Olivier PAUL newly elected President of the French Seed Manufacturers Federation
November 8, 2023
On 7 November 2023, following its Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors of the French Seed Manufacturers Federation elected Olivier Paul as the new President to succeed Didier Nury.
Olivier Paul is a graduate of the Institut Commercial de Nancy with a specialisation in finance. He began his career with Deloitte and went on to hold a number of positions in the finance sector before managing industrial companies in France and abroad in the household appliance, food supplement and paint sectors.
In 2015, he joined the Euralis cooperative group, where he held various positions in the food business, seeds and then in support services.
Olivier Paul joined Lidea, the multi-crop seed company in 2021, as Managing Director: “I fully discovered the world of seeds in 2019 when Philippe Saux invited me to help steer Euralis Semences during its merger with Caussade Semences. I was struck by the unique know-how and expertise, with top-level research and production quality of which we can only be proud. Together with the team, I will be fully committed to contributing to the recognition of this strategic sector by all stakeholders. To achieve this, we will continue to put forward concrete proposals, particularly with a view to the European elections next spring. It will be a busy but exciting agenda!”
Alongside Oliver Paul, the new Board is composed of Rémi Bastien (Limagrain) as Vice-President, Xavier Thevenot (Syngenta France) as General Secretary and Patrick Mariotte (KWS France) as Treasurer.
ABOUT THE FEDERATION
The French Seed Manufacturers Federation is the professional organisation representing over a hundred seed companies based in France and involved in the creation of plant varieties, and the production and marketing of seeds for agriculture, gardens and landscapes. A key player in the seed industry, it represents the voice of its members within a strong inter-branch structure. Within the agricultural and agri-food sectors, seed companies help to build a structured, dynamic, responsible, and sustainable economic activity. Whether family-run SMEs, cooperatives or subsidiaries of foreign companies, seed companies contribute to regional economic development and perform well on international markets.