To guarantee effective action and perpetuate its mission, the Veolia Foundation is organized around a permanent team responsible for day-to-day operation. The Veolia Foundation's Selection Committee and Board of Directors ensure the continuity of its mission.
The Board of Directors
The Veolia Foundation's Board of Directors is the Foundation's strategic governance and oversight body. It ensures that the Foundation fulfils its mission in accordance with its statutes, applicable legislation and the objectives set by the founding company.
It is also responsible for approving financial sponsorship projects requesting support in excess of €150,000.
The Board of Directors meets twice a year under the chairmanship of Antoine Frérot, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement and President of Veolia Foundation. It brings together representatives of the Veolia Group as well as qualified individuals who endorse the actions undertaken in their areas of expertise.
Antoine Frérot, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement and President of Veolia Foundation
Veolia Internal Directors (as of December 31, 2025)
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Antoine FrérotChairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia Environnement and President of Veolia Foundation -
Estelle BrachlianoffChief Executive Officer, Veolia -
Sylvain BoucherDelegate for France, Veolia -
Anne CagnardSecretary of the Veolia Environnement Social and Economic Committee -
Sébastien DazianoSenior Executive Vice President, Strategy, Innovation and Development, Veolia -
Olivier GrunbergExecutive Vice President and General Counsel, Veolia Eau France -
Dinah LoudaInternational Relations Advisor, Veolia -
Laurent ObadiaDeputy Executive Vice President, Stakeholders and Communication, Veolia -
Helman le Pas de SéchevalGeneral Counsel, Veolia -
Pierre-Yves PouliquenSenior Executive of Multifaceted Performance and Sustainable Development, Veolia -
Isabelle QuainonSenior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Veolia -
Catherine RicouExecutive Vice President, Hazardous Waste Activities Europe, Veolia
External Directors (as of December 31, 2025)
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Alain BoinetFounder of the NGO Solidarités InternationalAlain Boinet is the founder of the humanitarian association Solidarités International, active in about twenty countries with 2000 employees. It intervenes in war and disaster situations, from emergency to reconstruction. After having been its CEO for more than 30 years, Alain Boinet is now a member of the Board of Directors of Solidarités International and leads several missions for the association.
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Anne-Marie CoudercFormer French Minister, Former Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Air France-KLMAnne-Marie Couderc is a lawyer by training. She embraced a career in business in the press sector with Hachette Filipacchi Presse, where she exercised management and editorial responsibilities. She has also been active in the political sphere, with the Municipality of Paris and subsequently as Deputy Minister reporting to the Minister of Employment and Social Affairs in the Juppé administration.
Chairwoman of Presstalis (press distribution) from 2010 to 2017, she has since held a number of mandates on group governing bodies. She has been Chairman of the Air France - KLM Board of Directors since May 15, 2018.
Photo © Christophe Leroux/Air France
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Gilles DegoisDoctor and President of the Leeket Bi Endowment FundGilles Degois is a graduate of the Paris Faculty of Medicine and a specialist in dermatology and syphiligraphy. Chairman and Founder - and today Honorary Chairman - of the nonprofit Kinkeliba set up to promote medical development in West Africa, he has expert knowledge of this region of Africa, having worked there through a number of NGOs.
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Françoise GaillBiologist and Oceanographer, Scientific Advisor at the CNRSFrançoise Gaill is a scientist and former director of the CNRS Ecology and Environment Institute (INEE). Scientific advisor to Tara Océans, she has a particular interest in the mechanisms allowing living organisms to adapt to extreme environments and has participated in numerous international oceanographic surveys.
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Patricia RicardChairwoman of the Paul Ricard Oceanographic InstitutePatricia Ricard has been working in environmental conservation for over 20 years. She has served on the Board of several environmental organizations and contributes to numerous debates and forums. She participates in environmental action juries: Festival Science Frontières, the FEEE Eco-Schools program, ONF (French Forestry Office) actions, etc.
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Thierry VandeveldeFormer Executive Officer of the Veolia FoundationThierry Vandevelde, an engineer and biologist, joined Compagne Générale des Eaux in 1989 as Environmental Protection Manager. He went on to become Head of Research Programs and then Director of Technologies at Veolia Water's International Technical Division. After creating the humanitarian intervention structure Waterforce (now Veoliaforce) in 1998, he was appointed Managing Director of the Veolia Foundation in 2008. He left this position in March 2024 and joined the Foundation's Board of Directors on April 1, 2024.
Thierry Vandevelde is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Vice-Chairman of the French Sports Foundation.
Co-founder of the Global Alliance Against Cholera and other water borne diseases (GAAC), Thierry Vandevelde was a member of the WHO's Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), where he led the working group on water and sanitation for several years, and has contributed to numerous international publications, most recently on targeted approaches to epidemic control.
The selection committee
Chaired by Dinah Louda, the selection committee is made up of 15 employees representing Veolia's different business activities, who together offer a broad range of expertises. Its missions are:
- It selects projects applying for financial assistance up to the amount of €150,000 from among those submitted to it by the operations team ;
- It decides on the amount of the grant awarded, which for some long-term projects may span several years ;
- It helps identify avenues for improvement for each project ;
- It meets several times a year.
Dinah Louda, Chair of the Veolia Foundation's Selection Committee
Dinah Louda is an advisor on international relations to the chairman of Veolia, Antoine Frérot, and president of the Veolia Institute.
The permanent team
To guarantee effective action and perpetuate its mission, the Veolia Foundation is organized around a permanent team responsible for day-to-day operation. Its missions are:
- It selects and examines projects and manages partnerships
- It monitors projects and reports on their progress
- It handles day-to-day operation of the Foundation
Its nine permanent employees are:
- David Poinard, Executive officer
Assisted by Isabelle Vulliez - Clara Bercovici, Project Manager (Project appraisal and monitoring)
- Eva Delcamp, Operations Officer
- José de Graeve, Logistics and Purchasing Manager
- Damien Machuel, Operations Manager
- Valérie Robin, Coordinator
- Romain Verchère, Innovation Program Manager
- Luc Zeller, APAC Regional Ambassador
David Poinard, Executive Officer
Executive Officer of the Veolia Foundation since April 2024, David Poinard is a hydrogeologist by training and holds a doctorate in urban hydrology from INSA Lyon. He has held several management positions at Veolia Water since 2001, and is also involved in Veolia Foundation operations as a Veoliaforce volunteer, working on development projects and crisis situations (natural disasters and armed conflicts). He has also chaired the French Water Partnership (FWP) working group on “WASH in contexts of crisis and fragility” since 2020.