Hubert De Boisredon

PRESIDENT AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ARMOR, FRANCE

Hubert de Boisredon is chairman and CEO of ARMOR.

After graduating from HEC in 1986, he chose to put his education to work in a developing country. He went to Chile to work for the Banco del Desarrollo, where he created and managed the first Chilean venture capital company, and then, with a friend, founded Contigo, a microcredit bank inspired by Muhammad Yunus, which he managed until 1993. The stakes were high: to give access to credit to more than 400,000 very small businesses excluded from traditional bank loans, which at the time employed half of the active Chilean population.

He then pursued an international career for 11 years at Rhône-Poulenc Chimie (which became Rhodia in 1998, then Solvay) as Marketing-Sales Manager, Profit Centre Manager of the "Photo & Polymerisation Inhibitors" Business Unit, then Deputy General Manager of Rhodia Japan and finally Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific Fine Organics, one of Rhodia's three divisions, based in Hong Kong.

He made several acquisitions of Chinese companies, and was then confronted for the first time with sustainable development issues (labour laws, pollution of plants, lack of hygiene, employee safety issues, etc.). He returned to France in 2002 to take over the worldwide management of Rhodia's Pharmaceutical Ingredients (aspirin, paracetamol, etc.).

In 2004, he joined ARMOR as Managing Director with the mission to give the company a new lease of life. ARMOR is an industrial ETI headquartered in Nantes (2,000 employees, turnover €265M in 2018), world leader in thermal transfer ribbons for printing barcode labels and variable information on packaging, and manufacturer of printing cartridges for companies.

Since 2004, he has led the turnaround of this industrial company by developing exports (80% of sales outside France, 50% of which are outside Europe), boosting investments and implementing a management by trust approach.

In 2008, he pushed for the decision to put societal innovation at the heart of the company's strategy. ARMOR has thus committed itself to fighting global warming and the depletion of natural resources through various actions. By deciding to manufacture only "remanufactured" print cartridges, ARMOR is promoting the circular economy. Then, ARMOR became the first industrial manufacturer of flexible photovoltaic films without silicon or rare metals, and still using its know-how in coating thin films on thin films, has developed current collector films which improve the performance of lithium-ion electric batteries by around 20%. ARMOR has also developed environmentally friendly industrial inks and a new activity of customised components for 3D printing for the aeronautics and automotive industries, etc.

ARMOR's commitment to society is also reflected in the integration of around 50 disabled employees and 60 apprentices, and also in the creation of the ARMOR University within the industrial site, which trains workers (CAP Pro, BEP Pro, BAC Pro, BAC+3) as pilots of robotised machines.

In 2014, Hubert de Boisredon and his team took control of ARMOR's capital through a CMII (Capital Management Industriel & Innovation) operation, involving around 500 employees of the company. He is a promoter of employee shareholding and of a social capitalism focused on innovation and long-term investment.

In June 2017, Hubert de Boisredon was one of three French business leaders representing France at the G7 Environment Ministers' meeting in Bologna, Italy. In March 2018, he participated in the International Solar Alliance Summit in Delhi, India, inaugurated by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Modi.

In October 2018, he participated in the meeting of energy bosses at the Elysée Palace with the President of the Republic, the Minister of the Economy and the Minister of Ecology to prepare the PPE (Pluriannual Energy Programming). He is a member of the Strategic Committee for New Energy Systems, chaired by Isabelle Kocher (Engie), which brings together major groups and SMEs for the development of new energy systems.

This committee brings together major groups and SMEs to propose concrete actions for the energy transition in conjunction with the State.

ARMOR is also a member of the Board of Directors of Global Compact France (United Nations Global Compact), of the national association Entreprises pour la Cité and of the Lacroix company (electronics, smart cities). Hubert de Boisredon is co-founder of the Association des Dirigeants Responsables de l'Ouest, which brings together 120 managers who have decided to put CSR at the heart of their business strategy.

He was elected Entrepreneur of the Year for the Western Region in 2013 and in March 2019 received the 2018 SME-ETI Strategist Prize, awarded by Les Echos.

Hubert de Boisredon is a Knight of the National Order of Merit (2009) and Knight of the Legion of Honour (2017).

On a more personal level, Hubert de Boisredon is a member of the Catholic and ecumenical association FONDACIO, which brings together people wishing to commit themselves to the construction of a more human and just world. In particular, he accompanies business leaders and young leaders on an international level to help them unify their lives and give meaning to their actions in the service of society's challenges.