Marie-Hélène Loison

Marie-Hélène Loison graduated from Sciences Po Paris and the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. She began her career in 1996 at Société Générale in export financing. She joined AFD Group in 2000, at Proparco, AFD’s subsidiary in charge of private sector financing. She was firstly an Investment Officer responsible for structuring financing in the Agribusiness, Health and Tourism sectors. She then joined the Private Equity team, which she headed in 2008 to structure and develop operations. In 2011, she was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Proparco in charge of Operations, heading a department of around 100 people in France and abroad. She worked on developing activity, revising strategy, and contributed to a €200 million capital increase.

Marie-Hélène Loison joined AFD in 2015 as Director of the Mediterranean Department, supervising a network of field offices in eight countries of operation. She initiated the development of activity in the Western Balkans and subsequently redirected activity towards the Middle East in response to the Syrian crisis. In September 2018, she was appointed Deputy to the Executive Director of Operations, a department of 1,500 people implementing approximately €10 billion in financing per year. One of her main tasks was the creation of 17 regional offices to decentralize the department’s operations. 

She took up her position as Deputy Chief Executive Officer on 8 July 2021.