With several members of both families maintaining positions on the board of directors at Sonepar, the company maintains the same sense of family business it has had since its inception in 1969. Even before it turned its attention to the distribution of electrical equipment, the names of Coisne and Lambert ran prominently through its 157 year of history. Marie-Christine Coisne-Roquette, the current chairwoman and CEO, is the great-great-granddaughter of one of the original founders, Henri Coisne. Together with the Lamberts, she still controls up to 90 per cent of the company’s wealth. At last estimate, her individual worth was put at €4.8 billion ($5.3 billion) by the Financial Times, putting her in France’s top 20. She took over the role from her father, also called Henri, in 1998. It was Henri who had been the driving force behind the two families, selling their original textiles business and using the proceeds to acquire Comptoir d’Electricite Franco-Belge, which set them on the path to their current market-leading position. The current generation is said to include 56 members.
