 2017 and Chairman since 2018)
Director: Amadeus IT Group (Spain) (since June 2019) and Vice-President (since May 13 2020)Other offices held currently in foreign non-listed companies:
Director: Self Trade Bank SA (Spain) (since February 2019)Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Member of the Management Board: ING Bank N.V. (Netherlands) (from 2011 to 2016) -
Jérome Contamine
- Independent Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Compensation CommitteeJérome Contamine- Independent Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Compensation CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2018 – 2022
Biography
Jérôme Contamine, of French nationality, is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, ENSAE and the École nationale d’administration. After 4 years as an auditor of the Cour des Comptes, he performed various functions for Total. From 2000 to 2009, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Veolia Environnement and was an independent Director of Valeo from 2006 to 2017. From 2009 to 2018, he was Chief Financial Officer of Sanofi.No other offices are currently held.
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Diane Côté
- Independent Director
- Chief Risk Officer of London Stock Exchange Group
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control CommitteeDiane Côté- Independent Director
- Chief Risk Officer of London Stock Exchange Group
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2018 – 2022
Biography
A Canadian national, and alumnus of the University of Ottawa, where she studied finance and accounting. From 1992 to 2012, Diane Côté was entrusted with important functions in the areas of audit, risk and finance in several insurance companies (Prudential, Standard Life and Aviva) in Canada and Great-Britain. Since 2012, she has been Group Chief Risk Officer of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).Other mandates held in French unlisted companies:
Director : LCH SA (since June 2019).Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Director: Novae Syndicates Limited (United-Kingdom) (from 2015 to 2018), Frank Russell Company (United States) (from 2014 to 2016), Russell Investment Inc. (United States) (from 2015 to 2016). -
Kyra Hazou
- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Risk CommitteeKyra Hazou- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Risk CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2011 - 2023
Biography
A British and US national, graduated with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington (USA). She was Managing Director and Regional General Counsel for Salomon Smith Barney/Citibank from 1985 to 2000, after acting as a lawyer in London and New York. From 2001 to 2007, she was a non-executive Director and a member of the Audit Committee and Risk Committee at the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom. -
France Houssaye
- Director elected by employees
- Animatrice de la Prescription et des Partenariats (APP) sur la DCR de Rouen, France
- Member of the Compensation CommitteeFrance Houssaye- Director elected by employees
- Animatrice de la Prescription et des Partenariats (APP) sur la DCR de Rouen, France
- Member of the Compensation CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2009-2021
Biography :
Societe Generale employee since 1989. -
David Leroux
- Director elected by employees
- In charge of General Meetings conduct for within Securities ServicesDavid Leroux- Director elected by employees
- In charge of General Meetings conduct for within Securities ServicesYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2018 – 2021
Biography
Societe Generale employee since 2001
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Jean-Bernard Lévy
- Independent Director
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee and member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeJean-Bernard Lévy- Independent Director
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF
- Chairman of the Compensation Committee and member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2009 - 2021
Biography:
Graduate of the École polytechnique and Télécom Paris Tech. From 1978 to 1986, engineer at France Télécom. From 1986 to 1988, technical advisor to the Cabinet of Gérard Longuet, Deputy Minister for the Postal Service and Telecommunications. From 1988 to 1993, Head of Telecommunication Satellites at Matra Marconi Space. From 1993 to 1994, Director of the Cabinet of Gérard Longuet, French Minister for Industry, Postal Service, Telecommunications and Foreign Trade. From 1995 to 1998, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Matra Communication. From 1998 to 2002, Chief Executive Officer and then Managing Partner responsible for Corporate Finance of Oddo et Cie. Joined Vivendi in August 2002 as Chief Executive Officer. Chairman of the Management Board of Vivendi from 2005 to 2012. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Thalès from 2012 to 2014. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDF since November 2014.Other mandates held in French listed companies:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: EDF* (since 2014).Other mandates held in French unlisted companies:
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Framatome* (since 2018).
Director: Dalkia* (since 2014), EDF Énergies Renouvelables (since 2015).Other mandates held in foreign listed companies:
Director: Edison S.p.A* (Italy) (since June 2019).Other mandates held in foreign unlisted companies:
Director: EDF Energy Holdings* (United Kingdom) (since 2017).Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Chairman of the Board of Directors: EDF Energy Holdings* (United Kingdom) (from 2015 to 2017),
Director: Edison S.p.A* (Italy) (from 2014 to June 2019).
Director: Vinci (from 2007 to 2015).* EDF Group
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Annette Messemer
- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Risk CommitteeAnnette Messemer- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and of the Risk CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2020-2024
Annette Messemer started her career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan in New York in 1994 before working in Frankfurt and London. During the 12 years of her career at J.P. Morgan, she gained extensive experience in finance, leading strategic M&A and financing transactions as well as risk management transactions. Annette Messemer left J.P. Morgan as Senior Banker in 2006 to join Merrill Lynch as Managing Director and member of the German Executive Committee. In 2010, she accepted the nomination to the Supervisory Board of WestLB by the German Ministry of Finance, to support one of the most significant German bank restructurings during the financial crisis before joining Commerzbank in 2013, where she held the position of Group Executive/Divisional Board Member, Corporate Clients until June 2018.
Annette Messemer is a German national, with a Ph.D in Political Sciences from the University of Bonn (Germany), a Master in International Economics from the Fletcher School at Tufts University (USA) and a degree from SciencesPo Paris.
Other offices held currently
In French listed company:
- Director: EssilorLuxottica S.A. (since October 2018), Savencia S.A. (since April 23 2020), Imerys S.A. (since 4 May 2020)In French unlisted company:
- Director: Essilor International SAS (since October 2018)
- Director: Essilor International SA (from 2016 to 2018)
- Member of Supervisory Board: K+S AG (Germany) (from 2013 to 2018), CommerzReal AG (Germany) (from 2013 to 2016) -
Gérard Mestrallet
- Independent Director
- Chairman of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee and Member of the Compensation CommitteeGérard Mestrallet- Independent Director
- Chairman of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee and Member of the Compensation CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2015 – 2023
Biography
Graduate of the École polytechnique and the École nationale d’administration. Held different positions in the French Administration before joining the Compagnie Financière de Suez in 1984 as Special Advisor to the Chairman, then as Senior Executive Vice-Chairman in charge of industrial affairs. In February 1991, executive Director of Societe Generale de Belgique. In July 1995, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie de Suez, then in June 1997, Chairman of the Management Board of Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and, finally, in 2001, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Suez. From July 2008 to May 2016, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE (previously GDF SUEZ). From 2016 to May 2018, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors following the separation of the functions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.Other offices held in French listed companies:
Director: SUEZ* (until May 2020).Other offices held in French unlisted companies:
Chairman of Agence française de développement d’Al Ula (since July 2018).Other offices held in Foreign listed companies:
Director: Saudi Electricity (Saudi Arabia) (since 2018).Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer: ENGIE* (from 2008 to 2016).
Chairman of the Board of Directors: Electrabel* (Belgium) (from 2010 to 2016), ENGIE Energy Management Trading* (Belgium) (from 2010 to 2016), ENGIE Énergie Services* (from 2005 to 2016), ENGIE* (from 2016 to 2018), SUEZ * (from 2008 to 2019).
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors: Aguas de Barcelona (Spain) (from 2010 to 2015).
Director: International Power* (United Kingdom) (from 2011 to 2016), Saint-Gobain (from 1995 to 2015).
Member of the Supervisory Board: Siemens AG (Germany) (from 2013 to 2018)* ENGIE Group
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Juan Maria Nin Genova
- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Risk Committee and of the Compensation CommitteeJuan Maria Nin Genova- Independent Director
- Company Director
- Member of the Risk Committee and of the Compensation CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2016-2024
Biography
A Spanish national and graduate of the University of Deusto (Spain) and the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (United Kingdom), he is a lawyer and economist who began his career as a Programme Manager in the Spanish Ministry for Relations with the European Community. General Manager of Santander Central Hispano from 1980 to 2002, before becoming an advisor of Banco Sabadell until 2007. In June 2007, Chief Executive Officer of La Caixa. In July 2011, Vice-Chairman and Deputy Advisor of CaixaBank until 2014.Other mandates held in foreign listed companies:
Chairman of the Board of Directors: Promociones Habitat (Spain) (since 2018), Itinere Infraestructuras (Spain) (since may 2019).
Director: Azora Capital, S.L.* (Spain) (since 2014)Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Chairman of the Board of Directors: VidaCaixa Assurances (Spain) (2014), SegurCaixa Holding SA (from 2007 to 2014).
Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Deputy Advisor: Caixabank SA (Spain) (from 2011 to 2014).
Member of the Supervisory Board: ERSTE Group Bank AG (Austria) (from 2009 to 2014), Grupo Financiero Inbursa (Mexico) (from 2008 to 2014), Banco BPI (Portugal) (from 2008 to 2014).
Director: Naturhouse (Spain) (from 2014 to 2016), Grupo Indukern* (Spain) (from 2014 to 2016), Gas Natural (Spain) (from 2008 to 2015), Repsol SA (Spain) (from 2007 to 2015).
Director : Grupo de Empresas Azvi S.L.* (Spain) (from 2015 to 2019), Azora Gestion (Spain) (from 2018 to 2019)* Grupo de Empresas Azvi, S.L
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Lubomira Rochet
- Chief Digital Officer of L’Oréal
- Independent Director
- Member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeLubomira Rochet- Chief Digital Officer of L’Oréal
- Independent Director
- Member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2017-2021
Biography
Graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and Sciences Po in France, and of the College of Europe in Bruges (Belgium). From 2003 to 2007, she was Head of Strategy at Sogeti (Capgemini). From 2008 to 2010, was Head of Innovation and Start-ups in France at Microsoft. Joined Valtech in 2010 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2012. Since 2014, has been Chief Digital Officer and a member of the Executive Committee of L’Oréal.Other mandates held in foreign unlisted companies:
Director: Founders Factory Ltd* (United Kingdom) (since 2016)*L'Oréal Group
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Alexandra Schaapveld
- Independant Director
- Company Director
- Chairwoman of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and Member of the Risk CommitteeAlexandra Schaapveld- Independant Director
- Company Director
- Chairwoman of the Audit and Internal Control Committee and Member of the Risk CommitteeYear of first appointment and year in which current mandate will expire: 2013-2021
Biography:
A Dutch national, she is a graduate in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) and holds a Master’s degree in Development Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands). She began her career in the ABN AMRO Group in the Netherlands, where she held various positions in the Investment Banking division from 1984 to 2007, including being in charge of the bank’s major corporate clients. In 2008, she was appointed Head of Investment Banking for Western Europe at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.Other mandates held in French listed companies:
Member of the Supervisory Board: Vallourec SA (since 2010)Other mandates held in foreign listed companies:
Member of the Supervisory Board: Bumi Armada Berhad (Malaysia) (since 2011)Other mandates held in foreign listed companies:
Member of the Supervisory Board: FMO (Netherlands) (since 2012)Other offices and positions held in other companies in the past five years:
Member of the Supervisory Board: Holland Casino* (Netherlands) (from 2007 to 2016)*Foundation
A committed Board of Directors

Specialised committees to assist the Board of Directors in its supervisory duty
Their mission is to support the Board of Directors on specific issues. Each committee comprises at least four Directors and aims to achieve gender parity.
Audit and Internal Control Committee
Verifies the quality of the Group’s accounting and financial information.
Risk Committee
Anticipates new risks and ensures the quality of the risk-management system.
Compensation Committee
Ensures fair compensation, taking into account regulatory standards, objectives, risks and the standards of the Group’s Code of Conduct.
Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee
Selects the best talent for the company’s supervision and management.
Societe Generale applies the recommendations of the AFEP-MEDEF corporate governance code for listed companies
The AFEP-MEDEF Code is the code of reference for publicaly listed companies in terms of corporate governance. It defines the principles for the proper functioning of a company by introducing rules on executive compensation, control and transparency. First published in September 2002, the Code is regularly revised.
Documents to download
- Date Categories Title Documents
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12.03.2020
2. Universal Registration Document, Registration Document and updates - Annual Financial Report
Universal Registration Document
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20.05.2020
Governance
Bylaws
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06.05.2020
Board of Directors
Internal rules
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06.10.2020
Board of Directors
Evaluation procedure for ordinary agreements
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20.05.2020
Board of Directors
List of members of the Board of Directors
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15.01.2021
Governance
Group Management Committee member list
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15.01.2021
Governance
Business & Service Units list