Chairman of the Supervisory Board of "Investisseurs & Partenaires", Inspector General of Finance, member of the Academy of Technologies, and Senior Fellow of FERDI, Jean-Michel Severino has been Director of Development at the French Ministry of Cooperation, Vice-President for East Asia at the World Bank, and Director General of the French Development Agency. He is or has been a non-executive director of the EIB, Ecobank International, Danone, Orange, and Michelin, and chairs Veolia's "Critical Friends Committee". He has been a member of several high-level secretary general’ UN panels. He has written two books on Africa with Odile Jacob, co-authored, (Entreprenante Afrique, 2017, Le Temps de l'Afrique , 2010). He was also an advisor to the European Commissioner for Development and a member of the French Foreign Affairs Council.