Board
Sienna Capital has an engaged Board of Directors which has a pivotal role in the decision making process. Sienna Capital’s Board of Directors is composed of professionals with extensive experience and trajectory across various industries.
Born on 23 January 1971, in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, French nationality. Ian Gallienne holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau. He began his career in Spain, in 1992, as co-founder of a commercial company.
From 1995 to 1997 he was Manager of a consulting firm specialised in turning around struggling businesses in France.
From 1998 to 2005 he was Manager at the private equity funds Rhone Capital LLC in New York and London.
In 2005 he created the private equity fund Ergon Capital in Brussels and was its Managing Director until 2012.
In 2012 he became Co-CEO of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which he had been a Director of since 2009.
As from April 2019, he assumes sole operational management of GBL as CEO.
Pedro Antonio Arias is CEO of Sienna Capital since 2020
Previously, he created and oversaw the Amundi’s business line encompassing private equity, private debt, real estate, infrastructure and private multi-management businesses from 2013.
Earlier in his career, he was Deputy CEO in charge of M&A and Real Estate at French retailing Casino Group; he also served onthe Board of Casino’s major subsidiaries in numerous countries.
He started his career at Jones Day law firm before moving to Corporate and Investment Banking in various institutions; he notably worked as co-Head of the restructuring business at Rothschild & Cie for Europe.
Pedro Antonio Arias graduated in Law and holds a Master’s in Business from ESSEC Business School.
Born on 18 November 1970, US nationality. Colin Hall has an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
He began his career in 1995 as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley in private equity in New York. In 1997 he joined the Rhône Capital group, a private equity fund, where he held several positions over 10 years, in New York and then in London.
In 2009, he co-founded a hedge fund, sponsored by Tiger Management (New York), where he worked until 2011.
In 2012, he joined Sienna Capital, a whollyowned subsidiary of GBL grouping together its alternative investments (private equity, debt funds and funds with specific themes) as Managing Director.
In 2016, he was appointed GBL Head of Investments.
Born on 13 April 1984, in Charleroi, Belgium, Belgian and French nationality.
Cedric Frère holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics from Vesalius College in Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He began his career in the banking sector (at Goldman Sachs in Paris and at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London).
In 2008 he moved on to the Private Deals department of Banque Degroof in Brussels. In 2010, he joined CNP-NPM, where he is now an investment manager.
He is currently a Director of various companies, including Frère-Bourgeois, CNP-NPM, Erbe S.A. (until 28 December 2017), Cheval Blanc Finance SAS and Pargesa Holding S.A. He is also a tenured Director of Cheval des Andes.
He has been a Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert since 2015.
Thierry de Rudder is currently Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert.
Mr. de Rudder currently serves on the board of several companies having served previously on the board of quoted companies including Total, Lafarge, GDF Suez, and Imerys.
Mr. de Rudder began his career in the United States where he joined Citibank in 1975, subsequently holding various positions in New York and then in Europe.
Mr. de Rudder joined Groupe Bruxelles Lambert in 1986 where he held the position of Managing Director until December 2011.
Mr. de Rudder earned degrees in mathematics from the University of Geneva and the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
Born on 7 May 1946, French nationality. Amaury de Seze holds a degree from the Centre de Perfectionnement dans l’Administration des Affaires and from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
His career began at Bull General Electric. From 1978 to 1993 he worked for Volvo group as Chairman of Volvo Europe and Member of the group’s Executive Committee.
In 1993 he joined Paribas group as a Member of the Executive Board in charge of industrial affairs.
He is currently Vice-Chairman of the Board of Power Financial Corporation and is a former Chairman of PAI Partners.
He has been a Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert since 1994.
Aris Wateler currently serves as an advisor and board member for several companies in Europe. Mr. Wateler currently serves on the board of the private equity fund Ergon Capital Partners, Joris Ide Group and Benito Urban.
Mr. Wateler began his career in 1971 at Fortis Australia. He then held a number of positions at the World Bank where he was responsible for setting up private equity operations in emerging markets including Asia.
In 1977, Mr. Wateler became general manager at Hunter Douglas Europe, a world leader in aluminium window covering products. In 1982 Mr. Wateler founded Parcom Capital, a private equity group in the Netherlands with operations across Europe.
Mr. Wateler also served as an operating partner at Duke Street Capital in London.
Mr. Wateler obtained a Master of Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam and completed post-graduate work at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Serge Saussoy has been a Director of Sienna Capital since 2018 and is a Managing Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Verwaltung S.A. Mr. Saussoy began his career at the Ministry of Finance in Belgium and joined PwC in Belgium in 1993.
Mr. Saussoy moved to Luxembourg in 1996 and became Tax Partner in 2001.
Mr. Saussoy is graduated in Law and Tax Law from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve and from ESSF (ICHEC).
