AMUNDI CEO STEPS DOWN AT HEIGHT OF SUCCESS Ikea aims to triple jobs via social entrepreneurship
Amundi SA chief executive officer Yves Perrier is stepping down after more than a decade atop the firm he helped build into the largest asset manager in Europe.
Perrier, 67, will become chairman of the French firm he has led since its creation in a 2010 merger of the asset-management arms of banking giants Credit Agricole SA and Societe Generale SA, according to an earnings statement on Wednesday. He'll be succeeded as CEO by his deputy Valerie Baudson, who heads Amundi's exchange-traded fund business as well as its thematic investing unit.
Amundi has more than doubled its assets under management on Perrier's watch to 1.73 trillion euros ($2.1 trillion). —Bloomberg
Sweden´s Ikea wants to triple the number of jobs created in vulnerable communities by 2025 by scaling up its social entrepreneurship business.
Having collaborated with social entrepreneurs since 2012, the furniture giant has provided work for about 30,000 people, impacting almost 150,000 family members. It now wants to reach 95,000 jobs by working with existing and new partners.
The initiative supports marginalised groups and women in vulnerable communities, helping them make products such as hand-woven cushion covers, baskets and carpets. Ikea supplies them with materials including cotton and banana fibre, and provides expertise ranging from design and production to improving working conditions. The aim is to promote financial independence and life-changing opportunities.
The handcrafted products, which also include plant pots and tool bags, are then sold in Ikea warehouses
and online. Its partners include social entrepreneur Rangsutra in India and the Jordan River Foundation, which employs female refugees. Both make cushion covers.
"I'm very proud of what we've accomplished, but I know that we can do much more," said Vaishali Misra, who runs the Ikea Social Entrepreneurs Initiative.