Groupe Meilleurtaux Announces the Appointment of Thomas Vandeville as CEO

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Groupe Meilleurtaux (“Meilleurtaux” or the “Company”), a leading financial services marketplace in France, Belgium, and Luxemburg, backed by Silver Lake (93% shareholder), today announced that Thomas Vandeville has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective September 12, 2024.

Thomas Vandeville brings over 25 years of experience driving strategic business outcomes, large transformations, operational excellence, and innovation within the banking, insurance, and asset management industries, most recently as Deputy CEO of Groupe CCF and previously of HSBC France, where he successfully led the retail banking, insurance, and wealth management activities in France since 2016. Thomas started his career at Exane, focusing on research in London and Paris. He then worked as an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group (“FIG”) at Merrill Lynch in New York and London, before working as a consultant at McKinsey in their FIG practice in Europe. Thomas subsequently transitioned to leadership roles at Groupama, as Head of Group Strategy, CEO of various life and P&C insurance companies in France and Italy, and finally as Head of Distribution and Digital Transformation. Thomas Vandeville is a graduate of ESSEC and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Thomas Vandeville succeeds Guillaume Autier, who is stepping down after having served as CEO for the past four years. During his tenure, Autier has played an instrumental role in the continued growth trajectory and development of Meilleurtaux. He will remain involved with the company as a strategic advisor in support of a smooth transition.

Thomas Vandeville commented: “For many years, I have been impressed by Meilleurtaux’s clear leadership on its markets, historical growth, real spirit of avant-garde and innovation, strategic insight, entrepreneurial spirit and clear value proposition for its customers supported by a very strong brand name. I am thrilled to be joining Meilleurtaux for the next phase of development, as a central player in the French financial services and technology industries, and leverage its exceptional potential across its core verticals (credit, insurance, savings, etc.). I can’t wait to start working with its impressive teams, networks, and all of its partners to help the Company accelerate its next phase of growth.”

Christian Lucas, Meilleurtaux Chairman and Managing Partner at Silver Lake, commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Thomas Vandeville, a dynamic leader and accomplished executive who brings extensive leadership experience to the Company. His proven success in driving growth and transformation in digital financial services businesses makes him the perfect fit as we continue to invest in accelerating our growth. We also extend our gratitude to Guillaume for his significant contributions to Meilleurtaux and for helping establish the strong leadership position we have today.”

Hervé Hatt, Meilleurtaux Board Member and former CEO, commented: “Having led Meilleurtaux from 2011 until Guillaume was appointed CEO in 2020, and having remained involved both as an investor and as Board Member since, I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together. It has been a remarkable journey under Guillaume’s leadership, and I am confident that Thomas Vandeville will continue and further accelerate this trajectory of success.”

Guillaume Autier, CEO of Meilleurtaux, commented: “Leading Meilleurtaux over the past four years has been a privilege. We achieved strong growth and built a world-class team dedicated to helping our customers make better decisions every day. I warmly thank all the Meilleurtaux teams for their commitment, as well as our clients and partners for their trust. I would also like to thank our majority shareholder, Silver Lake, for their exceptional partnership during my tenure. I wish Thomas Vandeville the best in his new role and Meilleurtaux continued success.”

Thomas Kienzi, Meilleurtaux’s CFO, will also leave his position as of September 15 for a new professional opportunity following five years of strengthening the Company’s financial function to enable its next stage of growth. The Board has already significantly progressed a search to replace him and will be announcing the Company’s new CFO in the near future. The Board wishes Thomas Kienzi success in his new responsibilities.

About Groupe Meilleurtaux

Founded in 1999, Groupe Meilleurtaux has become the leading financial services marketplace for loans, insurance and investments for French, Belgian and Luxemburgish consumers. Meilleurtaux offers a comprehensive range of B2B and B2C services: financing (mortgage loans, debt consolidation, consumer loans, business loans), insurance (car, motorbike, health, home, and loan insurance) and investments (life insurance, REITs, community, newsletters). Its three missions are to inform, compare and support its customers across the range of financial services.

Since October 2020, Groupe Meilleurtaux has been majority-owned by funds advised by Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing with more than $100 billion in assets under management and investments in companies have included Alibaba, Airbnb, Twitter, Skype, as well as Silae, Cegid and Mirakl in France.

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