The board of directors on Tuesday appointed the deputy general manager of Crédit Agricole to lead the mutual bank.
He had been a favorite for several months. Olivier Gavalda was finally appointed on Tuesday by the board of directors of Crédit agricole SA (Casa), to manage this entity listed on the stock exchange. Currently Deputy Managing Director of Crédit Agricole SA, in charge of universal banking activities, he will succeed Philippe Brassac on May 14, 2025 at the group’s shareholders’ meeting. Aged 65, the latter has reached the age limit provided for by the statutes.
By choosing Olivier Gavalda, the directors have chosen continuity for a transitional mandate. Aged 61, he could only manage Casa for four years. Because the mandate of general director of the bank has only one time limit: it requires the manager to hand over control at the general meeting of shareholders following his 65th birthday. His governance will be shorter than that of his predecessors: Philippe Brassac will thus have remained ten years at the head of Crédit agricole SA. And the mandates of Jean-Paul Chifflet (2010-2015) and Georges Pauget (2005-2010) were five years. “This period will allow new potential successors to emerge, who are a little too young today”some observers argue.
Six candidates were initially in the running to lead Crédit Agricole SA, 60% owned by the 39 regional Crédit Agricole banks. But there were only three left at the end of the race. Very powerful, Casa houses the major businesses of the Green Bank (insurance, corporate and investment banking, consumer credit, etc.) as well as its subsidiaries, including LCL, Amundi, the leading European asset manager and its activities abroad (subsidiary in Italy…).
