Investment Team

Jérôme Michiels is the Group’s Executive Vice-President, responsible for structuring Wendel’s third-party asset management business. He is also Director of Wendel Growth, member of Wendel’s Management Committee and a voting member of the Investment and Development Committee. He is a Board Member of Bureau Veritas and Scalian.

Jérôme joined Wendel at the end of 2006 as Investment Director and was promoted to Director in January 2010. He was appointed Managing Director in January 2012, and joined the Investment Committee at this date. On October 1, 2015, Jérôme was appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Wendel Group and also joined the Management Committee. On September 11, 2019, he was promoted to Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

From 2002 to 2006, he was an Associate at the investment fund BC Partners. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group from 1999 to 2002, carrying out strategic missions in Europe, particularly in the fields of distribution, transportation, telecommunications and financial services.

Jérôme is a graduate from HEC.

Stefan Leon is a Principal in Wendel’s New York office. He joined Wendel in 2022.

Stefan began his career as an Analyst at BB&T Capital Markets before working for Raymond James Financial, Inc.

He then joined ACON Investments LLC in Washington, D.C. as an Analyst and then as an Associate before being promoted to Principal, a position he has held since 2020.

Stefan holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Finance from the University of Maryland.

Sarah Masson is a Principal on the Investment Team in Paris. She joined Wendel in 2021. She is a Board Member of Scalian.

Prior to joining Wendel, Sarah worked for three years at Bpifrance Investissement, first as an Investment Manager and then as a Senior Investment Manager. She began her career at Duff & Phelps as an Analyst. She then worked for three years at DC Advisory where she was an M&A Associate before being promoted to manager.

Sarah holds a Master of Science in Corporate Finance from EDHEC Business School.

Mathilde Liret is part of the Investment Team in Paris as a Senior Associate. She joined Wendel in 2021.

Prior to joining Wendel, Mathilde worked for three and a half years at Rothschild & Cie in Paris, first as an Investment Banking Analyst Intern, then as an Investment Banking Analyst and finally as an Investment Banking Associate. She also completed two internships, working as a Junior Financial Controller at LVMH and then at Carrefour.

Mathilde holds a master’s degree in Finance and Strategy from Sciences Po Paris.

Tristan Rougevin-Baville is part of the Investment Team in Paris as a Senior Associate. He joined Wendel in 2021.

Prior to joining Wendel, Tristan was a Consultant at Bain & Company for 3 years. He also completed several internships, first in the Global Financial Advisory team at Rothschild & Cie in Paris, then at Zalora Thailand (investment from Rocket Internet) in Bangkok as a Business Analyst and finally as a Private Equity Analyst at Cinven.

Tristan graduated from HEC and holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.

Josh Wertzberger is an Associate on the Investment Team in the New York office. He joined Wendel in 2021.

Prior to joining Wendel, Josh worked at EY-Parthenon as an Associate for more than 2 years, and was previously the Chief Investment Officer and co-founder of Colonnade Capital Partners, a student-created fund which he was involved in for almost 3 years.

Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (Finance and Management) from the University of Virginia.

Agathe Mathoulin is an Associate on the Investment Team in the Paris office. She joined Wendel in 2023.

Prior to joining Wendel, Agathe worked for two years at MBO+ as a Private Equity Analyst and one year as an M&A Analyst at Lazard, which she had initially joined for an internship. Agathe had previously completed two financial audit internships at Brookfield Asset Management in London and PWC in Paris. She was also an Analyst intern at Coty in New York and at PJT Partners in London.

Agathe holds a Master’s degree in Finance from ESCP Business School.

Antoine Vecchione is an Associate on the Investment Team in the Paris office. He joined Wendel in 2023.

Prior to joining Wendel, Antoine worked for four and a half years at Rothschild & Cie in Paris, first as an M&A Analyst Intern, then as an M&A Analyst and finally as an M&A Associate. He also completed two internships, working as an M&A Analyst Intern at Crédit Agricole CIB in Paris and then at Nomura in London.

Antoine holds a Master of Sciences in Management from ESSEC Business School.

Casey Schneider is an Associate on the Investment Team in the New York office. He joined Wendel in 2023.

Prior to joining Wendel North America, Casey worked as an investment banking Analyst for two years for the group Lazard Frères & Co. in New York.

Casey holds a B.S in Engineering with a specialization in Mechanical engineering from Duke University in Durham, NC.

Jérôme Richard is Operating Partner. He joined Wendel in 2019. Jérôme is an observer of the Board of Scalian, and a member of the team managing the investment in Bureau Veritas. He was previously a Board Member of CPI, Constantia Flexibles and Cromology.

Alongside the investment team, he works closely with the senior management of our portfolio companies.

Jérôme began his career at Boston Consulting Group during eight years in France and in the USA, developing expertise in operational transformation and turnaround, mainly in the healthcare and industrial sectors. He was also the recruiting Director of the Paris office. In 2010, Jérôme joined Schneider Electric as a Vice President and took-on leadership positions in purchasing then in sales & business development. In 2016, Jérôme was appointed CEO of John Paul (sold afterwards to Accor), a leading concierge services start-up supported by cutting edge technology to help brands reinventing customer experience.

Jérôme graduated from CentraleSupélec in 2002 (Master of Sciences).

David Varet joined Wendel as an Operating Partner. David is based in Paris and reports to the Executive Board. He joined Wendel in 2021. He is a Board Member of Stahl.

Alongside the investment team, he works closely with the senior management of our portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Wendel, David was the General Manager of Homebox in Paris for 8 years. He started his career as a Senior Technology Consultant in the IT Division of Capgemini. Then, David worked for the group PSA for 5 years, first as an International Project Manager in logistics and distribution and then as a Worldwide Pricing Manager (parts and accessories). He then worked for 5 years at Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm which he left as a Principal.

David is a graduate of École Polytechnique and École des Mines de Paris.

Maud Funaro has joined the investment team as an Operating Director in 2023. She reports to Jérôme Richard and David Varet, co-heads of the Operating team. She is a Board Member of Crisis Prevention Institute.

Maud brings to the team and our portfolio’s companies a strong experience in digital transformation.

Maud began her career in 2005 as an economist at the French Treasury Department. In 2010, she joined the Boston Consulting Group before becoming General Manager of Madame Aime, a lingerie brand that came out of Lejaby. From 2016 to 2021, she worked as Strategy, Digital and Innovation Director for E. Leclerc, reporting to Michel-Edouard Leclerc, in order to accelerate the group’s data and e-commerce performance. She joined the Printemps group early 2021 as Chief Transformation Officer, as a member of the executive committee, to lead the group’s evolution towards omnichannel and personalized customer relationship.

Maud is a graduate of HEC, Sciences Po Paris, ENSAE Paris and the London School of Economics (LSE). She also holds a PhD in Economics from the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS).

Michel Tournier is IT Operating Partner, IT Strategy and Digital Transformation Manager Wendel SE. He joined Wendel in 2019.

Prior to joining Wendel, Michel was Head of IT – Technology Core Solution Group | EMEA/APAC at Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services.

Michel has over 25 years’ experience in Technology management across several industry sectors. He began his career in 1996 at Cofidis, where he participated in the establishment of subsidiaries in Portugal and Argentina for 5 years.

Then, after 3 years in Louis Vuitton in Latin America as MIS Manager and several roles handled for the next 8 years at Shiseido group, he joined ANOVO as Group CIO late 2012. After 3 years of intense centralization, optimization and restructuring, Ingram Micro acquired ANOVO.

Christopher Witherspoon is part of the Investment Team in Paris as the Leader of the fund investment activity of Wendel Growth. He joined Wendel in 2021.

Prior to joining Wendel, Chris was a Senior Investment Manager at UK-based fund of funds, VenCap International PLC in Oxford. He was also part of the British Business Bank’s venture capital team as Senior Investment Manager, and a management consultant with KPMG in London.

Chris holds an MBA in Financial Management from Manchester University Business School. He also holds an MA in Management from Durham University Business School.

Antoine Izsak is part of the Investment Team in Paris as Head of Growth Equity at Wendel Growth. He joined Wendel in 2022.

Prior to joining Wendel, Antoine worked as a Director for seven years in the Large Venture fund of Bpifrance. He began his career at Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners and then worked at L.E.K. Consulting where he gained experience in strategy consulting.

Antoine holds a Master’s degree in Software Development from Supélec Engineering School as well as a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Victoire Laurenty is a Principal working for the Wendel Growth within the Investment team in Paris.

Prior to joining Wendel, Victoire worked at L.E.K. Consulting as a Senior Associate Consultant for almost three years and then as an Investment Manager in the Growth team at Ardian. She then worked as a Principal at Kerala Ventures until 2020 and at Cathay Innovation for two and a half years.

Victoire is a graduate of Telecom ParisTech and holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Diane Schiller is an Associate working for the Wendel Growth within the investment team in Paris.

Prior to joining Wendel, Diane worked for two and a half years at Rothschild & Cie in Paris as a Private Equity Analyst.

Diane holds a triple Master in Business Management in Global Economic Transformation & Technology (GETT), in partnership with UC Berkeley in San Francisco and SKK Graduate School of Business in Seoul.