Muriel Pénicaud

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Muriel Pénicaud
Portrait Muriel Pénicaud (cropped).jpg
Minister of Labour
In office
17 May 2017 – 6 July 2020
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe
Preceded byMyriam El Khomri
Succeeded byÉlisabeth Borne
Personal details
Born (1955-03-31) 31 March 1955 (age 66)
Versailles, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyLa République En Marche!
Children2
Alma materParis Nanterre University
University of Strasbourg
INSEAD

Muriel Pénicaud (born 31 March 1955) is a former French business executive who has been serving as her country's ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 2020.[1] She previously served as the Minister of Labour in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe from 17 May 2017 to 6 July 2020. In the private sector, she was the Executive Vice President in charge of Human Resources at Dassault Systèmes from 2002 to 2008, and at Groupe Danone from 2008 to 2014.[2][3]

Early life[]

A native of Versailles, Pénicaud was born on 31 March 1955.[4] In 1975, she graduated from Paris Nanterre University with a bachelor's degree in history and a master’s degree in Education sciences the following year.[5] She completed her studies with a DEA (Master of Advanced Studies) in Clinical Psychology.[5] In 1995 she graduated from INSEAD Business School.[6]

Career[]

Pénicaud worked as a regional administrator on job-training missions before moving to the French Minister of Labour from 1985 to 1993.[4][7] She was an advisor to Minister Martine Aubry from 1991 to 1993.[4]

Pénicaud worked for Groupe Danone from 1993 to 2002.[4] She was the Executive Vice-President in charge of Organization, Human Resources and Sustainable Development for Dassault Systèmes from 2002 to 2008, and a member of the Executive Committee.[4] She returned to the Groupe Danone in 2008, where she was Executive Vice-President in charge of Human Resources and Social Innovation and member of the Executive Committee under chairman Franck Riboud until 2014.[4] During her time at Danone, she founded and produced the EVE Program to develop Women's leadership in business, and created "Dan'Cares" a program providing social protection for all employees worldwide.[8]

She received between 2012 and 2014 more than 4.7 million euros of total gross compensation for this activity.

Pénicaud was appointed as the French Ambassador for International Investment in May 2014, and became CEO of Business France on 1 January 2015.[4] In this capacity, she promoted foreign investment in France to boost job creation.[9]

By 2017, her personal wealth was at around 7.5 million euros ($8.8 million).[10]

Government[]

Pénicaud was appointed as the French Minister of Labour in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe on 17 May 2017 by President Emmanuel Macron.[9][3] At the time of her appointment, she was seen as widely respected by the country's trade unions.[11] During her time in office, France’s unemployment rate fell back in 2019 to reach its lowest level since the end of 2008.[12] As Minister of Labour, she led several structural reforms that lead to a significant decrease of unemployment and inequality : the reform of the Labour law "For strengthening social dialogue" in 2017 and the law "For freedom to choose one's professional future" in 2018, which fostered apprenticeship, created a right for life-long learning for all workers through a personal training account,[13] and enhanced equal pay between men and women through the creation of the Gender Equality Index.[14]

She supported economic inclusion initiatives and launched massive training programs for unemployed and young people. She also oversaw the government's early measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, when around 7.8 million people were on temporary unemployment packages by the end of May 2020.[15]

In 2019, as French Minister of Labour, she chaired the "G7 Social" of Ministers of Labour and employment, ahead of the 45th G7 summit. It led to the adoption of an unprecedented tripartite declaration[16] between G7 countries and international organizations of workers and employers, aiming to integrate international labour standards, reduct inequalities, and give access to social protection for all, worldwide.[17] That same year, she conducted discussions leading to the adoption of an unprecedented joint statement signed by the heads of the IMF, the OECD and the ILO on the reduction of inequalities for sustainable development.

She has been particularly active in the negotiation of European directives, as well as the negotiation and adoption of international labour standards such as ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the workplace.[18]

OECD[]

Appointed Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the OECD in September 2020, she carried the French initiative IPAC (International Program for Action on Climate) to support countries in measuring and implementing their commitments while taking into account the environmental, social and economic dimensions of the transition.[19]

She is also a member of the "Global Commission on People-Centered Clean Energy Transitions" of the International Energy Agency.

Other activities[]

Since 2016, she is a member of the International Planning Committee of the Global Summit of Women.

She also founded the Sakura Fund, dedicated to supporting artists engaged in civil causes.[20]

In 2021, she launched an initiative called "Future Youth" mobilizing civil society in response to the impact of the pandemic on young people.[21]

In May 2021, she published her first essay, Pousser les murs (Éditions de l'Observatoire).[22]

Corporate boards[]

  • SNCF, Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Logistics Committee (2013-2015)[23]
  • Paris-Saclay, Member of the Board of Directors[24]
  • Aéroports de Paris, Member of the Board (2014-2017)
  • Orange, Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Environment, Social and Governance Committee (2011-2014)

Non-profit organizations[]

Controversies[]

A formal investigation was opened in July 2017 into "possible favouritism" in awarding the organization of Business France technology event in Las Vegas to Havas public relations agency during Pénicaud's tenure.[25] The French daily Libération claimed that Pénicaud was suspected of having provided a "truncated overview of the audit" to Business France's board of directors.[26]

As a human resources director at Danone in the 1990s, Pénicaud made $1.4 million from stock options while cutting 900 jobs, according to Bloomberg.[27]

Personal life[]

Pénicaud has two children.[9]

Honours[]

Muriel Pénicaud was awarded the insignia of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight in the Order of the Legion d’Honneur) on 30 January 2008,[28] then Officier (Officer) on 13 November 2014.[29]

References[]

  1. ^ Manon Malhère (August 26 2020), Muriel Pénicaud, ambassadrice auprès de l'OCDE Le Figaro.
  2. ^ "Gouvernement Castex en direct : Darmanin nommé ministre de l'intérieur, Dupond-Moretti garde des sceaux et Bachelot à la culture". Le Monde.fr (in French). 6 July 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Muriel Pénicaud, une ministre du Travail au "profil exemplaire" selon les patrons". L'Express. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Executive Management". Business France. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Qui est Muriel Pénicaud, la nouvelle ministre du Travail ?". Europe 1 (in French). 17 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Muriel Pénicaud (AMP'95Jul), nommée ministre du Travail". INSEAD Alumni Association France (in French). 23 March 2015.
  7. ^ Nicholas Vinocur (November 14, 2017) Muriel Pénicaud’s magic formula to fix France Politico Europe.
  8. ^ "Dan'Cares : Danone healthcare ambition for all Danoners". 2013.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cathelinais, Coralie (17 May 2017). "Muriel Pénicaud, l'ancienne DRH de Danone, devient ministre du Travail". BFM Business. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  10. ^ Gus Trompiz, Emmanuel Jarry, Marine Pennetier and Michel Rose (December 16, 2017), Elysee plays down opulence of Macron birthday at Loire chateau Reuters.
  11. ^ Leigh Thomas and Caroline Pailliez (June 19, 2017), With parliament in the bag, France's Macron faces union test Reuters.
  12. ^ Sudip Kar-Gupta (August 14, 2019), French jobless rate fell in second-quarter to lowest level since end-2008 Reuters.
  13. ^ "Muriel Penicaud : "Le compte formation, c'est comme un Livret A, c'est une vraie révolution" - France Bleu". 2019.
  14. ^ "Index de l'égalité professionnelle hommes-femmes : un bilan 2020 mitigé". 2021.
  15. ^ Dominique Vidalon and Sudip Kar-Gupta (June 17, 2020), 7.8 million French on temporary unemployment packages at end-May: minister Reuters.
  16. ^ "G7 Social Minister's Meeting - G7 Social Tripartite Declaration" (PDF). 2019.
  17. ^ Manon Malhère (August 26 2020), Muriel Pénicaud, ambassadrice auprès de l'OCDE Le Figaro.
  18. ^ "La France devrait redoubler d'efforts contre la violence dans le monde du travail". 2020. |first= missing |last= (help)
  19. ^ "OECD announced the creation of the international programme for action on climate". 2021.
  20. ^ "Sakura Fund".
  21. ^ "Avenir des Jeunes". 2021.
  22. ^ "Éditions de l'Observatoire".
  23. ^ "OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS". SNCF. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Board of Directors". Paris-Saclay. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  25. ^ Elizabeth Pineau (May 8, 2018), French Labor minister summoned over PR contract Reuters.
  26. ^ Halissat, Ismaël (3 July 2017). "Affaire Las Vegas : le tour de passe-passe de Pénicaud". Libération.fr (in French).
  27. ^ "Macron Vows Millionaire Minister Will Cut Worker Protection". BloombergQuint. 3 August 2017.
  28. ^ "Décret du 30 janvier 2008 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French).
  29. ^ "Décret du 13 novembre 2014 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French).
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