A small revolution to come at Plastic Omnium. For the first time, the automotive supplier will not be run by a family member. Laurent Burelle, son of founder Pierre Burelle , will yield the general direction to a newcomer to the company, Laurent Favre. The family will however not be very far, since the delegated general management will be entrusted to Emilie Burelle, granddaughter of the founder, and that his father will remain president. This change of governance will take effect on January 1st.
“At 70, I thought it was time to propose a new governance,” says one who is still president of Afep, the French association of private companies. Laurent Burelle was CEO of Plastic Omnium since 2001. He had succeeded his brother Jean, who had taken over from their father Pierre in 1987. Jean-Michel Szcerba, with whom he shared the management, will become adviser to the president .
Technological revolution
If four representatives of the next generation work in the group, Laurent Burelle has chosen to recruit the new CEO of Plastic Omnium outside the group. Laurent Favre, 48, worked for 23 years with German auto parts manufacturers such as ThyssenKrupp, ZF and Benteler, where he headed the automotive division. “I wanted it to be French, with a strong German car culture: German manufacturers account for 43% of our turnover,” explains the manager.
As for Emilie Burelle, 40, a graduate of ESCE and an MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, she began her career in the family group, spent 5 years at EY before returning to the “home In 2015, in charge of strategy and development. “Both will form an excellent tandem quadra, with the time necessary to lead the group in the technological revolution that is coming,” concludes the future president of Plastic Omnium, still 60% controlled by a family shareholding.