Jean-Bernard Lafonta

Jean-Bernard Lafonta is the Founder and Partner of Groupe HLD, an investment group established in 2010 specifically for entrepreneurs. Lafonta also serves as the President of HLD pour la Méditerranee since January 2018. Prior to founding HLD, Lafonta held significant positions at Wendel from 2001 to 2009, where Jean-Bernard served as General Manager and then Chairman of the Executive Board. Lafonta also worked at BNP Paribas from 1996 to 2001, holding roles including Chairman and CEO of Banque Directe and Global Head of Capital Markets. Earlier in their career, Lafonta was Deputy Director for Mergers and Acquisitions at Lazard and held various positions in the French Administration and Ministerial cabinets. Lafonta began their career as a Production Engineer at Jeumont-Schneider. Lafonta holds a degree from École Polytechnique and is a qualified engineer from the Ingénieur Corps des Mines de Paris.