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Benoît Coquart

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"First, you need the temperament for this job, and not everyone has it. Second, in a career you must be present at key moments, especially in turbulent times. Those rough patches that come every four to six years reveal the true potential of senior leaders."

— Benoît Coquart[1]

Overview

Benoît Coquart
Born (1973-11-30) November 30, 1973 (age 52)
France
CitizenshipFrench
EducationInstitut d'Études Politiques de Paris; ESSEC Business School
Alma materSciences Po Paris; ESSEC Business School
OccupationCEO
EmployerLegrand
Known forCEO of Legrand; digital and energy-transition strategy
TitleChief Executive Officer of Legrand
Term2018–present
PredecessorGilles Schnepp
Board member ofDirector of Legrand SA; President of IGNES; Vice-President of FIEEC
AwardsKnight of the Legion of Honour (2023); "Smart Boss" nomination (2015); LGBT+ "Allied Leaders" recognition (2019)

👔 Benoît Coquart (born 30 November 1973) is a French business executive who has spent his entire career at Legrand, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since February 2018.[4][5] He first joined the electrical and digital building-infrastructure group in 1997 to manage its activities in South Korea and later became a member of the executive committee before being promoted to the top job after an internal succession process.[6]

📈 Strategic profile. Since taking the helm, Coquart has framed Legrand’s strategy around two pillars—innovation and external growth—combining sustained investment in research and development with a steady flow of bolt-on acquisitions in areas such as smart homes, data centres and assisted-living technologies.[7] Between 2017 and 2024 the group’s annual sales rose from roughly €5 billion to about €8.6 billion, while adjusted operating margins remained around 20%, placing Legrand among the more profitable industrial companies on the CAC 40.[8][9][10]

Early life and education

🎓 Family background and studies. Coquart was born in France on 30 November 1973 and belongs to a generation of French business leaders shaped by the grandes écoles system.[4] He graduated from the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in 1994 and from ESSEC Business School in 1995, a dual training in political science and management that later informed his interest in public policy, industrial strategy and corporate governance.[6][7]

✈️ First posting in South Korea. In 1997, at the age of 23, Coquart joined Legrand immediately after completing his studies and was sent to Seoul to open the group’s first office in South Korea, effectively launching its local operations from scratch.[5][11][7] He has described this expatriate assignment as both formative and demanding, recalling the solitude and absence of ready-made structures in his early months abroad but crediting it with giving him a crash course in autonomy, cross-cultural management and global business development.[12]

Career at Legrand

🏢 Rise through investor relations and strategy. After two years in Asia, Coquart returned to France and took charge of Legrand’s investor relations, before moving into senior posts in corporate development (mergers and acquisitions) and then strategy and development.[5][4] His performance in these roles led to his appointment to Legrand’s executive committee in 2010 and, in 2015, to the leadership of Legrand France, one of the group’s largest business units in its home market.[6][13]

📉 Testing ground in the global financial crisis. Just months before the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, Coquart was put in charge of acquisitions, a growth mandate that abruptly stalled when markets collapsed.[12] Rather than leaving his team under-occupied, then-CEO Gilles Schnepp asked him to design a savings plan to steer the company through the downturn; the exercise strengthened his reputation as a problem-solver and convinced him that periods of upheaval reveal the real potential of managers and accelerate careers.[12]

🤝 Appointment as CEO and governance changes. On 8 February 2018 Legrand’s board appointed Coquart chief executive officer, succeeding Schnepp, who became non-executive chairman as the group formally separated the roles of chair and CEO.[14][6] Coquart emphasised continuity by preserving the group’s tradition of internal promotion—no member of the executive team left after his nomination—while accepting governance reforms that later brought in an independent chair, Ángeles Garcia-Poveda, in 2020.[15][12]

Strategy and performance as CEO

🚀 Innovation and acquisitions as twin pillars. As CEO, Coquart has repeatedly described Legrand’s business model as resting on two “fundamental pillars”: organic growth driven by innovation and external growth through targeted acquisitions.[7] The company has maintained research and development spending at about 5% of sales—roughly double the sector average—while pursuing a steady programme of bolt-on deals, including moves into smart-home devices, connected care and digital infrastructure such as telecare provider Tynetec and the “Legrand Care” assisted-living brand.[6][9]

💹 Revenue growth and profitability. Between 2017 and 2024, Legrand’s annual sales increased from roughly €5 billion to about €8.6 billion, even as global construction markets were hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, raw-materials inflation and the economic effects of the war in Ukraine.[8][10] Over the same period, adjusted operating margins hovered around 20%, and Legrand’s market capitalisation rose to more than €30 billion, broadly doubling over a decade and outpacing many comparable industrial groups.[9][16]

🌱 Energy transition and climate positioning. Under Coquart, Legrand has sought to present itself as “part of the solution” to climate change by emphasising products that improve energy efficiency and support the electrification and digitalisation of buildings, including smart lighting controls, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure and power-management systems for data centres.[7][9] By the early 2020s, solutions linked to the energy and digital transition accounted for a significant share of group revenue, and Legrand committed to halving its direct emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2030 and reducing supply-chain emissions in line with a 1.5 °C trajectory under the Paris Agreement.[8][17]

🧩 Organisational reshaping and leadership team. Shortly after becoming CEO, Coquart simplified Legrand’s front-office structure by reducing its regional zones from five to three, seeking to speed up decision-making and reduce bureaucracy.[15] He also refreshed the executive committee, with roughly 80% of its members renewed within his first year, and has promoted diversity in senior management, with women accounting for about 40% of the executive committee in the early 2020s.[12][17]

Compensation, shareholding and other roles

💼 Remuneration structure. As CEO of a major industrial group on the CAC 40, Coquart receives a multi-component remuneration package that in recent years has totalled around €3.5 million to €4 million per year, with a minority in fixed salary and the majority in annual bonuses and long-term equity incentives.[18][17] During the COVID-19 crisis he voluntarily reduced his own pay and a planned dividend increase, arguing that leaders should share in the efforts requested of employees, while acknowledging that he remained well remunerated.[6][12]

📊 Share ownership and alignment with shareholders. Over the course of his career Coquart has built up a personal shareholding representing around 0.05% of Legrand’s capital, a stake worth tens of millions of euros at prevailing market valuations and intended to align his interests with those of long-term investors.[16][17] Analyst estimates therefore place his financial position well below that of France’s highest-paid chief executives, but still substantial compared with average employee earnings.[18]

🏛️ Industry representation and board mandates. Beyond his executive responsibilities, Coquart sits on Legrand’s board of directors and has taken on leading roles in industry bodies: he has been president of IGNES, the alliance of electrical and digital building-solutions companies, since 2018 (re-elected in 2022), and since 2017 has served as vice-president of the FIEEC, the federation for electrical, electronic and communication industries.[6][14] These posts give him a platform to advocate on issues such as energy-efficiency regulation, industrial competitiveness and skills development across the sector.

Personal life and views

🏠 Life in Limoges and understated public profile. Despite heading a multinational with tens of thousands of employees, Coquart maintains a relatively low public profile and continues to live in Limoges, the city where Legrand is headquartered, rather than relocating to the Paris business district.[12] He has contrasted this stance with earlier models of French corporate leadership oriented toward political networking in the capital, arguing that contemporary CEOs are more hands-on and focused on employees and customers than on ministerial dinner circuits.[15]

🧠 Management philosophy and decision-making. Coquart often describes the CEO’s role as comprising three main missions: setting a clear strategic course, putting the right people in the right positions—ideally “better than oneself”—and being present on numerous day-to-day issues where guidance or arbitration is required.[12][7] He stresses that important choices at Legrand are taken collectively rather than by a lone decision-maker, and that once a decision is made the organisation must implement it quickly and without internal political games.[12]

🤗 People-centred leadership in crises. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Coquart continued to work from headquarters alongside the chief financial officer to coordinate operations, and he chose not to rely on large-scale government aid or mass layoffs, preferring cost controls, temporary measures and shared effort across the company.[12][6] He has stated that asking sacrifices of staff obliges leaders to lead by example, a stance reflected in his own pay cuts and in the cancellation of a dividend increase in 2020.[6]

🌈 Diversity, inclusion and social initiatives. Coquart has become a visible advocate of diversity and inclusion within Legrand, arguing that a mix of backgrounds, genders and orientations makes the company more innovative and effective.[12][17] Under his leadership the group has signed public charters against discrimination, introduced programmes to promote women into management and been recognised among “Allied Leaders” supporting LGBT+ inclusion; he also launched a solidarity fund in 2020 to support staff in nursing homes and hospitals for the elderly during the pandemic.[6][4]

Controversies and challenges

⚖️ Executive pay and governance debates. As with many large-company leaders, Coquart’s remuneration and Legrand’s governance structure have attracted scrutiny. When the company separated the roles of chair and CEO, the combined fixed salaries of the two positions increased compared with the previous single chair-CEO role, a development noted in French coverage of executive pay; however, shareholder meetings have consistently approved his pay packages, and proxy advisers have generally judged them moderate relative to performance.[19][20][18]

🌐 Trade tensions and supply-chain reconfiguration. The imposition of steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports in the mid-2020s posed a significant challenge for Legrand, which sources a notable volume of components from Asia. Coquart outlined a three-part response—raising prices on affected products, relocating production to lower-tariff countries such as Vietnam, India and Mexico, and freezing some discretionary spending or recruitments rather than resorting to large layoffs—in order to offset up to $200 million in annual tariff-related costs while preserving operating margins.[21]

🛠️ Pandemic, raw-materials shocks and operational resilience. During the COVID-19 crisis and subsequent spikes in raw-materials prices, Coquart repeatedly assured customers and investors that Legrand would keep factories running by diversifying suppliers and re-engineering logistics, and the group reported that it avoided production stoppages despite shortages.[6][7] He also cancelled a planned dividend increase and tightened costs to preserve cash, measures that some short-term investors initially criticised but which were later seen as prudent given continuing volatility in demand and input prices.[6][12]

🧭 Debates over internal succession and renewal. Because Legrand has had only a handful of CEOs in fifty years, all promoted from within, some observers have questioned whether its leadership risks becoming insular. Coquart argues instead that long tenures and internal promotion reflect a strong corporate culture and deep expertise, while pointing to selective external hires—such as recruiting a head of corporate social responsibility from outside—and the integration of acquired companies as sources of fresh perspectives.[12][17] To date, the combination of low turnover in senior management, steady growth and the absence of major scandals has muted most criticism of his leadership model.[7]

📌 Assessment of his tenure. Commentators generally describe Coquart as a steady, low-key CEO whose strengths lie in operational execution, disciplined acquisitions and careful risk management rather than in highly visible public communication.[7][12] His own remarks emphasise that the real test of leadership comes in turbulent times, and his record in steering Legrand through financial crises, trade tensions, the pandemic and rapid technological change has made him one of the more durable industrial leaders of his generation.[12]

Honours and recognition

🏅 Awards and distinctions. In 2015 Coquart was shortlisted in the “Smart Boss” category at the Trophées des industries numériques, recognising his role in promoting digital transformation at Legrand, and in 2019 he appeared in rankings of “Allied Leaders” supporting LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace.[6] In 2023 he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour, one of France’s highest civil awards, for his contributions to French industry.[6]

Related content & more

YouTube videos

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Legrand CEO Benoît Coquart summarises the group’s 2022 key figures and performance.
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Conference talk titled "Leadership in disruptive times" in which Benoît Coquart discusses leading Legrand through technological and market change.

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References

  1. ↑ "Benoît Coquart (Legrand) : Les périodes de turbulences révèlent le potentiel réel des cadres dirigeants". Décideurs Magazine.
  2. ↑ "Benoît Coquart (Legrand) : Les périodes de turbulences révèlent le potentiel réel des cadres dirigeants". Décideurs Magazine.
  3. ↑ "Reflets Magazine 147 – Benoît Coquart (M95), CEO of Legrand". ESSEC Alumni.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Benoît Coquart". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Board of directors: the executive committee". Legrand. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 "Benoît Coquart". Wikipédia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 "Reflets Magazine #147 – Benoît Coquart (M95), CEO of Legrand". ESSEC Alumni. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Release of Legrand's Consolidated Financial Information as of December 31 2024". Business Wire. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Legrand (company)". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "France's Legrand tops sales estimates, bets on data centers to offset macro weakness". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  11. ↑ "Benoît Coquart". Corporate Executives. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  12. ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 "Benoît Coquart (Legrand) : « Les périodes de turbulences révèlent le potentiel réel des cadres dirigeants »". Décideurs Magazine. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  13. ↑ "Benoît Coquart, presque un an à la tête de Legrand". WanSquare. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Board of directors". Legrand. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Benoît Coquart : « Il faut offrir des challenges aux salariés »". Le Figaro. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Legrand SA – Company information". Simply Wall St. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 "Legrand". Multinationals Observatory. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Legrand SA – Leadership & management team". Simply Wall St. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  19. ↑ "En 2021, la rémunération moyenne des grands patrons a flirté avec les 100 % d'augmentation". Le Monde. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  20. ↑ "Résultat des votes BSO France – Exercice 2023" (PDF). Banque Saint Olive. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  21. ↑ "Legrand outlines action plan to offset potential $200 million in tariff-related costs". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
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