The French business became part of Spain's MAPFRE last year.

La Financière Responsible, a subsidiary of MAPFRE, the Spain-headquartered insurance group, has appointed a new chairman, Thierry Chesneau. 

Chesneau's appointment follows the retirement of LRF’s co-founder Olivier Johanet who is remaining a shareholder and governing board member, LRF, an investment firm based in Paris, said in a statement late last week. LFR has, among its attributes, a strong focus on sustainable investments, it says. It has operated as a MAPFRE subsidiary since 2023.

A former top athlete – a skiier and former volunteer vice president of the French Ski Federation – Chesneau was a founding partner of the Olifan Group (2014 to 2023) and a senior banker, chief quality officer and general secretary for compliance at the Natixis Group.

In April 2023, the firm launched an equity strategy, called Echiquier Go Local. The fund seeks opportunities thrown up by the fragmentation of supply chains – through which 80 per cent of world trade flows – and the high concentration of production sites. For example, there are worries about whether China’s moves against Taiwan, a major producer of silicon chips, will cause big problems for this sector worldwide.

La Financière Responsible was founded in 1991.