Ernest-Antoine Seillière de Laborde (born 20 December 1937 in
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...
) is a French entrepreneur and the heir to the
Wendel empire (representing €730 million).
He is a member of
Le Siècle think tank, an officer of the ''
Légion d'honneur'', and an officer of the ''
Ordre National du Mérite''. Contrary to popular belief, he is not a member of the French nobility and is therefore not a French baron (although his title is said to be authentic but papal).
His great-grandfather, Aimé Seillière (1835–1870) was married to Marie de Laborde (1844–1867) in 1865. His paternal grandfather is the French academician
Ernest Seillière.
Career
He graduated from the
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, studying in
law and a former pupil of the
École nationale d'administration. Vice President of the CNPF and member of its executive council from 1988 to 1997, President of the economic commission of the CNPF from 1988 to 1994, he became president of
Medef (formerly
CNPF) from December 1997 to 5 June 2005. He was CEO of
Wendel, a holding company for the CGIP, chairman of the Supervisory Board from 2002 to March 2013, Honorary chairman since then. Seillière is close to the
Traditionalist Catholics, in particular of the ''
abbé Laguérie
''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for ...
''.
He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the
Bilderberg Group and participated in all their conferences between 1979 and 1987 as well as 1992 and 2002.
In 1990 and 2000 he was one of the top big linkers in the French corporate network
At Medef
He succeeded
Jean Gandois
Jean Gandois, AM (7 May 1930 – 7 August 2020) was a French businessman.
Early life
He was born in Nieul, Haute-Vienne. He was a student at the École polytechnique, where he graduated in 1949 as an engineer of bridges and road construction.
...
as leader of the CNPF in December 1997, after the dismissal of the appeal for cut in
35 hours by the
Socialist government
A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is ofte ...
. The union then took a more conservative direction, which was led by
Denis Kessler, and changed its name. He retired after seven years as leader.
Laurence Parisot succeeded him on 5 July 2005. Since winter 2005, Ernest-Antoine Seillière has been President of
UNICE (renamed "BusinessEurope" in Janvier 2007), the federation of European business, based in Brussels.
Publications
In March 2012, he published a book entitled "On n'est pas là pour se faire engueuler..." ("We are not here to be yelled at"), in which he analyzes the
financial crisis, based on his experience as head of Medef and BusinessEurope.
He also exposes his vision of France and Europe's future and shares some personal memories.
References
External links
French Lessons''Campden Family Business''
14 June 2012
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seilliere, Ernest-Antoine
1937 births
Living people
Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group
People from Neuilly-sur-Seine
French people of Lorrainian descent
French businesspeople
Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni
Sciences Po alumni
École nationale d'administration alumni
European Union lobbyists
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite