No.11 - XAVIER HUILLARD VINCI

Age: 64

Years at current company: 20

Industry: Construction

Turnover: $46bn

Rate of growth: 5.7% over the last five years

Xavier Huillard is experienced in the construction industry where he has spent his entire career. Like many former “Ponts” graduates he started in the public sector, in the infrastructure department of the Manche region where he launched the Mont-Saint-Michel sand removal project. After working for Eiffage and Sogea, he joined Vinci in 1998 holding management positions in the group’s various subsidiaries before becoming CEO in 2010.

Notable success: In January 2006, he was appointed managing director of Vinci and immediately denounced the financial excesses of the then CEO, Antoine Zacharias, in a letter entitled "Mr. Zacharias is Taking Advantage of the Group."