William Connelly, future Societe Generale Chairman of the Board of Directors, starting May 2026

During its session on 10 April 2025, the Societe Generale Board of Directors selected William Connelly for the Chairmanship as of the General Meeting which will be held on 27 May 2026, subject to his renewal as a Director by the General Meeting on 20 May 2025. He will succeed Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who has been Chairman since 2015, and will have completed his third term.

This decision is the result of a selection process led by the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee at the end of 2023 with the assistance of an independent consultant.

William Connelly has been a member of Societe Generale’s Board of Directors since 2017. He has chaired the Risk Committee since 2019 and is a member of the Nomination and Corporate Governance Committee, positions he will hold until the 2026 General Meeting.

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated: “The choice of William Connelly as my successor confirms Societe Generale's commitment to the highest standards of governance, both in terms of method and substance. It ensures the independence of the role as well as its continuity, while bringing the highest level of expertise in the international banking and financial sector, along with experience in managing large companies, particularly in the technology sector.”

Biography 

William Connelly is a company director. In addition to his mandate as an independent director of Societe Generale since 2017, he currently is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Amadeus IT Group and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aegon until the second half of 2025. He also served as an independent director of Singular Bank from February 2019 to April 2023. 

William Connelly began his career in 1980 at Chase Manhattan Bank, where he worked for 10 years, before joining Baring Brothers from 1990 to 1995. He then held various executive positions within ING Group NV from 1995 until he became a member of The Management Board, where he was responsible for Wholesale Banking from 2011 to 2016. He was also the CEO of ING Real Estate from 2009 to 2015. He has gained extensive experience in financial services, particularly in corporate finance, financial markets, real estate, and lending. 

William Connelly is a French citizen. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Georgetown University.