Thierry Breton, France's former finance minister and a close ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has joined Rothschild as a senior advisor. Mr Breton is well-known in France as former chairman of France Telecom, where he worked from 2002 to 2005, as well as for being the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry between February 2005 and May 2007. He joined Harvard Business School as a professor of management in July. In between his Harvard commitments, Mr Breton will advise Rothschild on the US market, in particular at the macro-economic level. He will belong to the council of “senior advisors” which already includes former Bank of England governor Lord George and former head of Daimler Chrysler Klaus Mangold. Paris-based Banque Rothschild & Cie posted a 20 per cent rise in net profit for the full-year 2006, registering a 22 per cent rise in revenues according to the annual report of its parent company Paris Orleans. Net income came in at €385 million ($530 million) for 2006. Group net profit came in at €130.8 million.