First elected to head Sopexa in October 1997, Dominique Chardon is stepping down as Chairman after two terms and a complete overhaul of the group. From financial, legal, fiscal and IT reforms to creation of the Sopexa France office, Chairman Chardon rapidly carried out a number of measures to make the company more competitive and prepare for the French State to relinquish its 20% holding in the firm. [...]

A member of Sopexa's Board of Directors since 1996, Jean-Michel Lemetayer, Chairman of the French National Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (FNSEA) since 2001, has been elected Chairman of Sopexa by the Board of Administration. As a milk producer in the Ille et Vilaine region of France, Jean-Michel Lemetayer is well aware of the worldwide and European issues that the agribusiness sector is facing and has a clear vision of Sopexa's operational and policy role in promoting and marketing food and beverage products. He will oversee the company's public service mission to "promote French food products and culture worldwide" on behalf of the French Ministry of Agriculture until 2012, and head Sopexa's network of 28 offices around the globe, whose bi-cultural staff can carry out missions in more than 50 countries [...]