French exec Marguerite Bérard to become ABN Amro CEO; First woman to lead top Dutch bank

ABN Amro has announced plans to name Marguerite Bérard as its new CEO, which would make her the first woman to lead one of the three top banks in the Netherlands. The appointment of the 47-year-old French woman is subject to regulatory approval, and a green light from De Nederlandsche Bank, the country's central bank.

The intent is for Bérard to begin the job on April 23, replacing Robert Swaak in the leadership role. He announced his intention to quit as CEO at ABN Amro in August 2024, but promised to remain in the position until a successor was found. “The bank has identified a suitable candidate to lead ABN Amro into its next phase of growth and success,” ABN Amro said in a statement on their website.

Bérard worked at BNP Paribas French Commercial and Personal Banking and was a member of the French bank's Executive Committee between January 2019 and March 2024. She was responsible for corporate, private, and retail banking operations in this role.

She has also had a long career in the public sector, working as an advisor to the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy before she turned to the private financial sector in 2012. She was awarded the French Order of Merit in 2020.

Bérard studied political science at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration, before it became the Paris Institut d’Etudes Politiques. She later earned a Master's degree from Princeton University in New Jersey.

If approved, Bérard will be introduced to the public during the ABN Amro general meeting of shareholders on April 23, 2025. It would be the first time that a woman was hired to run either ABN Amro, ING or Rabobank.