Emmanuel Besnier was born on 18th September 1970 in Mayenne, France. He is a French businessman. He is the CEO of Lactalis and is also known as “the cheese king of France”. He and his siblings inherited the business from their father.
He is the wealthiest man in France. His company is the 2nd biggest food company in the country and is also a leading dairy worldwide.
Being discreet and media shy he is sometimes referred to as ‘the invisible billionaire’, or the ‘Howard Hughes of France’.
Family of Emmanuel Besnier:
Parents and Grandparents:
Emmanuel Besnier’s grandfather, Andre Besnier was the founder of Lactalis (then Besnier Group), a cheese company. He founded the company in 1933. His father was Michel Besnier born on 18th September 1928 in Laval.
He was the CEO of Lactalis from the year 1995 to 2000. He died in June 2000 in Marbella, Spain. Christiane Besnier is the mother of Emmanuel Besnier.
Siblings:
He has a brother; Jean-Michel Besnier who was born in the year 1968 and a sister; Marie Besnier Beauvalot who born in 1981.
They both are major shareholders of Lactalis.
Wife: Sandrine Besnier is his wife who is also a native of Laval and they had met at the lycée in Laval. They have three children together.
Early life and education of Emmanuel Besnier:
He went to a private school named Lycee de I’lmmaculee-Conception in Laval. Then he moved to Paris and graduated from Institut Superieur de Gestion (ISG) business School. After completing his graduation, he turned towards his family business and started working in Madrid. Gradually he became the Director for company’s corporate development to become the successor to his father.
Emmanuel Besnier started his career in the family business and spent time working in its subsidiaries in Madrid, Spain and the U.S. Emmanuel Besnier has been a Director of the company.
Description: Groupe Lactalis sponsors Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club, a football club in Laval, Mayenne, France. Besnier serves as a Member of the Supervisory Board.
Emmanuel Besnier’s career:
His grandfather, Andre Besnier, founded the company in 1933. His father, Michel took over the company in 1955. Due to a flood the company got destroyed in 1966. To stay on the safe side, his father expanded the business all over the country.
Emmanuel took over the company after his father’s death and turned it into an amalgamation. He increased the variety of products and obtained many other dairy companies and cheese brands. He created President Label which was a different variety of cheese unlike the French cheese.
Emmanuel Besnier is the CEO of Lactalis which is his family’s dairy company in Laval. It is one of the biggest family owned businesses in France. The company sells over $18 billion of products including Valbreso Feta, President Brie, and Milkmaid yogurts. He is currently one of the biggest dairy producers of Europe and aims to take the business on a global level targeting China and Southeast Asia first. His company has employed over 50,000 employees and it has revenue of approximately $18 billion.
Emmanuel Besnier’s Achievements and Recognition:
He received the “Mayennais of the Year” award from the local Rotary club in 2006. Every year his company donates around $230,000 to the Laval Stadium through Groupe Lactalis. He is a passionate football lover and donates Euro 200,000 every year to the Francis-Le-Basser football stadium, Laval.
Emmanuel Besnier’s Net Worth:
According to Forbes his net worth is $11.2 billion. He was at rank 151 in the list of top billionaires in the year 2016. He resides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.