Meet LACROIX
management team

Chief Executive Officer 

Graduate of the Lyon Ecole de Management [Business School] (EM), he began his career in the Telecoms and & Multimedia sector. Joining Vivendi Universal Net in 2001, he successively occupied the positions of Product Manager and Key Accounts Manager until 2003.
In 2004, he joined the activity Electronics of LACROIX as Strategic Marketing Manager and Chief Executive Officer in 2006. In September 2013, he became LACROIX Chief Executive Officer. In October 2015, he became the Chairman of the Board. Since July 26, 2018, he has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
From 2017 to 2024, Vincent was named president of the WE Network, a cluster that aims at bringing together the actors in the Western electronics network. In May 2018, he took over the Vice Presidency of the French Strategic Industry Committee dedicated to the electronics industry.

Corporate Director

Joined the Supervisory Board in 2010, which in July 2018 became the Board of Directors.

Founder and President & Chief Executive Officer of Niji, providing guidance and Technology for the digital transformation of businesses.

After schooling in Strasbourg, he joined Sup Telecom Paris. In 1988, the young engineer joined the public service. He was Officer for Posts and Telecommunications – today Orange – first in Egypt and then in Paris. In the private sector, he honed his experience at Sema Group. However, soon he would have but one ambition: to be his own boss. In September 2001, he co-founded Niji – the Japanese word for rainbow – simultaneously in Rennes, where he still has his registered office, and in Paris in order, he says, to “stay in touch with the big groups”: “To exist and develop over the long term in our professions, I think it essential to have a Parisian base”.
Since then the business, positioned on the professions of digital strategy guidance, digital design and technological transformation, has forged its path. With a 600-strong workforce in Rennes, Paris, Nantes, Lille, Lyon and, more recently, Bordeaux, Niji continues to recruit and it will doubtless establish more centres of operation; keep an eye on Strasbourg, birthplace of its founder. In 2011 and 2013 arrived two small sister companies: Kurmi-Software, a software company already in existence in the United States, and Ikumbi-Solutions, the preferred partner of the giant Sales Force. This added nearly 100 valuable employees to the “group”.
Hugues Meili divides his week between Paris and Rennes in the west of France, where he lives and where he is also Chairman of the Board of Bretagne Developpement Innovation and involved in numerous businesses and initiatives, economic and innovative.

photo credits: Oioo.fr 

Corporate Director

Joined the Supervisory Board in 2013, which in July 2018 became the Board of Directors.

President & Chief Executive Officer of the Armor group, global specialist in ink chemistry and printing technologies.

After receiving his diploma from HEC in 1986, Hubert de Boisredon chose to put his qualification at the service of a developing country. He went to Chile in partnership with Banco de Desarrollo (es), where he
set up and managed the first Chilean venture capital company. Then, with a friend, he established the Contigo micro-credits bank, a micro-credit organisation inspired by Muhammad Yunus that he ran until 1993.
The challenge was great: give access to credit to over 400,000 small businesses excluded from traditional bank credits, at the time employing half the working population of Chile.
He then pursued an international career, spending 11 years with Rhône-Poulenc Chimie (which became Rhodia in 1998) as
Sales-Marketing Director, managing the profit centre of the business unit “Photo& Polymerisation Inhibitors”, then as deputy managing director
of Rhodia Japan and, finally, vice-president and Asia-Pacific managing director in Hong Kong. He acquired several Chinese businesses, and so was confronted for the first time with the challenges of sustainable development (employment rights,
factory pollution, lack of hygiene etc.). Hubert de Boisredon then became managing director of
pharmaceutical ingredients for Rhodia. Wishing to implement confidence-based management and to manage a long-term business project, he chose to direct a TWA. He
joined the Armor group in 2004 as managing director at the request of Antoine Rufenacht and his family, then major shareholders in the company.
Armor is a French industrial group specialising in the printing consumables, oriented towards societal innovation.
The company has 1,850 employees, of which 691 are in France, and a turnover of 257 million Euros in 2017, a 6% rise.
The company is based in Nantes and the group has 24 sites across the world. Hubert de Boisredon became, in 2008, shareholder and President & Chief Executive Officer of Armor within the context of an LBO managed with the Lyonnaise holding company Orfite.
In April 2014, Hubert de Boisredon and the Armor management team bought the majority industrial equity capital in Lyonnaise Orfite
. They chose long-term development founded on values of humanism, innovation and industrial growth. The revival is built on a unique form of industrial capital management and innovation (CMII). It is supported by
new investors including Arkéa capital, partner who invested 30 million Euros in the CMII

Distinctions
Entrepreneur of the Year in the Western region in 2013
Knight of the Order of Merit
Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2017

Corporate Director

Joined the Supervisory Board in 2006, which in July 2018 became the Board of Directors.

Manager of PRO.POSITIONS, Director of NOVAPLUS

More than a career plan, a vocation has guided the steps of Pierre Tiers through the world of finance. By taking, on 1 December at the age of 53, executive management of the IPO, a major western region investment capital company with some 125 portfolio holdings valued at 127 million Euros, he was merely extending his original project.
A man from Lille moulded by ESLSCA (School of Applied Commercial Sciences) Paris, he wanted to participate in SME financing. Yves Lenormand, founder of the regional development company Sodero, brought him to Nantes in 1977: “He became my spiritual father in the profession”, relates Pierre Tiers who, in 1983, became financial director and then managing director. This at a time when the business, shared between credit, leasing and capital investment in regional enterprises, was in full flow. However, Sodero, like many such companies, experienced a crisis after 1992. It was Pierre Tiers who undertook its restructuring. Four years later, things were better. So he suggested that Ecureil buy the company. Entering the management of Caisse d’Epargne in the Pays de la Loire in 1999, he managed the business markets, also attaching himself to the social housing and third sector, notably medical-social.
“The main thread throughout my career, has been my interest in the financing that structures businesses,” he observes. “It is exciting to discuss strategy with directors, their investments, their difficulties.” By joining IPO, he re-centred himself on investment capital to the detriment of credit, but remained anchored in regional development. Established 25 years ago, IPO is listed and the subject of an amicable tender offer by the CIC in 2004. Its geographical extent, which linked Normandy to Aquitaine, was further extended. “Like Sodero, IPO has an approach that takes account of regional development, notes Pierre Tiers. These two companies attached to maintain the power of business management in the region.” His interest in regional development led Pierre Tiers to lead, as president of the Nantes-Atlantique Place Financière [Nantes-Atlantic Financial Forum], which unites Nantes financial establishments, the Start-West forum. Every year, this brings together innovative project developers and investors. A success for which he is congratulated by Philippe de Portzamparc, President of the investment company by the same name: “Pierre Tiers knew how to work his way around this initiative. He is a man of conviction with practical sense, natural discretion and also very good knowledge of the business world.

Corporate Director

Joined the Supervisory Board in 2018, which in July 2018 became the Board of Directors.

Group CSR and Quality Director at EMEIS

For 6 years she was President & Chief Executive Officer of Docapost (subsidiary of the La Poste group, 450M€ turnover, 4,500 employees) specialising in the digital transition of businesses and institutions for their back office client, HR processes and all their sensitive transactions; Docapost is particularly represented in the world of banking, insurance and utilities. Muriel Barnéoud led the transformation of the Docapost product mix from a profession of desktop publisher to that of a digital platform operator, from an industrial profession of digitalisation to that of an actor in digital confidence.
She also launched the La Poste group IoT programme (digital hub and French IoT) presented in Las Vegas.
After initial experience at Arthur Anderson, she joined the La Poste group in 1994.
In particular, she occupied the position of deputy Chief Executive Officer of Courrier, as industry director, where she piloted Courrier’s large restructuring projects and production process re-engineering.
As Industry Director, she ensured the non-executive presidency of two logistical holdings of the La Poste group and piloted the purchase grouping for electric vehicles (“Bailly” plan).
With Docapost, she has presided over a dozen Boards of Directors.
She has also served on the supervisory board of the Xange Private Equity, a La Poste group capital investment company and on the Supervisory Board of La Banque Postale IARD.
In the name of Docapost, she has served on the board of directors of the professional association Syntec Numérique, where she presided over the publishers.
She is a member of the CCIR Ile de France and chair of the management board of the CNAM Abbé Grégoire foundation.
As an independent director, she is member of the supervisory board of Inside Secure, Euronext, one of the leaders in on-board solutions and mobile transaction security and in IoT, and of Akka Technologies, Euronext, one of the European leaders in engineering and technology consulting.
Muriel is very active in the Finance Innovation hub, where she has co-piloted several working groups and contributed to the white papers “bien vieillir à l’heure du digital [watch for the digital hour]”, “Big data et assurances [Big data and insurance] and “Banque &
Fintech: enjeux d’innovation dans la Banque de Détail [Fintech Bank: innovation challenges in the Retail Bank]”. Muriel Barnéoud is a graduate of the IEP [Institute for Political Studies] Paris and the ENSPTT [post and telecommunications school] and holds a DESS degree in financial management and taxation.

Distinctions
Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.

Corporate Director 

Joined the Supervisory Board in 2018, which in July 2018 became the Board of Directors.

Outsourced Director of Human Resources at Bras Droit des Dirigeants, France’s 1st network of outsourced executives on a timeshare basis.

After initial experience as an HR consultant, then HR Research Manager in the auto-mobile sector, she pursued her career in the cosmetics sector at Bourjois then Chanel Parfums Beauté as Human Resources Manager.
She joined the Stelia Group in 2010 as Human Resources Director and then HR Group Operations. In 2014, she joined the Airbus aeronautic production facility at Saint-Nazaire as DHR. Since December 2016, Ariane Malbat has been Human Resources Director of Seris Security, 1^st French Group in the market in security of people and property. She becomes Outsourced Human Resources Director at Bras Droit Des Dirigeants in 2023.

With a masters in “organisation and human resources”, Ariane MALBAT has solid experience in human resources, from a variety of sector.

Corporate Director 

Joined the Board of Directors in 2024.

A sustainability strategy consultant, Christine supports companies wishing to measure their performance while taking full account of environmental and social issues.

A graduate of ESSEC Business School, she brings with her over three decades of experience in corporate finance. With a career spanning more than 20 years as CFO, she has worked for a variety of sectors, from listed companies to fast-growing startups, LBO groups and family businesses.

Christine Lioret began her career in 1992 in financial auditing at KPMG. She subsequently broadened her field of action, holding key positions in a variety of sectors, including corporate services (in foodservices with companies such as Compass Group, Score Groupe and Sodexo, and in BtoB SaaS software with Easilys and Smartway), industry (with Sperian Protection, specializing in personal protective equipment) and BtoC intermediation (with Smartbox and Sushi Shop).

Over the years, Christine has developed in-depth expertise in financial structuring and corporate management at all levels. Her 360-degree strategic vision and resolute business orientation have enabled her to navigate successfully in complex, international environments.

In addition to her operational experience, Christine has also had the opportunity to put her skills to good use as a director. Since 2017, she has sat on the Board of Directors of LNA Santé, where she also chairs the Audit Committee , demonstrating her ability to make a significant contribution to corporate governance. In addition, as non-executive Chairman of IM Partenaires, a collective of investors in Imagination Machine, she plays an active role in strategic investment decisions. Christine was also involved with the startup community as a member of the Board of Directors of La Cantine numérique Nantes, where she was able to lend her support to the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice-President Finance

Graduate of EDHEC Lille, with a major in Audit and Management Control, he began his professional career with Salustro Reydel, where he specialized in audit companies working in the field of road construction.
In 2005, he joined LACROIX and created the Audit and Internal Control department, allowing him to broaden his knowledge of each of the Group’s divisions. During this period, he also carried out support missions in Management Control or Group Treasury Management.
In 2010 he took over the Group’s Financial management. Since 26 July 2018, he has been Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice-President Finance.

Executive Managing Director,
Activity Environment 

Ronald Vrancken holds a Master of Electro-mechanical Engineering from the KUL in Belgium, and is a graduate of the IEFSI in Lille, where he obtained a European MBA. He was previously Country-CEO of Siemens Luxembourg. Over the course of his career, he has held a number of key positions within the Siemens Group worldwide, in the automotive, process industry and water sectors, giving him a comprehensive, international and multicultural managerial profile.

He joins LACROIX on September 1, 2019 as Executive General Manager of the activity Environment. He will also take over as General Manager of the activity City on January 1, 2024.

Executive Managing Director
Activity Electronics 

As a graduate of Centrale Paris and holder of an MBA from INSEAD, Louis POURDIEU has more than 25 years of experience in operational departments of major groups in the automotive sector — for companies such as Faurecia and Valeo — where he held the position of CEO of the JV between Valeo and Siemens in the field of high voltage transmission components.

He joined LACROIX in September 2022 as Executive Managing Director of the activity Electronics.

Executive VP, Research & Development

Graduate of ESEO Angers, Ronan began his career in 2010 as an embedded systems engineer at Delta Dore.
For 10 years, he successively held the positions of Embedded Software Developer, Project Manager, Architect and then R&D Director, contributing to the development of the Group’s IoT platform.
He joined LACROIX in 2020 as Lead Architect, where he was in charge of solution architecture for the activity City and development of the Group’s IoT platform.
In 2023, he became R&D Director of the Street Lightening Business Unit of LACROIX’s City activity, then R&D Director of the activity City.
He took up the position of Executive VP R&D in November 2023.

Executive VP, Legal & Compliance

Valérie has a degree in International Business Law and began her career as a consultant for the OECD. She then joined Candle Corporation as Legal Manager for France & Benelux, then Hewlett Packard and Microsoft as International Senior Attorney. In 2009, she became Contract Legal Director and then Vice President of International Affairs and Sustainable Development for Dassault Systèmes Group.
Valérie Valais is also the Administratror for Cercle Montesquieu[1] and serves as a French Foreign Trade Advisor.

She joined LACROIX in May 2021.

[1] Cercle Montesquieu brings together men and women, Legal Directors and General Secretaries from private or public companies, associations and recognized institutions.

Executive VP, Human Resources

Graduate of management sciences at the University of Nantes and in finance and European tax at IAE Poitiers, Thomas has been with LACROIX since the beginning of his career.
After a final year internship at LACROIX Signalisation (which then became LACROIX Road Signs Business Unit) in 1992, he joined the subsidiary DUARIB as management controller. Between 1994 and 2000, he occupied various positions within LACROIX City Trafic Business Unit, the activities Environment and Electronics, the latter of which he became Vice-President in charge of management control and human resources in 2004. He was involved in the opening of the Tunisian premises and in the acquisition of LACROIX Electronics Solutions engineering department as well as LACROIX Electronics Gmbh subsidiary in Germany.
He joined the Group in April 2017 as Director of Human Resources and became Executive VP, Human Resources in July 2018.

Executive VP, Communication & Influence

With a postgraduate degree in Mathematics from Paris Dauphine University, Sophie has over 27 years’ experience within the Renault Group.
After starting her career in internal audit and project purchasing, Sophie joined the Group’s Engineering Division as Head of Mechanical Product Communication in 2005.
At the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Sophie was successively appointed Market & Customer Intelligence Europe and then Director of Communications for Renault Group Engineering.
In 2021, Sophie has been appointed by the CEO of Renault Group to build cross-functional communication on the impact of Software on the company. She then took charge of the customer experience for recharging services, within the Ampère entity dedicated to electric vehicles.
She joined LACROIX in March 2024 as EVP Communication.

Executive VP, Information & Systems

Graduate of the Compiègne University of Technology, including a year in Berlin, Loïc began his career in software publishing for the mass market.
From 1997 to 2012 he held management positions in IT teams for Bonduelle and Yves Rocher in Europe. He also managed missions and projects at an international level in Europe, Asia and America, particularly in the digital marketing field.
In 2012 he joined the activity Electronics of LACROIX team at Saint-Pierre-Montlimart where he helped to align the Information System with business growth objectives and supporting digital initiatives.

He joined the Group in February 2015, retaining his position of IT Services Director and becoming Executive VP, Information Systems, in July 2018.