Eric Besson Damegon

Eric Besson-Damegon is a Directeur Associé at Arkéa Capital, the private-equity subsidiary of the French cooperative banking group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. He has more than 25 years of experience in private equity, beginning at Seventure Partners (2000–2003) and then Samenar (2003–2011) before joining Arkéa Capital in 2011, where he opened and now runs the firm's Rennes office. Over nearly 15 years at Arkéa Capital he has invested more than €200 million in around twenty SMEs and mid-cap companies (PME/ETI) across the Grand Ouest.

His role goes beyond writing checks: he takes board seats in portfolio companies and works alongside management on organic-growth and external-growth (build-up) strategies as well as ownership-transition (transmission) operations. Arkéa Capital positions itself as a patient, "territorial" long-term partner rather than a short-hold financial buyer, and Besson-Damegon consistently frames his deals around innovation and regional economic development.

He is a member of the Cercle Jacques Cartier, a Rennes-based network of professionals specialising in business transmission and high-level corporate finance in Brittany — reflecting the deal-origination network he draws on in the Grand Ouest. On his firm bio he describes himself, half in jest, as "Perfectionniste & Jovial," citing Confucius: *« Nous avons deux vies et la seconde commence lorsque nous prenons conscience que nous n'en avons qu'une. »*

• Invests in established, profitable PME and ETI in western France — this is growth and buyout capital, not seed/angel investing; early-stage startups are a mismatch.
• Structures development-capital, LBO/MBO and transmission deals, taking minority or majority positions depending on the situation (e.g. minority stake in Cohérence; management-buyout structures at Akris and ACB).
• Generalist by sector, consistent with Arkéa Capital's "all sectors" mandate — his own deals range from digital communications to printed-circuit manufacturing and precision industrial tooling.
• Backs management teams building for the long term, including buy-and-build / external growth, and sits on portfolio boards to support that.
• States his selection values explicitly around innovation and regional (territorial) development and CSR — on Cohérence he said its offering "strongly echoes the values of innovation and development of the territories advocated by Arkéa Capital."