Patrick Combes ’78

Patrick Combes assumed leadership of Viel & Cie in 1979, subsequently transforming the company from a modest domestic player in France into a holding company controlling CFT, Compagnie Financiere Tradition, one of the world’s leading interdealer brokers.

A leader in a broad range of financial products, the company operates a large network of subsidiaries in the world’s major financial centers—London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore—but is in total present in 27 countries and has more than 2,000 employees around the world.

In addition, Mr. Combes is the shareholder of Bourse Direct, which is the fourth-largest online broker in France, and he also has a 40 percent stake in Swiss Life, a private bank.

Mr. Combes is a member of the BIM commission since 2001 (Fédération Bancaire Française), of the strategic committee of Paris Europlace since 1994 and of the Euro 50 Group. He is also vice president of the Turgot Association and a member of the board of directors of Planet Finance since 2003.

Mr. Combes attended the École des Affaires Européennes (ESCP-EAP) in Paris and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a knight of the Légion d’honneur, a distinguished decoration in France.