John Persenda

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John Persenda
Born28 May 1939
Monaco
NationalityFrench
EducationÉcole nationale supérieure de chimie de Toulouse (ENSCT)
OccupationCEO of SPHERE Group

John Persenda (born 28 May 1939) is a French businessman and founder of the Sphere Group.

The Sphere Group is the European Leader in household packaging[1] and one of the world's leading producers of bio-sourced and compostable materials.

Personal life[edit]

John Persenda was born in Monaco on 28 May 1939.[2] His father was an Italian diplomat and a pilot, and his mother was an English writer.[3] He was granted French nationality at the age of 10. He had two children – Isabelle, who was born in 1966, and Philippe, who was born in 1970 and died in 2006.[4]

Education and career[edit]

After graduating with his baccalaureate in 1958, John Persenda attended the ENSI preparatory classes at the Lycée Massena in Nice.[citation needed]

He started studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des Ingénieurs en Arts Chimiques et Technologiques (ENSCT) in October 1960[5] and obtained an engineering degree, alongside a degree in physics and chemistry in 1963. He is also a reserve officer of the Cavalry School in Saumur.[6]

John Persenda began his career as a research engineer at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), where he worked on the atomic bomb detonator.[7]

In 1965, he joined the Shell[8] group as a sales engineer, a technical division manager and then a marketing manager. He worked both in France and in London.[9]

Establishment of the SPHERE Group[edit]

In 1976 John Persenda founded SP Metal. The company originally specialised in the distribution of household packaging.[10]

Shortly after that, he founded private labels in France for household packaging[11] and created the national brand Alfapac.[5]

In 1982, John Persenda began the group's European expansion by pursuing a policy of external growth and relocating production facilities back to France.[12]

In 2003, he was appointed the chairman of the plastics industry network and the President of the Plastic Films Union.

In 2004, he became the president of Plasteurofilm and got engaged in the anti-dumping fight against Asian competitors,[13] as well as in the harmonisation of environmental laws. John Persenda was one of the first to launch bags made from sugar cane rather than oil.[3]

He also supported the 2004 amendment by deputies Francis Delattre and Marc Le Fur. The amendment foresaw banning the distribution of non-compostable plastic bags from 1 January 2010,[14] which were ultimately banned only with the energy transition law for green growth in 2017.[15][16]

Following the example of Arnaud Montebourg, John Persenda demonstrated a strong commitment to the "made in France" campaign, after obtaining Origine France Garantie label for his group's French sites.[17]

In 2017, he signed the French Climate Business Pledge of the MEDEF, which aims to make a collective and significant change in the fight against climate change.[18]

In June 2017, he participated in the G7 Environment in Bologna, where he made a speech about "how firms may promote greater environmental responsibility".[19]

In 2015, during the event S3Odeon in Paris, John Persenda announced the development of a new material that can biodegrade in marine environments.[20][21]

Fortune[edit]

According to Challenge magazine, John Persenda is one of the 500 richest persons in France.[2]

Awards[edit]

In 2006, John Persenda was appointed Knight of the Legion of Honour by President Jacques Chirac.[22]

  • 2013: Chaptal Prize for Industry[23]
  • 2014: the BFM Awards for Entrepreneur of the Year[24]
  • 2015: LCI Green Business Entrepreneurial Ambitions Award
  • 2016: Entrepreneurs' Ambitions Banque Palatine - I TV "Green Business" Category Trophy[25]
  • 2020: Plasturgist Trophy - "Growth" category[26]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Michel Saloff Coste, Carine Dartiguepeyrou et Wilfrid Raffard (2006). Le dirigeant du 3e millénaire (in French). édition d'Organisation. p. 310. ISBN 2708134787.
  • Yvon Gattaz (2014). Création d'entreprise : la double révolution (in French). éditions Eyrolles. p. 224. ISBN 978-2212558746.
  • Entre gestion de l'eau et débouchés non alimentaires: les nouveaux visages de l'agriculture (in French). Altedia M&M Conseil. 2006. ISBN 978-2-84541-118-0.
  • Le Who's Who France, édition 2020 (in French). Lafitte-Hebrard. 2019.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Surblouses : le roi des emballages ménagers vole au secours des soignants". Les Echos. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "La fortune de John Persenda et sa famille - Les 500 plus grandes fortunes de France". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Un marin qui tient son cap". Le Monde.fr (in French). 4 February 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  4. ^ Michel Saloff Coste, Carine Dartiguepeyrou, Wilfrid Raffard (2006). Le dirigeant du 3e millénaire (in French). Paris: Editions Organisation. ISBN 978-2708134782.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b fcoste (14 May 2019). "John Persenda, startupper depuis plus de 40 ans". www.ensiacet.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Conférence de John Persenda : le rôle clé du leadership | Ecole Navale". www.ecole-navale.fr. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Réussir en France, c'est encore possible ! | Terre de Compassion" (in French). 28 October 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Avec SPHERE, l'affaire est dans le sac ! - Monde des grandes écoles et universités". Monde des grandes écoles et universités (in French). 4 February 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  9. ^ Coste, Michel Saloff; Dartiguepeyrou, Carine; Raffard, Wilfrid (2006). Le dirigeant du 3e millénaire (in French). Éditions d'Organisation. ISBN 978-2-7081-3478-2. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  10. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (18 April 2003). "SP Metal vise les marchés européens - Technos et Innovations". Hebdommadaire. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. ^ Gattaz, Yvon (2014). Création d'entreprise La double révolution. Eyrolles.
  12. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (20 October 2004). "SP Métal France relocalise des productions". usinenouvelle.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Bag makers face dumping probe". Plastics News. 18 July 2005. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Forte Tête, John Persenda, Président directeur général de SPHERE". Le MAG CULTURES. November 2009.
  15. ^ "Les sacs en plastique jetables, c'est fini !". www.economie.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Au secours, le sac en plastique est toujours là !". L'Obs (in French). 10 August 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  17. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (4 January 2013). "Un patron met une marinière pour sa publicité "made in France" - Economie". Hebdommadaire. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  18. ^ "SPHERE et son président John Persenda s'engagent pour le climat en signant le French climate business pledge". SPHERE. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  19. ^ "G7 Environment side event "Firms for Sustainable Development" Bologna, 11thJune 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Des sacs "plastique" solubles dans l'eau : solution à la pollution marine ?". www.socialter.fr. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  21. ^ "L'AFFAIRE EST DANS LE SAC – John Persenda | S3Odéon". Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  22. ^ Décret du 14 avril 2006 portant promotion et nomination. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  23. ^ Magazine, Emballages (9 December 2013). "Un Chaptal de l'Industrie pour John Persenda". Revue professionnelle (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. ^ "BFM Awards 2014 : La 10ème cérémonie des BFM Awards". BFM BUSINESS (in French). Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  25. ^ Latieule, Sylvie (3 February 2016). "Emballages biosourcés : Nouvelle distinction pour le groupe Sphere". Formule Verte (in French). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  26. ^ Polito, Tiziano (23 November 2020). "John Persenda reçoit un Trophée du plasturgiste". Emballages Magazine (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2021.
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