Coface has appointed Laurent Mignon as its new board chairman, marking the end of François David’s 18-year mandate.

Mignon, 48, has been the CEO of Natixis, one of Coface’s shareholders, since 2009, before which he spent 10 years at AGF, another French insurer.

He is also a member of the boards of paper firm Sequana and chemical manufacturer Arkema, and a censor at the supervisory board of French bank BPCE.

He pays tribute to the work achieved by David over the past 18 years. “During these years, Coface expanded into 66 countries and became a worldwide leader at the service of companies and their international development,” Mignon says.

He adds that the new appointment supports the refocusing on credit insurance started by CEO Jean-Marc Pillu in December 2010, which accelerated Coface’s growth in 2011.