In accordance with the wishes which he first expressed at the General Shareholders' Meeting on 11 May of this year, Michel Pébereau subsequently asked the Board of Directors to accept his resignation as Chairman as of 1st December 2011 and to appoint Baudouin Prot to take over as Chairman on that same day. In agreement with Mr Prot, he also proposed that Jean-Laurent Bonnafé should at the same time be appointed Chief Executive Officer.
In agreement with Baudouin Prot, Mr Bonnafé proposed that the Board of Directors should confirm Georges Chodron de Courcel in his post as Chief Operating Officer and appoint two new co-Chief Operating Officers, namely Philippe Bordenave and François Villeroy de Galhau.
At a meeting on 1st December 2011, the Board of Directors accepted these proposals and also voted to confer on Michel Pébereau the title of Honorary President.
The Board paid tribute to Michel Pébereau's strategic vision and the exceptional service that he has rendered to the Group. Over the past 18 years, he oversaw the privatisation and thorough modernisation of BNP and then, following an exemplary merger process with Paribas, the birth of the BNP Paribas Group. The Bank has thus progressed from being a traditional French bank to become a truly European bank with global reach and also one of the strongest and best-rated banks in the world.
The Board also commended the achievements of Baudouin Prot who, as CEO since 2003, has succeeded in bringing the Group a truly European dimension and has deftly steered the Group through an unprecedented financial crisis.
The Board reiterated its full confidence in the ability of the new top management team to ensure a successful future for the Group in the interests of its clients, its shareholders, its employees and the economies of the countries in which BNP Paribas does business.
Download the Press kit (880 ko)
BNP Paribas (About BNP Paribas(this.href); return false;">www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the best rated banks in the world*. The Group has a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including more than 160,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
*Rated AA- by Standard & Poor's