FPA Financial Services Dinner 2023

event_image Event offered by:
Foreign Policy Association

Event Details

Date:
Thursday, March 9, 2023
6:00 PM - 9:30 PM 
Location:
St. Regis Hotel
2 East 55th Street
New York, NY
Event type
Lunch / Dinner  

Event Description

Please join the Foreign Policy Association on Thursday, March 9th for our 2023 Financial Services Dinner! We will be honoring Dr. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman of Societe Generale and Mr. Phillipe Donnet, Group CEO of Assicurazioni Generali with the Foreign Policy Association Corporate Social Responsibility Award. We will also recognize The Hon. Jean Charest, Former Premier of Quebec and partner at McCarthy Tétrault with the FPA Medal. 

Video

Event Speakers

    • Lorenzo Bini Smaghi - Honoree
      Chairman of the Board, Societe Generale

      An Italian national, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi holds a degree in Economic Sciences from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and a Ph.D in Economic Sciences from the University of Chicago. He began his career in 1983 as an economist in the Research Department of the Bank of Italy. In 1994, he was appointed Head of the Policy Division of the European Monetary Institute. In October 1998, he took up the position of DirectorGeneral of International Financial Relations in the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance. He was Chairman of SACE from 2001 to 2005. From June 2005 to December 2011, he was a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. From 2012 to 2016, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of SNAM (Italy). From 2016 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Italgas (Italy). He has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Societe Generale since 2015.

    • Philippe Donnet - Honoree
      Group CEO, Assicurazioni Generali

      Philippe Donnet is a business executive with Italian and French citizenship and has been CEO of the Generali Group since March 17, 2016.

      He joined the French insurer AXA in 1985, holding various managerial roles until 1997. In 1999, he became CEO of AXA Assicurazioni in Italy and in 2001, Regional CEO with responsibility for Southern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Canada. In 2003, he became CEO of AXA Japan and in 2006, assumed the position of CEO for the entire Asia-Pacific region.

      Since 2007, he has been Managing Director of Wendel Investissement for the Asia-Pacific region in Singapore. Subsequently, in 2010, he co-founded the investment firm HLD in Paris. In 2008, he joined the Board of Directors of Vivendi where he sat until 2016.

      Donnet first arrived in Generali in October 2013 as Country Manager Italy and CEO of Generali Italia, where he led the integration program of the company’s five brands within the national territory. During the same period, starting in February 2015, he held the position of Chairman of the MIB School of Management in Trieste, Italy for three years.

      He was appointed CEO of the Generali Group, which currently employs 75,000 people and has 173,000 agents in fifty nations around the world, in March 2016. In this role, he oversaw the successful completion of two strategic plans and led Generali to the best operating result in its 190-year history.

      Within the current strategic plan, sustainability is the originator of everything Generali does. Under Donnet’s leadership, the Group’s efforts in embedding sustainable practices into every aspect of the business accelerated, and these initiatives were duly recognized by the most authoritative international rating agencies. In addition, during his mandate, Generali adopted best practices in corporate governance throughout the Group.

      Beyond the business itself, Donnet reinforced the Group’s historic ties with Venice, where it has been present since 1832, by enabling the renovation of the city’s Royal Gardens as well as the restoration of the monumental Procuratie Vecchie in Saint Mark’s Square. He is among the promoters of the association that supports Venice as the world capital of sustainability.

      In 2017, he also launched The Human Safety Net, the Generali Group’s global sustainability program that supports vulnerable families as well as the integration of refugees into the business world through entrepreneurial projects. Donnet is a member of the Board of Directors of The Human Safety Net and a member of the General Council of the Giorgio Cini Foundation. He also sits on the Steering Committee of the Insurance Development Forum (IDF).

      In 2022, Donnet was named "Best CEO" in the insurance sector in the All-Europe Executive Team ranking of “Institutional Investor”.

      He obtained a degree in Engineering from École Polytechnique in 1983, and in 1986, he became an actuary. In 1991, he received the title of agrégé from the Institut des Actuaires Français (IFA).

       

    • The Hon. Jean J. Charest - Honoree
      Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP

      As Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Premier of Québec, and with a public service career spanning almost 30 years, Jean Charest is one of Canada’s best known political figures. Jean Charest was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984 and, at age 28, became Canada’s youngest cabinet minister as Minister of State for Youth. In 1991, he was named Minister of the Environment and Minister of Industry and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada in 1993. In 1994, Jean Charest was chosen Leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party. He held that post until 1998 when he became Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Mr. Charest then broke a 50-year provincial record by winning three consecutive election campaigns in 2003, 2007 and 2008. Furthermore, the Charest government initiated an unprecedented labour mobility agreement between France and Québec and was best known for a major initiative for the sustainable development of Northern Québec called “Plan Nord”. Jean Charest is notably the initiator of the negotiation for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). He is today a Partner at Canadian law firm McCarthy Tétrault, where he provides invaluable expertise to the firm’s clients with his in-depth knowledge and experience with public policy, corporate Canada and international matters. As a strategic advisor with a unique perspective, he supports clients on complex transactions, projects and international mandates, as they navigate the global business environment

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