Philippe PALAZZI
Holding an Executive MBA from HEC Paris and the London School of Economics, Philippe began his career as a section manager at the wholesale retailer, Metro, before working in various operations positions in sales and purchasing until 2001. He then embarked on an international career spanning more than 15 years, which took him to Greece, Hungary and Italy, where he became Chief Executive Officer of Metro Italia. In 2015, he joined the Metro group’s global headquarters in Düsseldorf, holding a number of group-level strategic posts before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2018. In parallel, he served as Chairman of Metro France from January 2016 to April 2020, as well as Chairman of Pro à Pro. In June 2020, Philippe became Chief Executive Officer of the Lactalis group, where he launched an overhaul of its organisational structure for Europe. He designed and deployed the Lactalis group’s sustainability roadmap and strengthened its relations with the agricultural sector. Philippe was named Chief Executive Officer of Casino Group in March 2024.
Esther BITTON
Esther graduated from ESSEC business school and is a qualified lawyer. She worked for ten years as a lawyer in an international law firm before joining Casino Group’s Merchandise Legal and HR Department. She then led ExtenC, the Group’s subsidiary in charge of the banners’ international expansion, for almost a year, before being appointed M&A Director and a member of the Group Executive Committee in 2023. Throughout her career in retail, Esther has built up a range of management, negotiation and international development skills, as well as legal and financial expertise.
Estelle CHERRUAU
Estelle holds a Master’s degree in private law from the University of Paris II, a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in employment law from the University of Paris I and is a qualified lawyer. She worked as an employment lawyer for ten years at EY Avocats. In 2011, she joined Casino Group as Employee Relations Director and was subsequently named Human Resources Director and a member of the Group Executive Committee in March 2024. Throughout her career, Estelle has worked with operations departments on business transformation projects, building up the skills and engagement of employees and encouraging dialogue with employee representatives.
Angélique CRISTOFARI
A graduate of ESSEC and Paris Dauphine University, Angélique began her career with Deloitte in France before joining the French subsidiary of Hammerson. In 2016, she joined the Louis Delhaize group as Secretary General in charge of finance, before being appointed the group’s Chief Financial Officer in 2020. She successfully managed the corporate refinancing and revitalisation plan for the Cora hypermarkets chain, while significantly reducing the group’s debt, despite the challenges resulting from the Covid crisis and inflation. In parallel, Angélique played a key role in setting the strategic direction for the activities of Louis Delhaize’s banners, addressing their challenges and opportunities related to growth, competition, procurement and investment in a constantly changing retail market. In March 2024, she was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Casino Group and joined the Group’s Executive Committee.
Magali DAUBINET-SALEN
A graduate of Clermont Business School, Magali began her career in finance with industrial and agri-food groups. In 2007, she joined Casino Group’s supply chain division in Saint-Etienne. She then held various positions in the Group’s finance departments, managing cross-business projects in the sales networks of Distribution Casino France. In 2020, she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Distribution Casino France, then Chief Executive Officer in 2023. Since 2020, Magali has also been head of the Easydis logistics subsidiary. With over 16 years’ experience in the retail sector, Magali has a perfect understanding of the Casino banners and their imperatives, and is helping DCF with its business transformation.
Hervé DAUDIN
A graduate of École Normale Supérieure and the Ponts et Chaussées engineering school, Hervé began his career in 1995 at the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, before joining Casino Group in 2002. After working in strategy and planning, he held various operations-based roles (IT, logistics, supply chain, Cdiscount) before being appointed as a member of the Group Executive Committee, in charge of Purchasing, in 2009. Since then, he has taken on additional responsibilities, including digital (RelevanC), export (ExtenC) and strategic partnerships. He has also represented the Group on the boards of directors of Big C (Thailand), Éxito (Colombia) and GPA (Brazil). With over 20 years’ experience in the retail sector, Hervé is specialised in support functions (purchasing, IT, logistics, supply) and negotiations (partnerships, central purchasing hubs, divestments).
Vincent DOUMERC
Vincent holds a Master’s degree in economics, a postgraduate diploma (DESS) in marketing from IAE and a Finance Certificate from HEC business school. He began his career at Elior as head of fast-food operations in the travel retail business line. In 2002, he joined the Total group, where his responsibilities included managing its operations on the French motorway network and working on the creation and roll-out of the international store network. In 2012, he was appointed Director of Franchising Europe and France at KFC, before joining Casino Group in 2015 to head up the Group’s international franchising business. In October 2022, he became Chief Executive Officer of Franprix. With 30 years’ experience, Vincent has solid expertise in fast food and ultra-local food retailing, as well as in marketing and repositioning banners, developing store and catering networks internationally and in France, and negotiating partnerships.
Alfred HAWAWINI
A graduate of ESCP, Alfred began his career in 2005 as a consultant with Capgemini Consulting, before joining the Carrefour group in 2008, where he successively held positions in strategy, hypermarkets and non-food urchasing. After completing an MBA at INSEAD, Alfred joined the Metro group in 2014 as Strategy and M&A Director, following which he moved on to become Food Purchasing Director and a member of the Executive Committee of Pro à Pro. In 2019, he became Sales Manager for France and Southern Europe at Google. In March 2024, he was appointed Transformation and Strategy Director within Casino Group. Alfred has over 20 years’ experience in B2C and B2B commerce and distribution in positions ranging from operations (food sector manager in a hypermarket) and food and non-food purchasing, through to strategy and mergers and acquisitions.
Thomas METIVIER
Having graduated from École Polytechnique and Corps des Mines engineering school, Thomas Métivier joined the Aquitaine region’s Department of Business, Competition, Consumer Affairs, Labour and Employment (DIRECCTE) in 2012, where he served as Deputy Regional Director between 2014 and 2016, as well as helping struggling business within the region in his official capacity as Commissaire au redressement productif. In 2016, he joined Cdiscount, responsible for strategy, and then in 2018 was entrusted with heading up the Marketplace, International, Strategy and Innovation. He became Chief Executive Officer of Octopia in 2021 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Cdiscount and Cnova in January 2023. During his eight years at Cdiscount, Thomas was the driving force behind the development of its Marketplace and Retail Media and its diversification into B2B activities, and directly contributed to strengthening Cdiscount’s positioning in terms of data, artificial intelligence and technological excellence.
Christophe PIEDNOËL
Christophe holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Techniques and a postgraduate diploma (DESS) in Communications. He also followed a “General Management Program” at INSEAD. Christophe has alternated between working in the public/semi-public sector (Ministry of the Environment, Institut Curie, Réseau Ferré de France and SNCF) and in major international corporations, some of which are listed (Suez, AXA, Saur). He was previously Head of Communications, Public and Regulatory Affairs and CSR, and a member of the Executive Committee at the Lactalis group. Christophe has managed major business transformation projects in sensitive sectors such as food, rail and healthcare. An expert in crisis management, he was Chief Information Officer at SNCF, for which he was the spokesperson. Christophe has significant experience in brand and reputation management and in internal change management. At Suez Environnement, he was one of the first chief sustainability officers of a listed company.
Guillaume SENECLAUZE
A graduate of ESCP Business School, Guillaume spent the early years of his career in the consumer goods industry before joining Carrefour, where he served in operations and sales roles for 17 years. In 2015, he joined Casino Group as Executive Director of the Big C banner in Vietnam, and then served as Executive Director of the Carullo banner in Colombia. Drawing on the international experience he has gained in nine countries, he is helping to restore value to the Group’s banners by modernising sales outlets, adapting the retail offering and digitalising services. He was named Group Omnichannel Director in January 2022, then Chairman of Monoprix and Naturalia in May 2022, when he joined the Group Executive Committee.
Stéphanie ZOLESIO
After graduating from HEC business school, Stéphanie worked in several operational posts and subsequently became Strategy Director within a number of listed real estate companies including Unibail-Rodamco and Hammerson. In 2014, she joined Casino Group to develop and manage its real estate investments. She was appointed head of real estate operations at the IGC subsidiary in 2019, then Chief Executive Officer of Immobilière Groupe Casino in 2022, before being promoted to Chair in 2023. She has also overseen the Group’s fintech activities since 2023. With 17 years’ experience in the real estate industry, Stéphanie has structured and implemented the Group’s major real estate transactions in recent years, and has deployed a strategy of capitalising on floor space through mixed development projects and revenue diversification.
©JulesDESPRETZ