Muriel Penicaud French businesswoman, politician Date of Birth: 31.03.1955 Country: France

1. Early Life and Education
2. Local Government Career
3. Business Career
4. Political Career

Early Life and Education

Muriel Pénicaud was born on February 10, 1965, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. She earned a bachelor's degree in history in 1975 and a master's degree in education sciences in 1976 from the University of Paris-Nanterre. In 1980, she obtained a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in clinical psychology from the University of Strasbourg-1. She also attended a program at INSEAD in 1995.

Local Government Career

From 1976 to 1985, Pénicaud worked in local government, including at the National Center for Public Service in Local Government (CNFPT). She also headed the Lorraine Center for Children and Youth (CLEJ).

Business Career

In 1993, Pénicaud joined Danone as Director of Training. She held various leadership positions within the group, including Director of Executive Education (1996-2000) and Director of Human Resources (2000-2002). From 2002 to 2008, she served as Deputy CEO of Dassault Systèmes, where she was also responsible for human resources.

Pénicaud returned to Danone in 2008 as Chief Human Resources Officer. From 2014 to 2017, she was CEO of the public agency Business France. She also held positions at Orange and became a member of the board of Aéroports de Paris in 2014.

Political Career

Pénicaud began her political career in the Ministry of Labour, where she served as an advisor to Minister of Labour Martine Aubry in the early 1990s. She headed the National Institute for Labour, Employment, and Vocational Training (INTEFP) from 2006 to 2009 and also chaired the High Council for Social Dialogue.

On May 17, 2017, Pénicaud became Minister of Labour in Édouard Philippe's government. She retained this position under the second Philippe government formed on June 21, 2017. She was removed from the cabinet on July 6, 2020, when the Castex government was appointed.

On August 26, 2020, the Council of Ministers appointed Pénicaud as France's Permanent Representative to the OECD, a position she assumed on September 28, 2020.