Who is Agathe Monpays, the new CEO of Leroy Merlin?
Agathe Monpays will take over the management of the famous Leroy Merlin brand in September 2023. How did this young woman, just 28 years old, get to the top of this DIY giant?
At the end of the year, the young woman will become the head of the colossus of large-scale sales of DIY equipment. She will replace 50-year-old Thomas Bourdet at the helm, who will join the executive board of Adeo, a Mulliez-owned brand and parent company of Leroy Merlin.
After studying business administration for several years at the IESEG in Lille, which she completed in 2016, Agathe Monpays has always held positions at brands belonging to the Mulliez family. This brought him a lot of criticism and rumors during his forthcoming appointment as boss of Leroy Merlin, all of which have been denied by the group itself and several media outlets.
She began an apprenticeship at Happychic, a renowned textile group, before returning to Valenciennes as a division manager at Leroy Merlin in northern France immediately after graduating. She then set up her quarters in Tourcoing to run one of the brand’s stores. In 2022 she left France to take up the position of General Manager of Leroy Merlin in Greece and Cyprus. She admits that this year she has had to take on her important responsibilities as the mother of a seven-month-old baby.
But her efforts have largely paid off as she has managed to climb all the steps and reach this position that awaits her on September 1st, 2023. According to numerous surveys, the French’s most popular brand for DIY supplies has a turnover of 9.8 billion euros. Agathe Monpays will thus have 144 branches across France and 30,000 employees under her management. The Mulliez family, owners of the sign, assure that the young businesswoman has broadly the necessary skills to carry out the task assigned to him.
