About me
Dr. Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner at SouthBridge Group and CEO of SouthBridge Investments, is a highly experienced and well-known finance and development expert, with long-standing global experience leading and transforming organisations in the private, public and non-for-profit spheres. She held senior positions at the World Bank Group including Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President, She was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the African Development Bank (AfDB. Dr. Léautier held senior leadership roles at The Trade and Development Bank (TDB) Group, including Vice Chair of the Board, Special Advisor to the President before becoming TDB’s first Chief Operating Officer. She also led the Asset Management business of TDB, including the launch of a unique product for trade finance in Africa.
Dr. Léautier is known for her skills in operational management, transformational leadership, resource mobilisation, working with complex multi-constituency governance structures, and engaging with the highest levels of government. She has founded several companies. In addition to her extensive career, Dr. Léautier holds advisory and governance roles on several boards, including the UN Foundation; Orca Energy Group; and was chair of the board of Norsad Capital. She chairs the Risk and Audit Committee of CFAO and is a member of the board of Les Eaux Minérales d’Oulmes, and Chair of the Board of FSD Africa and FSD Africa Investment. She was chair of the Investment Committee of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). She is a member of the Board of Momentum Group, a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and a member of the Global Board of World Resources Institute (WRI). Dr. Léautier was a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Regional Advisory Group for Africa and has previously served as co-Chair for the Global Agenda Councils of the WEF on youth unemployment and also for Africa. In the creative industry and luxury sector, Dr. Léautier is emeritus Board Member of the Africa Culture Fund (ACF). Other advisory board roles she has held include with MIT, OCP Group, African Economic Research Consortium, Institute for Security Studies (ISS), King Badouin Foundation US (KBFUS), and Nelson Mandela Institute for Science and Technology (NM-AIST).
She has authored several books including “Leadership in a Globalized World: Complexity, Dynamics and Risk”. She was distinguished professor at Sciences Po Paris, and has lectured at MIT. She holds a Masters of Science in Transportation, and a PhD in Engineering (thesis on Infrastructure Systems) from MIT. She holds a doctorate in Humane Letters from North Central College and a doctorate in Law from Lancaster University, honoris causa.
