Mulhousien had been number 2 of the ancestor of Medef from 1998 to 2002.
A figure of French employers has passed away. Denis Kessler, president of the reinsurer Scor since 2002, died on Friday June 9 at the age of 71, the group announced in a press release. A former professor of social sciences, in 1990 he became president of the French Federation of Insurance Companies. Mulhousien passed by HEC, he chaired from 1998 to 2002 the economic commission of the National Council of French Employers (CNPF), which became the Medef, before becoming number 2 from 1998 to 2002.
On Twitter, the former president of Medef Laurence Parisot greeted “a genius, thunderous, brilliant, sometimes unbearable, creative as a person, and who brought so many ideas to businesses and the economy of our country”.
Shocked to learn of the death of Denis Kessler, a genius, thunderous, brilliant, sometimes unbearable, creative like no one else, and who brought so many ideas to businesses and the economy of our country, in particular through his commitment to the @medef.
—Laurence Parisot (@LaurenceParisot) June 9, 2023
“During the last two decades, Denis Kessler has been the architect of Scor’s success and reputation throughout the world”, reacted the general manager of Scor, Thierry Léger. The group was indeed on the verge of bankruptcy after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the bursting of the internet bubble when Denis Kessler became CEO in 2002. Under his leadership, the company recovered. Since 2021, he was no longer the general manager of the group, but had kept the presidency.
Denis Kessler had also been a member of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council from 1993 to 2010. He had also been a director of Dexia, Bolloré, BNP Paribas and Dassault Aviation. The boss had also fought against the 35 hours. saying to themselves “deeply European”he was close to the CFDT and Nicole Notat, whom he rubbed shoulders with when he was number 2 of the Medef.