Pierre-Jean Esmieu-Fournel is an experienced investment banker and corporate finance executive with over 25 years of experience advising corporates, entrepreneurs, and investors on complex domestic and cross-border transactions.
A graduate of HEC Paris with a major in Finance (cum laude), Pierre-Jean began his career at Société Générale, within the Structured Finance teams in Johannesburg, New York, and London, where he worked on international financing and M&A transactions. He subsequently joined Deutsche Bank in Paris before moving to the corporate side at Ethypharm, where he served as Vice President Business Development & M&A and Chief Financial Officer, leading multiple strategic acquisitions and financing operations.
He later joined Rabobank as a Senior Banker, developing an international client portfolio in the food, agribusiness, and consumer goods sectors, and structuring complex European transactions. Pierre-Jean then became Chief Financial Officer of the Loret Group, further strengthening his hands-on experience in corporate leadership and financial management.
Building on this dual background in investment banking and corporate management, Pierre-Jean founded Fournel Advisory in 2013, with the ambition of supporting management teams, shareholders, and investors in M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, capital raises, and financial restructurings, in France and internationally.
In parallel, he founded Blue Group, an ecosystem of more than 20 B2B service companies, which he scaled to over 700 employees before exiting the group in 2019.
Recognized for his international outlook and extensive transactional track record, Pierre-Jean brings to Fournel Advisory a unique blend of expertise — combining the perspectives of an investment banker, a corporate finance executive, and an entrepreneur.