Veolia Institute Governance

The Veolia Institute is a non-profit organization (Association Loi 1901).

The Team

The management team  drives the Institute forward from day to day. It puts forward new lines of thinking, defines major orientations, and identifies priority topics and expert partners. It also implements action programs, coordinates the network of actors and showcases the results of its work. This collective effort is the fruit of regular discussion with the Foresight Committee and is validated by the Board of Directors.

  • Dinah Louda
    President

    Dinah Louda has been President of the Veolia Institute since May 2020, after having been its Executive Director for 5 years. She is also an advisor on international relations to the CEO of Veolia, and a member of the Ethics Committee. At the helm of the Institute, Dinah Louda works to perpetuate and enrich the top-level dialogue developed between the Institute, Veolia, government agencies, the academic and scientific worlds, and NGOs.

    After obtaining a degree at the Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris and a masters in political science from Harvard, Dinah began her career as a journalist, working for several French and international newspapers and magazines from 1983 to 1991, notably for the French weekly Express and for the International Herald Tribune. In 1986, she became the France correspondent for Business International (later absorbed into The Economist Group). 

    She left journalism in 1991 to specialize in corporate communication, joining the Victoire insurance group (now Aviva) as its European Communications Director, and subsequently as Director of Communication at Abeille Assurances until May 2002. She moved on to become Communications Director at Crédit Agricole Indosuez (an investment banking subsidiary), and then at Areva T&D. In 2006, Dinah joined Veolia as the Communications Director of Veolia Water and as a member of the Executive Committee. She also sits on the board of the French-American Foundation.

  • Nicolas Renard
    Executive Director

    Director of Foresight at the Veolia Institute since January 2015, Nicolas Renard became Executive Director of the Institute in May 2020. He has also been Director of Mission to the CEO of the Veolia Group, Antoine Frérot since 2010. He defines the research themes of the Institute as well as the contents of the Foresight Committee meetings and manages the Institute's publications, in particular the Facts Reports journal

    A graduate engineer from AgroParisTech, he is also a graduate of HEC and holds a degree in history from the Sorbonne. He has worked at the Technical Cooperation Service of the French Embassy in Brasilia, at the management consulting firm Eurequip and at Setude Ingénieur Conseil. At the end of 1998, he moved to Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) for the Enda Vietnam Association, of which he became Director. 

    In 2001, he joined Veolia Water's head office in Paris to design new offers for municipalities in France and abroad.

  • Katialine Burgorgue
    Head of Programs

    Katialine Burgorgue joined the Veolia Institute in February 2023 as Program Manager.

    She graduated from the University of Paris-Dauphine in Finance and from the IAE of Poitiers in Corporate Taxation. She spent more than 16 years as a tax specialist in the Tax Departments of the Veolia Group, first in a division (Transport) and then at the headquarters, during which time she had the opportunity to discover the workings of corporate finance.

    For several years now, she has also been interested in the issues and consequences of climate change and ecological transformation, subjects that are supported by the Veolia Institute and Veolia.

  • Raphaella Etienne
    Executive Assistant

    Raphaëlla Etienne joined the Veolia Institute in October 2022 as Executive Assistant to Dinah Louda, President and Nicolas Renard, Executive Director.

    Raphaëlla holds a degree in English (languages, literature and foreign civilizations) and an Executive Assistant diploma from the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She began her career some 15 years ago at Essilor International and then in other major international groups such as Nuxe, Amundi and Accor.

    Before joining Veolia, Raphaëlla was on assignment with the Accor group. She was in charge of organising an incentive in Brazil for the group's best sales representatives. 

    For several years before that, Raphaëlla was a freelance wedding planner and managed the organisation and decoration of weddings and events.

The board of Directors

The board of Directors defines general policy, and directs and controls the management of the Institute. Made up of 15 members – members of the Veolia Group Executive Committee, outside experts recognized for their competencies in the Institute’s areas of interest, and members of the Foresight Committee – it provides a balanced cross-section of the Institute’s different actors. This diversified membership embodies the original positioning of the Veolia Institute and the bridges it has built between private sector players, representatives of civil society, and scientific circles.

As at December 31, 2022:

  • Jean-Pierre Boisivon, Emeritus Professor at Paris II Panthéon‑Assas University, Vice Chair of the Institute;
  • Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Executive Officer, Veolia;
  • Antoine Frérot, Chairman, Veolia;
  • Paul-Louis Girardot, Vice Chair of the Institute;
  • Alain Griot, consultant, former advisor to the Director of Research and Innovation, Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition;
  • Olivier Grunberg, Executive VP and General Secretary, Veolia Water;
  • Philippe Guitard, Senior Executive Vice President, Central & Eastern Europe, Veolia;
  • Pierre-Marc Johnson, international lawyer, former First Minister of Quebec, Chair of the Foresight Committee;
  • Christophe Maquet, Senior Executive Vice President Asia & Pacific, Veolia;
  • Claude Laruelle, Chief Financial Officer, Veolia, Treasurer of the Institute;
  • Helman Le Pas de Sécheval, General Counsel, Veolia;
  • Claude Mandil, former Director General of the International Energy Agency;
  • Julia Marton-Lefèvre, expert in sustainable development and the environment and former Director General of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature);
  • Jean-Pierre Tardieu, Honorary Chairman of the Veolia Institute, former Institutionnal Relations and Sustainability Director, Veolia;
  • Sébastien Treyer, Executive Director of IDDRI (French Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales)