WIF, an international network
Mainly based in Paris, Women Initiative Foundation has offices in New York, San Francisco, Montreal and Singapore.
Mainly based in Paris, Women Initiative Foundation has offices in New York, San Francisco, Montreal and Singapore.
Find most of our news by subscribing to our newsletter.
Women Initiative Foundation is an endowment fund governed by law n ° 2008-776 of August 4, 2008.
© Women Initiative Foundation – 2021
Follow us
Find most of our news by subscribing to our newsletter.
Women Initiative Foundation is an endowment fund governed by law n ° 2008-776 of August 4, 2008.
Martine Liautaud is an entrepreneur, an investor and a philanthropist.
Since 1990, Martine has been giving innovative, strategic advice to major French companies and their leaders and investing in entrepreneurial projects in the industrial sector.
She is the founder and chairperson of Liautaud & Cie, a consultancy specializing in financial engineering as well as strategic and financial advice for large French companies.
As an entrepreneur in the industrial sector, Martine acquired majority and large minority stakes in several companies including two success stories: Meccano, world leader in metal construction toys (disposed of in 1995) and the publisher Groupe La Martinière forwhich she sold her stake to the Wertheimer family in 2000.
From 2003 to 2006, Martine Liautaud was President of the Stanford Business Club in France (the Stanford Business School Alumni Association). She has been the association’s Honorary President since 2016.
Since 2010, Martine has invested heavily in her philanthropic activities, promoting women in business in France, Europe, the USA, Canada and now Singapore.
With several Stanford graduates, she founded WBMI (Women Business Mentoring Initiative) in 2010, a volunteer program for women CEOs/Founders with more than 3 years’ experience. She succeeded in gaining support for the program from a number of sponsors including Engie and BNP Paribas. At the end of 2015, she set up the Women Initiative Foundation to promote women in the economy and in business in France. Martine went on to create the US Women Initiative Foundation in California with Bank of the West in July 2016. The Foundation has now representatives in Paris, New York, San Francisco,Montreal and Singapore and organizes at least 25 events every year.
The Foundation has 3 goals:
To build research programs in Europe in collaboration with French and international business schools and higher education institutes (ESSEC, Centrale-Supélec, Stanford and Concordia);
To initiate university programs such as the Women Entrepreneur Program developed with BNP Paribas at Stanford, for women entrepreneurs from Europe, the USA, Canada and Asia or with McGill for women leaders.
To offer voluntary programs (i) to support women entrepreneurs developing their businesses in France or across the Atlantic, between France and the USA or Canada, and vice versa and (ii) to support Women executives with a European intercompany mentoring program and a US intercompany mentoring program.
Martine has published four books, drawing on her experience as an entrepreneur and a mentor:
In 2014, with Marie-Claire Capobianco, executive committee member at BNP Paribas, she co-authored The Guide to Entrepreneurship for Women, published in French by Eyrolles.
In 2015, she wrote a book on her experience in mentoring, Culture Mentoring, published in French by Eyrolles.
In mid-2016, Martine published a book for the American market with Wiley & Sons: “Breaking Through: Stories and Best Practices from Companies to Help Women Succeed”. The book supports the Foundation’s work in the USA.
At the end of last year, in 2019,she published an international book on the story of the Women Initiative Foundation.
Martine Liautaud is a member of the entrepreneurship commission at the MEDEF, France’s largest employer federation. She is a member of the board of the strategic committee at Centrale-Supélec. At Groupe Savencia, she is a member of the board of directors and member of the audit and risks committee. At last she is a member of the board of the strategic guidance committee at Paris-Saclay University.
Martine has been decorated Knight of the Legion of Honor, she is married and has two children.
Jean-Louis DUQUESNOY started his career as a commercial banker. He held various positions within the Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Group such as branch manager, auditor and finally head of the Inspection Générale.
In 1986, he joined Banexi, the investment bank of the Group. There, he was in charge of managing and developing a large portfolio of industrial holdings. He then turned to M&A, financial engineering and advisory services. Since 1989, he has been successively a Partner of Saint Honoré Finance et Conseil (Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild) and General Manager of Compagnie Industrielle et Financière Concorde. In September 2000, he assisted Martine Liautaud in the foundation of Liautaud & Cie, of which he has been General Manager ever since.
In the same time, he was assistant in financial analysis at the University of Paris II and lectured in two business schools : ESLSCA (Paris) and ISEFI (Marseilles).
He is Treasurer of WBMI (Women Business Mentoring Initiative).
Jean-Louis DUQUESNOY graduated in Law from the University of Paris (Panthéon-Assas). He also holds a degree in Political Sciences (Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris) as well as an Executive MBA degree from the French business school HEC.
2020-on-going:
Compliance Officer – CU FBAT (France, BeLux, Algeria, Tunisia) & GCU Orange – Ericsson, France
2017-on-going:
Area Compliance Officer – Middle East Africa – LafargeHolcim, Zürich
2014 – on-going:
Regular Guest Lecturer at Queen Mary University of Londonfor Master degree law students (lectures on International Investment Arbitration and on Compliance)
2011 – 2017:
Counsel (named in 2015), Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, Paris, International Arbitration
2009 – 2011:
Associate, Bredin Prat, Paris, Corporate and Litigation/Arbitration
2006 – 2008:
Associate, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, Litigation Department
Securities Class action, drafting of briefs and motions, Pro Bono work for the State of Mali
General Secretary and member of the Board: Women Initiative Foundation (WIF)(main donators: Engie and BNP Paribas) (www.women-initiative-foundation.com) – the mission of the Foundation (with offices in Paris, Singapore, Montreal, New York and San Francisco) is to promote the advancement of women in the workplace and in the economy (through mentoring programs, education programs, research…)
Summer of 2017:
Stanford Graduate School of Business – The Stanford Executive Program – Be a Leader who Matters (6-week postgraduate intensive business degree for senior level leaders and executives)
Summer of 2015:
Women Entrepreneur Executive Program at Stanford – set up by WIF and BNP Paribas (Leadership classes during one week)
April 1st, 2009:
Admitted to the Paris Bar
February 27th, 2006:
Admitted to the New York Bar
2004 – 2005:
LL.M., Cornell Law School
2003 – 2004
D.E.S.S. de droit du Commerce Extérieur – Mention Assez Bien Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne – Postgraduate Diploma in International Trade Law with Honors
2002 – 2003:
Maîtrise de Droit International Droit des Affaires – Mention Assez Bien Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne – Master in International Business Law with Honors
1999 – 2002:
Licence de droit International Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne
Bachelor in International Law (3 years)
Haitian music, Travelling (treks in Thailand, Nepal, Tajikistan, Réunion…
Sibylle de Villeneuve is the founder of the Raoul agency, a PR agency which is working for the most innovative Start-ups and ETIs.
Created in 2013, the agency supports VCs (Balderton, OneRagtime, Hardware Club, GP Bullhound …), as B2B nuggets (Owkin, Euratechnologies, 55, Octo Technology, Everoad, Adyen, Muzeek ..) and B2C companies (Mister-auto, Bankin ‘, Cosmo connected, OnePark, Virtuo, StaffMe ..).
Sibylle is specialized since the beginning of her career in computer science and new technologies. In 2004, with the LeWeb conference, she felt the wind of Silicon Valley blow on the Hexagon. Her passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, disruption and start-ups has never left her. Before founding Raoul, Sibylle has directed during 6 years the PR & e-Influence department of CRM company group.
Sibylle is graduated from EFAP and has benefited from WIF’s entrepreneurial program at Stanford in 2017.
Head of Communications of the Foundation since 2021, Sally Guilbert is a professional communicator with over 30 years of experience.
After starting out in advertising communications in the decoration industry and then in the food industry, she moved to the insurance sector. Ten years spent in the communication department of GAN Groupama led her successively to define and coordinate a communication policy dedicated to self-employed professionals and local authorities, then to develop the first website of the insurer before designing and implementing sponsorship and sports sponsorship actions. After developing the internal information and employee shareholding promotion system during the company’s privatization, she was responsible for press relations and a public relations program mainly aimed at supporting the actions of the regional departments.
She created the position of External Relations Manager for Consors France, then the European leader in online stock brokerage, before joining the BNP Paribas group in 2002.
Appointed Head of Communications at BNP Paribas Cardif in 2010, she will consolidate the reputation and visibility of the expertise of the insurance subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group by managing a team of fifteen people and coordinating an international network of some 60 communications officers in 36 countries.
She will support the company’s general management in the expression, appropriation and application of the company’s transformation, in order to design a dedicated change management action plan and a management communication strategy.
In 2016, she joined BNP Paribas Personal Finance as Director of Communications and member of the Executive Committee before moving to the Women Initiative Foundation.
Sophie Le Cabellec a passé 18 années au sein de l’agence de design CBA, à Paris, où elle a occupé des postes de chef de projet et directrice de clientèle auprès de marques FMCG nationales et internationales, puis des postes transversaux de traffic manager et Directrice Générale Adjointe, en charge de l’organisation et de la coordination.
En quête de nouveaux horizons, elle quitte Paris en 2015 pour s’installer à Jakarta en Indonésie.
Nouveau continent, nouveau pays, le plus grand archipel du monde la séduit. Elle découvre au travers du monde associatif la diversité et la richesse de l’Indonésie, sa culture, son patrimoine et sa diversité.
Responsable de l’édition de Jakarta pour Lepetitjournal.com, premier media online francophone pour expatriés dans le monde, elle s’investit pour transmettre sa passion pour son pays d’accueil auprès des communautés francophone de l’archipel.
Sophie est diplômée d’une Maitrise Sciences de Gestion à l’université de Paris-Dauphine. Elle est mariée et a un enfant.
Nolwenn Godard, ex Silicon Valley Tech executive and now Director of the Office of Data and Innovation for the State of California, has extensive experience in building products and platforms in global, fast-paced environments. She is passionate about harnessing data and technology for value creation and social impact.
At PayPal, she has led multiple market entries in extremely complex regulatory environments, expanded financial products internationally, grown their usage domestically, and transformed systems into scalable world-class platforms. She has helped lead the IPOs of PayPal (post eBay separation) and of the digital bank Sofi. Her early career includes an experience at the video game publisher Ubisoft and at a microfinance non-profit in the Middle East.
Passionate about leveraging Diversity & Inclusion as tools for performance and innovation, she teaches on the topic at UC Berkeley as a lecturer and has been engaged in social and civic action for over a decade (ex-president of the Employee Resource Group for women at PayPal, the co-president of the UC Berkeley Alliance for Inclusive AI and director of the Women Initiative Foundation, she has had the opportunity to lead an expert consultation and provide recommendations on how to foster gender equality in France to Marlene Schiappa and Roland Lescure, respectively French minister of gender equality French Representative for the French citizen of North America at the time).
Nolwenn earned her MBA from ESSEC business School in France. She was named one of Silicon Valley’s Top 100 Women of Influence in 2018.
Michele Sicard is an accomplished Corporate Communications professional, a deeply experienced brand builder with a multi-cultural perspective. She has led communications programs and internal teams on both sides of the Atlantic. She is adept at devising and implementing strategies that serve to enhance public relations and branding while executing negotiations to drive maximum exposure through partnerships and special events. She possesses extensive experience of senior management.
Michele has worked at the highest level for over 15 years at BNP Paribas. As Head of Corporate Communications for BNP Paribas Americas, she directed and oversaw all facets of brand communications, including media relations, advertising, branding, social media management, special events, sponsorship, philanthropy and internal communications.She successfully increased the brand awareness of the company through a targeted communications strategy.
Before moving to the New York, Michele was the Global Head of Media relationsand Internal Communications where she managed a 15-person domestic team and coordinated an international network of communications officers. She formulated a media strategy, including the multibillion-dollar takeover of Paribas in 1999, managed media relations, inquiries and briefings with European, US and Asian media. She accounted for critical domestic and international media relations.She also led communications and hospitality for major events.
Michele has a communications background in the insurance industry as well, at GAN as Head of Media Relations and in a communications agency.
Anne-Marie Hubert, Québec Managing Partner, is known for promoting growth in people and organizations she is involved with.
Focused on opportunities and results, she leverages the knowledge, experience and talent of key individuals from client teams and the global Firm to drive change. She has a track record of helping clients successfully re-think business models to create more solid foundations for growth and long-term competitive advantage, while managing underperformance risk.
Anne-Marie is well known for her positive outlook and ability to bring people from diverse backgrounds together to achieve common goals. For over 30 years, her primary objective has been attracting, developing and helping the best people achieve their full potential.
As a member of the EY Global Advisory Council from 2007 to 2009 and member of EY Canada’s Executive Committee from 2009 to 2015, Anne-Marie has a reputation for disrupting the status quo to make it easier for our people to provide quality services and positively impact our economy and communities. She is Chair of the Public Policy Forum and serves on the Board of Directors of Montréal International, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (MILA), the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montréal, the Institute of Corporate Directors – Québec Chapter and the Society for the Celebration of Montreal’s 375th Anniversary.
From 2002 to 2006, she led Ernst & Young Canada’s gender equity initiatives and served as the Canadian representative on the Americas Gender Equity Task Force. In December 2006, she received the Rosemary Meschi award, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the advancement of women in the Americas. She was recognized in 2009, 2010 and 2011 as one of Canada’s Top Most Powerful Women and has joined the WXN Hall of Fame in 2012. In June 2012, she was selected as one of the three Champions of Women in Business leaders chosen by Catalyst Canada. She is also a member of the Order of Canada.
A graduate of McGill University (B.Com with distinction Finance/Entrepreneurship) and of the Advanced Management Program of the Wharton School of Business (Philadelphia), she has completed the ICD Directors Education program and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.
Named as Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada, Christiane is an accomplished senior executive with a track record in finance, transformational leadership and governance with leading organizations, Christiane is a savvy trilingual communicator, recognized for her strategic investment advisory expertise and her business and institutional relationships across Canada and internationally.
Prior to starting her consulting firm, she successively served as President of SNC-Lavalin Capital, where she built a highly-regarded international investment advisory business, and as Executive Vice President Strategic Partnerships and Business Development for Desjardins Group accountable for Canadian and international corporate development.
For the last two years, she has been advising Toronto-based Hydro One, Canada’s largest electricity transmission and distribution service provider and other clients.
All in all, Christiane advised or arranged over $10 B in innovative infrastructure and M&A transactions,
Christiane is deeply familiar with public policy, stakeholder management and the global competitive landscape. Through her C-suite roles, she brings firsthand experience in growing business and understands the risks and sustainabilitychallenges to drive innovation and grow profitable market share for small firms and multinationals alike.
In 2017, Christiane became the fourth woman to Chair the Board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the Supervisory Board of RATP Dev, the Paris-based mass transit operator moving 14M passengers daily in 15 countries. She is also a Director of Yamana Gold and chairs the Audit Committee of AGF Group.
She is co-president of the Montreal Chapter of the Women Initiative Foundation inspiring women entrepreneurs to grow internationally
Laurence Onfroy is a serial entrepreneur and globetrotter. She has lived, worked, and travelled the world for many years. Expert in brand creation, international development and strategy, she is determined and committed.
Laurence Onfroy started her career in 1998 as manager in marketing and communications for international luxury hotel brands, then LVMH. Having led the international marketing strategy for Robert Half International, and external relations and public affairs of the French subsidiary of Egg Banking Plc. (Prudential’ Online bank), Laurence co-founded two startups in eCommerce and Wellness, which she successfully sold.
Passionate about hospitality, she launched TemptingPlaces in 2010, the first collection of boutique hotels in the world. Choosing an international scope, staffing-up a multicultural team, and capitalizing on a savoir-faire “made in France”, allowed the company to enlist 140 hotels in 34 countries. (The company was sold in 2018 to a worldwide hospitality group). An entrepreneur with a mission, Laurence Onfroy represents France as member of the official delegation to the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Summit in Mexico (2012), Moscow (2013), and Sidney (2014). She is a regular participant to the French Travel delegations of the French minister of foreign affairs. An active member of entrepreneur networks, business angel, she also coaches start-up founders.
Mentee of WBMI in 2014, Laurence Onfroy participated to the Stanford Women Entrepreneur Program created by the WIF and BNP Paribas Wealth Management.
Since 2018, she actively contributes to the WIF foundation and develops new programs promoting women entrepreneurship and business and economic development more generally. She contributes the implementation of the foundation’s programs in Asia.
Laurence holds a Masters in Marketing Management& Communications (ICHEC – Brussel & EFAP communications – Paris), is married, and has a child.
Raised in Brazil, Renata has three nationalities (Brazilian, French and Italian) and speaks four languages. She joined ENGIE in 2018 as Group Talent Director and launched ExpAND and Fifty-Fifty Programs. This last one aims to create the necessary conditions to achieve gender balance by 2030. Since 2022, Renata leads Talent Acquisition, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the Group. Recently, she launched the new ENGIE Global DEI Strategy: Be.U@ENGIE, which strengths the inclusive cultural transformation along the organization.
Previously, she worked for more than ten years as the HR & Communication Director for Snap-on, an American Industrial Group. She has a previous career background in legal, finance and audit, having worked for companies such as Price Waterhouse, Electricité de France – EDF and Lafarge.
Renata holds a bachelor in Law from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), an LLM in International Economic Law from the University of Warwick (UK) and two MBAs, one in Management from IBMEC (Business School in Brazil) and the other one in Human Resources from Université Paris Dauphine (France). She is certified in Lean Management by Telecom Paris and certified coach by CTI Co-active Coaching Institute.
