Mathematics & Corporate Finance studies at Dauphine University (MASS + Master 225) 9 years in M&A advisory, participating notably to the creation of Alantra’s office in Paris 6 years in Corporates (Imerys & TSG) with M&A, Integration and Business Development roles delivering solid acquisition track-record (over 25 deals) internationally

Aurélien Guenot is M&A Group Director at TSG Group since 2021. He oversees the group’s acquisition
strategy across the countries where the company is active by managing assessment and negotiation processes and supervising performance and integration reviews for newly acquired companies.
Aurélien Guenot previously served as Business Development Director at Imerys and participated in the creation of Alantra’s offices in Paris from 2015 to 2017. Aurélien Guenot graduated with a master's degree in corporate finance, financial engineering and leverage finance from Université ParisDauphine – PSL.

Eric Besançon, 54 ans

Diplômé de l’ESCP-Europe et du MBA d’Harvard, Eric Besançon a débuté sa carrière chez Arthur Andersen sous la direction de René Proglio.

Eric Besançon a ensuite travaillé dans différentes directions financières de sociétés de biotechnologies, et a été DAF-Adjoint de Genset SA, où il a œuvré à son introduction au NASDAQ.

Banquiers d'affaires pendant vingt ans à Londres et Paris, Eric Besançon a conseillé de grands fonds LBOs et groupes industriels sur leurs stratégies et leurs opérations de M&A, LBO et ECM/DCM sur plus de trente milliards de transactions.

Eric Besançon a également œuvré au développement de plusieurs scale-ups financés par des fonds de VC en siégeant à leur Conseil d’Administration et en les aidant à lever des fonds.

En 2019, Fabrice Collet, le PDG de B&B Hôtels (soutenu par Goldman Sachs), lui a confié la mission de créer l’équipe M&A qui est aujourd’hui le plus gros acquéreur d’hôtels en Europe, et, surtout, compte 7 professionnels.

B&B Hotels est le plus grand opérateur européen d’hôtellerie «value-for-money » en Europe et exploite 700 hôtels principalement en France, en Allemagne, en Italie et en Espagne.
Le groupe propose une offre de « select services » hôteliers « value-for-money », alliant confort et fonctionnalité, à un prix accessible à tous.

B&B a aussi une démarche environnementale pionnière et est le premier groupe certifié CSR.

Plus de 15 ans d’expérience dans le conseil financier aux entreprises en transformation et à leurs actionnaires.

Cédric participe à de nombreuses missions en situation complexe, au cours desquelles il a développé une forte expertise autour notamment de l’élaboration de plan stratégique, de la conduite de plans de transformation, du distressed M&A et de la levée de fonds.

Simone Arnaboldi, Arcadia SGR - Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer

Simone has 25 years of experience in private equity.

He is a Partner and CEO of Arcadia SGR, a leading Italian lower mid-market private equity firm which he co-founded in 2008. He also serves as Chairman and Board Member of several portfolio companies of Arcadia.

Between 2017 and 2022 he also served as an Independent Director at Industrie De Nora, the worldwide leading supplier of catalytic coatings, insoluble electrodes and equipment for water treatment, which IPOed at a market capitalization of ~€3 billion.

Between 2005 and 2007 he was a Founding Partner and member of the Board of Directors of Management & Capitali, a publicly traded investment company with over €550 million in assets under management focused on turnarounds and special situations in Italy.

Prior to Management & Capitali, he served for eight years as a Director and member of the Business Development Board at Bridgepoint, a leading pan-European private equity firm.

Previously, he held investment roles at SO.PA.F., one of the pioneers in the Italian private equity market.

Simone started his career with Pirelli and Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance.

He holds an MBA from Bocconi University (with honors) and a degree in electronic engineering from Politecnico di Milano. He is also currently a member of the Board of Associazione Gianluca Spina, a charitable foundation sponsoring students in need to pursue MBAs and other post-graduate management degrees.