GOVERNANCE
Highly experienced Board and dedicated Management Team.
-
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
-
GONZALVE BICH
Gonzalve Bich is Chief Executive Officer for BIC, responsible for leading short- and long-term strategy, driving the organization’s mission and vision, and communicating with global stakeholders on behalf of the company. He is the third generation of the Bich family to serve as CEO and takes pride in continuing the family’s 75-year legacy of leadership.
After joining BIC in 2003 as a Business Project Manager, Gonzalve held senior, global roles in Human Resources, Shaver marketing, and business operations for Asia, Northern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. In 2016, Gonzalve assumed responsibility for BIC’s consumer business categories and Latin America operations and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2017, before being appointed CEO on May 17, 2018.
A French American, Gonzalve earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Harvard University in 2001 and began his career as a Management Consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP in New York City.
Chief Executive Officer
THOMAS BRETTE
Thomas Brette is BIC’s Group Insights and Innovation (GI&I) Officer. At the head of this new organization, he develops the overall innovation strategy and oversees the ecosystem that will foster the creation of new business opportunities and puts the customer at the center of everything we do.
Thomas has been with the company for more than 20 years working in different services and regions. With a background in Corporate Finance, he has evolved from cost accounting to Finance Director of Business Units to Marketing, Supply Chain and General Management responsible for R&D and Manufacturing. He joined the Leadership team in 2015 as General Manager, Shavers and one of his proudest achievements was the transformation of the shaver category to independent leader. Before joining BIC, Thomas held positions in the French Bank Credit Lyonnais.
Thomas holds a Master’s level Diploma in Accounting and Finance from the Institut National des Techniques Economiques et Comptables – Paris, France.
Group Insights and Innovation Officer- Stationery and Shavers
FRANÇOIS CLÉMENT-GRANDCOURT
François Clément-Grandcourt is General Manager of BIC Lighters. In this role he leads the worldwide operations of the Lighter division, which for more than 40 years has remained committed to following the strictest quality and safety standards making BIC lighters recognized across the world for their safe, reliable flame.
François started his career in the Marketing Department of Danone before joining Coca-Cola. He joined BIC in 2000 as Marketing Manager for the Shaver Division, Europe. He moved on to BIC Lighters and Shavers in 2004 as Marketing Director Europe-Middle East and Africa. Under his leadership and in close collaboration with the local teams, BIC became the market leader in the 3-blade disposable segment. In 2006, in charge of Russian operations, he led the launch of lighters which has since become a pillar of BIC lighter sales. Since 2008 he fully devotes his time to the lighter activity, first as Category Deputy General Manager before being appointed as General Manager in 2016.
François is French-Swiss and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from INSEAD.
Group Lighters General Manager
SARA LAPORTA
Sara LaPorta is Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer for BIC, responsible for co-leading high-level growth and strategy on behalf of the organization. Sara joined BIC in 2019, drawn to the company’s visionary leadership, business transformation, and global status.
She brings more than 20 years of senior-level experience with several noteworthy organizations, much of it focused on solving complex business and consumer problems. Sara began her career as a partner at Boston Consulting Group, where she led a variety of growth-oriented engagements for well-known retailers and CPG companies. Most recently, Sara spent 10 years at PepsiCo as a Senior Vice President, developing and coordinating consumer-driven growth strategies for the Beverage business in the Americas and globally, adding a $5B+ portfolio of growth brands to the portfolio and the identification of new growth opportunities.
Sara holds a Masters of Science in Management (MBA) from M.I.T. Sloan School, and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology and Biotechnology from the University of London.
Chief Strategy & Business Development Officer
MALLORY MARTINO
Mallory Martino is Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer for BIC. As head of the HR function, she is accountable for the development and delivery of BIC’s global HR strategy.
Mallory joined BIC in January 2020 and is focused on leading the HR transformation and critical people initiatives that accelerate the cultural shifts required to deliver profitable, sustainable growth.
Mallory has spent her career working with business and HR leadership to define and execute people strategies that drive performance. Mallory started her career at McLagan (a subsidiary of AonHewitt), working with financial services firms to design compensation programs. Prior to joining BIC, Mallory worked at McKinsey, where she served clients across industries on a range of organizational and people topics.
Mallory holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Cornell University's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University.
Chief Human Resources Officer
CHARLES MORGAN
Charles Morgan is Chief Administrative Officer for BIC, responsible for overseeing global IT and Group BIC Services (GBS), ensuring effective administration and seamless functioning of all technological systems and solutions for the organization.
Charles previously served as Executive Director, Global Business Services for General Motors, where he was the architect and leader of a major financial transformation and optimization. He’s also held senior roles at American Express, Marsh Inc., Reuters and HSBC. He began his career qualifying as an accountant with Deloitte in London, prior to joining their consulting arm. Prior to joining BIC, Charles served as Vice President, Finance Shared Services for Aetna, where he drove operating efficiencies and standardization into the company’s transactional financial processes.
Charles holds a degree in Computer Science from Cambridge University.
Chief Administrative Officer
CHAD SPOONER
Chad Spooner joined BIC in July 2020 as Chief Financial Officer, focused on leading BIC’s global finance function.
Over the course of his 25-year career in the industrial and CPG industries, Chad has gained broad experience spanning finance, portfolio resources and operations. Prior to joining BIC, Chad was CFO of Slingshot Health, a healthcare start-up connecting patients and healthcare providers. He began his career at General Electric, where he spent 11 years progressing through operational and finance leadership positions. His last role there was CFO of GE Energy Contractual Services, a $2B global service company.
Chad holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.
Chief Financial Officer
CHESTER TWIGG
Chester Twigg, Group Commercial Officer, has 30 years of experience in leading global commercial strategies and customer relationships with best-in-class consumer goods companies. He has first-hand experience working in multi-billion dollar businesses around the world, including India, China, Singapore, Europe and the United States.
Chester has managed key customers and driven transformation efforts at both Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, he was responsible for oversight of all commercial capabilities at J&J Consumer, both in the U.S. and around the world, and was instrumental in building their $1 billion e-Commerce business and RGM capabilities. Chester graduated from Sydenham College with a bachelor's degree in Commerce, Economics and Management, and holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Mumbai.
Group Commercial Officer
-
-
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
-
- JOHN GLEN Interim Non-Executive Chairman
-
GONZALVE BICH
Chief Executive Officer
-
ELIZABETH BASTONI
Interim Independent Lead-Director,
Chair of the Compensation Committee,
Chair of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee -
MAËLYS CASTELLA
Independent Director,
Chair of the Audit Committee,
Member of the Compensation Committee
JOHN GLEN
John Glen, British, became Interim Non-Executive Chairman in May 2021. He has been a Director since 2008.
He serves as Chief Executive Officer of Buccleuch Group, the holding company of a family-owned group that operates in industry and agro-businesses.
John Glen previously held various positions at Unilever and was Group Finance Director at Air Liquide from 2000 until September 2008. He was also Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group for four years.
Interim Non-Executive Chairman
GONZALVE BICH
Gonzalve Bich is Chief Executive Officer for BIC, responsible for leading short- and long-term strategy, driving the organization’s mission and vision, and communicating with global stakeholders on behalf of the company. He is the third generation of the Bich family to serve as CEO and takes pride in continuing the family’s 75-year legacy of leadership.
After joining BIC in 2003 as a Business Project Manager, Gonzalve held senior, global roles in Human Resources, Shaver marketing, and business operations for Asia, Northern Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, and Oceania. In 2016, Gonzalve assumed responsibility for BIC’s consumer business categories and Latin America operations and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2017, before being appointed CEO on May 17, 2018.
A French American, Gonzalve earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from Harvard University in 2001 and began his career as a Management Consultant with Deloitte & Touche LLP in New York City.
Chief Executive Officer
ELIZABETH BASTONI
Elizabeth Bastoni, American, has been an independent Director since 2013. She chairs the Compensation Committee as well as the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee.
Elizabeth has been serving family controlled groups, publicly traded boards in Europe since 2011.She previously served on the boards and chaired the compensation committees for The Rezidor Hotel (Stockholm) Group and CarlsonWagonlit Travel (Paris). Elizabeth Bastoni has also held Executive roles in France and the United States for BMGI, Carlson, The Coca-Cola Company, Thales, Suez and KPMG.
Interim Independent Lead-Director,
Chair of the Compensation Committee,
Chair of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee
MAËLYS CASTELLA
Maëlys Castella, French, is an independent Director of SOCIÉTÉ BIC and Chair of the Audit Committee.
Maëlys is a member of the Executive Committee of AkzoNobel in the position of Chief Corporate Development Officer, responsible for Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions, Sustainability and Innovation. She joined AkzoNobel as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of management in 2014.
Before joining AkzoNobel, Maëlys worked at Air Liquide since 2000, where she held various Senior Management positions in Finance and Marketing before she was appointed Group Deputy Chief Financial Officer in 2013. Her early career was spent in the oil and gas industry working during eight years for Elf, now part of Total Group.
Independent Director,
Chair of the Audit Committee,
Member of the Compensation Committee
-
VINCENT BEDHOME
Director Representing the Employees,
Member of the Compensation Committee - MARIE-PAULINE CHANDON-MOËT Director
-
SOCIÉTÉ M.B.D
Director,
Member of the Audit Committee -
CANDACE MATTHEWS
Independent Director
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee
VINCENT BEDHOME
In the BIC Group since 1989, Vincent Bedhome is a project Manager in the Stationery category since 2003.
He previously held different positions at BIC plant in Boulogne sur Mer, such as R&D engineer, industrial project Manager and production Manager.
Vincent Bedhome has a chemical engineering degree from HEI Lille (France) and a PhD in Spectrochemistry from the Université de Lille (France).
Director Representing the Employees,
Member of the Compensation Committee
MARIE-PAULINE CHANDON-MOËT
Marie-Pauline Chandon-Moët is French and was European Real Estate Projects Manager for BIC Group until December 31, 2010. Before this, when she joined BIC in 1991, she held the positions of Sales Administration Assistant, Sales Administration Manager (France then Europe), as well as Supply Chain Manager for Europe.
Marie-Pauline Chandon-Moët has been a Director of the Board since 2003.
Director
SOCIÉTÉ M.B.D
Société M.B.D. has been a Director since 2006. Édouard Bich is a member of the Audit Committee since then.
Édouard Bich, French, is the permanent representative and Managing Director of SOCIÉTÉ M.B.D. (Marcel BICH Descendants). Before this, he spent eight years in the Finance Department of Procter & Gamble.
* Bich Family Holding company represented by Édouard Bich.
Director,
Member of the Audit Committee
CANDACE MATTHEWS
Since November 2014, Candace Matthews has been Region President, Americas, Amway. She was recruited by Alticor, the parent company of Amway, in December of 2007, as Chief Marketing Officer.
Prior to joining Amway, she was Executive President from 2001 to 2007 of Soft Sheen-Carson (L'Oréal Group). Before that, she held different positions in Marketing at General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Bausch & Lomb and in Management at Novartis and The Coca-Cola Company, in the United States.
Candace Matthews has a Bachelor of Science degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) and an MBA in Marketing from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in Palo Alto, California (U.S.A.).
Candace Matthews was appointed Independent Director in 2017. She is a member of the Audit Committee and a member of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee.
Independent Director
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee
MARIE-AIMÉE BICH-DUFOUR
Marie-Aimée Bich-Dufour, French, is Director of SOCIÉTÉ BIC. She has been Executive Vice-President from March 1995 to March 2019, Board of Directors’ Secretary until May 2019, and President of the BIC Corporate Foundation for Education from 2016 to 2020. She was Group General Counsel until February 1, 2016. In 2004, she also took on the responsibility of the Sustainable Development Program until 2018.
Director
Member of the Nominations, Governance and CSR Committee
INNA KOSTUK
Inna Kostuk started her career in the Ukrainian State Tax Administration as a tax auditor. She held positions as Tax Manager at Delphi subsidiary in France and joined BIC in 2010 as Tax Manager Europe. Since 2013, she holds the position of Group Tax Director, supervising all international taxation aspects for BIC.
Director Representing the Employees
JAKE SCHWARTZ
Jake Schwartz is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of General Assembly. Founded in 2011 in New York, General Assembly is a pioneer and leader in continuing education in the digital and new technology skills. Prior to founding General Assembly, he was Senior Associate at Associated Partners LP, a private equity fund (2008-2010) and Investment Advisor at Capital Counsel in New York City (2003-2005).
Independent Director,
Member of the Audit Committee
TIMOTHÉE BICH
Timothée Bich was a potfolio manager at Stone Milliner Asset Management LLP until December 2019. He joined Stone Milliner as an execution trader from its launch in 2012 and was appointed Head of Execution in 2016. Before joining Stone Milliner, he worked as an analyst at Moore Europe Capital Management, supporting credit and macro portfolio managers (2010-2011).
Director
-