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EY has just awarded Christian Roulleau, Samsic Group Founding President, the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for western France. The award ceremony was held on 30 September at the Couvent des Jacobins (Rennes Convention Centre) .
The yearly EY award gives recognition to business leaders who have displayed outstanding performance and achievements. As business performance is much more than a question of financial results, this year, the jury focused mainly on social, environmental and governance commitments and achievements.
Christian Roulleau is particularly renowned for his remarkable career and his commitments and involvement in the local ecosystem: he has been an active Club des Trente (a think tank at the service of Brittany) member since 2003. In 2014, his deep interest in health-related matters led him to invest in medical research alongside several entrepreneurial friends. Together, they created Bretagne Atlantique Ambition, an endowment fund which supports brain disease research and finances young researchers in western France.
In 2018, Christian Roulleau joined forces with local businesses - the Ouest-France newspaper, Triballat, and the Crédit Agricole bank - and Rennes local council to fund the "Living together at work" chair. This extensive project fosters the acceptance of differences and is led by Rennes 1 Law Department and the Rennes 1 Foundation.
Samsic has been a French Diversity Charter signatory since 2011; this in line with the Group's commitment to ongoing efforts to stamp out discrimination in the workplace and promote diversity.
Christian Roulleau is highly involved in reflections on the relationship between work and disability. At Samsic, a team of seven people is in charge of hiring, and the continued employment of, disabled employees within the Group. In 2013, Samsic went a step further and created Sam'Aide, a company which has been adapted and approved by DIRECCTE (Regional enterprise, competition, consumer affairs, labour and employment directorates) services. Sam'Aide integrates disabled people with reduced efficiency to help them reintegrate into the mainstream.
Samsic Group's founder is also very involved in sports partnerships: since 2004, Samsic has been the official Stade Rennais F.C. sponsor, and is therefore, the longest-standing League 1 partner. Since 2017, Samsic has been co-partner of Arkéa-Samsic, Brittany's cycling team, and also recently signed a five-year shirt sponsor commitment with LOU Rugby (a French rugby union team).
The regional EY award means that Christian Roulleau will be able to compete for the national award in his category. Eight major regions will compete for the national award: eastern France, l'Ile-de-France, south-east France, Occitania, Nouvelle Aquitaine, northern France, western France and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
The national awards ceremony will be held on 15 October at the Salle Pleyel in Paris.
The Entrepreneur of the Year Award is organised by EY, in partnership with HSBC France, Verlingue, with the support of Steelcase and Bpifrance, and in media partnerships with BFM Business and Ouest France Entreprises.
The jury for this category, for western France, was chaired by Franck Zal, CEO Hemarina and 2018 French National Start-Up Award Winner, and made up of the following members:
