21 Facts About Anne Lauvergeon

Anne Lauvergeon was born on 2 August 1959 and is a French businesswoman who served as CEO of Areva from 2001 until 2011.

Anne Lauvergeon later grew up in Orleans, where her father became a professor of geography.

Anne Lauvergeon attended the Ecole normale de jeunes filles to pass the Agregation in physics.

From 1985 to 1988, Anne Lauvergeon was with the l'Inspection generale des carrieres.

In 1995, Anne Lauvergeon joined the banking sector, and became a managing partner of Lazard; she was the only woman partner at the firm.

In late 1996, she left the firm after difficulties with Edouard Stern; according to media reports at the time, Stern had particularly taken exception to an invitation that Anne Lauvergeon received to join the board of French aluminium company Pechiney.

In March 1997, Anne Lauvergeon was appointed general director of Alcatel, before becoming part of the group's executive committee.

In June 1999 Anne Lauvergeon was appointed CEO of the group Cogema, succeeding Jean Syrota, who resigned under pressure from The Greens.

In 2004, Anne Lauvergeon resisted a request from Nicolas Sarkozy, then finance minister, to help bail out French transport and energy company Alstom.

Anne Lauvergeon became one of the world's top uranium producers and mining accounted for 12 per cent of its 2010 revenue.

In June 2010 Anne Lauvergeon attended the Bilderberg conference in Sitges, Spain.

Anne Lauvergeon was replaced by Luc Oursel, member of the Areva board of management since 2007.

Since leaving Areva, Anne Lauvergeon has been a partner and managing director of Efficiency Capital, an investment firm that focuses on energy, technologies, and natural resources.

On 16 October 2009 Anne Lauvergeon addressed journalists outside the "Women's Forum" organised in Deauville.

In 2011, Anne Lauvergeon filed a legal complaint after she discovered a confidential report by private investigators on her husband Olivier Fric's business activities.

Also in 2012, a court ordered the company to sign a contract allowing Anne Lauvergeon to receive her severance pay.

Only 11 days before the first round of the 2012 French presidential election, Anne Lauvergeon accused Sarkozy in an interview with French weekly L'Express of having tried to sell an atomic reactor to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi until mid-2010.

Sarkozy's spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse responded by accusing Anne Lauvergeon of trying to "settle scores", calling her statements as "fictitious".

At the time, Anne Lauvergeon was tipped as a possible minister in a Socialist government under Francois Hollande.

In French media, Anne Lauvergeon was often cited as one of the world's most powerful women during her time at Areva.

In July 2011 Anne Lauvergeon was elected an International Fellow by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.