Jean-François Théodore

Jean-François Théodore (5 December 1946 – 18 May 2015) was a French businessman, President, chairman and CEO of Euronext N.V., deputy CEO and Head of Strategy of NYSE Euronext Inc. for Euronext N.V and chairman of its Managing Board.

Early life and education Jean-François Théodore was born in Paris, to civil servants, on 5 December 1946. He attended Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, the prestigious Ecole Nationale D'Administration (ENA) and received his law degree (LLB) from Université de Paris.

Career He began his career at the Treasury Department in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, where he worked from 1974 to 1989.

In 1990 Théodore became the chairman and CEO of Société des Bourses Françaises (SBF), the main French Cash financial market at the time.

Following the move to Euro, Théodore saw that consolidation was the future of the financial markets. Through his efforts, in 1999, various French Markets (MATIF, MONEP, New Market) merged into a single company Paris Stock Exchange (Paris Bourse SA).

His next efforts were concentrated on forming a new pan-European exchange and moving the European financial market to a more modernized structure. At the time of its creation it was estimated that the stocks listed on Euronext markets had the combined value of $2.2 trillion, which, at the time was almost twice that of the Deutsche Borse in Frankfurt, at $1.4 trillion. The same year it added Lisbon Stock Exchange to its group, and became the first pan-European exchange, present in 5 countries.

In 2009 he retired from his post at Euronext, but continued to guide the exchange through strategic mergers and acquisitions.

His colleagues, financial market specialists and press noted that his efforts and achievements were not so much for personal financial gain, but for reaching the goals of his vision for the company and the markets. In part, the success and speed of achievements were attributed to his modest approach, absence of arrogance and strength of conviction.

Personal life Théodore was married to Claudine, a dermatologist, since 1976. They have three children. In September 2014 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died on 18 May 2015.