Fanny Picard

Fanny Picard is a French financier and a pioneer of impact investing in Europe. She began her career in the Mergers & Acquisitions division of the investment bank Rothschild & Co in Paris, then became Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for Western Europe and North America at Danone. She later joined the listed French investment company Wendel, where she served as Director of Financial Operations, Managing Director, and a member of the Executive Committee. She is a graduate of ESSEC Business School and holds a master's degree in law.

In 2007, driven by convictions about environmental responsibility and the role finance should play in society, she founded Alter Equity — the first French management company to propose an investment model built around companies whose activity has a positive impact on people or nature while also committing to responsible management practices. The "3P" in Alter Equity 3P stands for People, Planet, Profit. She is widely credited as the first to introduce and popularize the term "impact investing" in France.

Beyond Alter Equity, Picard holds external mandates, serving on the Supervisory Board of Tikehau Capital and the Board of GL Events. She is also active in social and climate causes through roles connected to the Mozaïk RH Foundation and the Siel Bleu Foundation, and is a frequent public voice on responsible finance and ecological transition.

Under her leadership, Alter Equity has grown to roughly €270 million under management across several funds (including Alter Equity 3P II). By the end of 2022, its portfolio of 26 invested companies had helped avoid an estimated 4.6 million tons of CO2 emissions — more than 1% of France's annual emissions — and the firm itself reports a workforce that is about 71% women.

• Invests only in companies with a "double impact": their products/services must help solve a social or environmental problem (mapped to the UN SDGs), *and* they must commit to continuous improvement in responsible business practices via an ESG Business Plan.
• Targets profitable-growth, unlisted companies (revenue above ~€800k), writing checks of roughly €3M–€10M, taking minority or majority positions, alone or in co-investment.
• Connects two worlds that were historically separate in 2007 — social impact and clean tech / environment — which Picard describes as the founding insight behind Alter Equity.
• Frames finance as a lever for change: she has stated that "finance carries a decisive political role" and argues investors must actively support ecological and social transition.
• Looks for founders and management teams genuinely willing to embed ESG commitments into their operating plan, not just their product.