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New executive team at Dunkerque Port

(Posted on 02/04/19)

The Board of the Trustees of Dunkerque-Port, meeting in its new configuration under the chairmanship of Mr. Michel Lalande, Prefect of the Hauts-de-France Region, has elected Ms. Emmanuelle Verger Chair of the Board of Trustees for a period of 5 years.

France's third-ranking port, Dunkerque is well known as a port handling heavy bulk cargoes for its numerous industrial installations.

A graduate of the École Polytechnique and the National Civil Engineering School (École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées), Emmanuelle Verger began her career with the County Highways Authority (DDE) in the Loire Atlantique département. She held international positions for Veolia and then in the Department of Foreign Economic Relations of the Ministry of the Economy, where she was in charge of South America.

She is currently the Chief Financial Officer for EDF's Nuclear and Thermal Production Division. She joined the Board of the Trustees of Dunkerque-Port in 2015 and was a member of the Audit Committee. Backed by her excellent knowledge of the industrial world, in her statement to the Board she indicated her intention to bring to the port all her skills in this field, gained in France and abroad. Ms Verger will rely on a new team of professionals in logistics and industry: Régis Degelcke, former CEO of Auchan International and Chairman of SRS (Société de Recherche de Synergie), who joined the port's supervisory board this year. He will bring all his knowledge of logistics and distribution to the port teams, Laurence Jacques, Executive Director of strategic technologies at MINAKEM, a pharmacy specialist who has also held positions with the Lafarge group, expressed her satisfaction in joining the supervisory board of the Major Seaport of Dunkerque (GPMD), as did François Lavallée, President of the Littoral Côte d'Opale Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Board of the Trustees will be able to count on the support of François Soulet de Brugière, its former Chairman, who will bring all his experience to the new team. The Board of the Trustees re-elected Patrice Vergriete as Vice-President. Patrice Vergriete was particularly involved in the industrial and logistics developments as part of the agreement linking the Dunkerque Urban Community (CUD) and the port from 2016 to 2020. He stated he would continue his partnership with the same determination. He cited in particular the signing, during the energy transition meetings, of the agreement between the Major Seaport, RTE and ENEDIS for the creation of their electricity substation in the Western port, as part of the supply of electricity for all the local industrialists.

The port will also be able to count on its team of Government representatives, including Jean-Yves Belotte who will once again chair the Audit committee and Laurent Tapadinhas, the new Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development and Housing (DREAL). Xavier Bertrand emphasized that "the GPMD is a tremendous asset for the Region, which enables the direct or indirect employment of 35,000 people. Dunkerque helps make Hauts-de-France the region with the largest harbourfront in France with an annual cumulative traffic of more than 100 million tons of goods. The construction of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal will strengthen this position and make the region a logistics hub." Michel Lalande lauded the quality of the discussions among members of the Board, which will play a major role in implementing the work recommended in the North Corridor report submitted to the Prime Minister in 2018.

Emmanuelle Verger called for the commitment of all GPMD employees, whom she knows are particularly keen to see the port develop.