Olivier Brousse
Quick Facts
Biography
Olivier Brousse, born 28 February 1965, is CEO of the British company John Laing PLC.Since joining the company in March 2014, he has led the successful IPO and float of the Infrastructure Investor.
Prior to this appointment, he was CEO of the Saur Group, the third largest environmental company in France, CEO of Veolia Transportation in the US, and CEO of Connex, one of the UK’s busiest rail networks.
Early life
Originally from Brive-la-Gaillarde, Olivier Brousse graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in 1985 and holds an engineering degree from the School of Bridges and Roads (ENPC). He is also a member of the Henry Crown Fellows Program (2006) of the Aspen Institute in the United States.
Career
Olivier Brousse started his career in 1990 as Commercial Director at Unic Systèmes, a company specialising in drafting tables and computer-aided systems. In 1994, he joined the French water services group Générale des Eaux, as chief of staff for the CEO, Henri Proglio. He spent 14 years within Veolia Environnement, a group specialising in water, waste, energy and transportation throughout the world. In 1998, he was appointed General Manager for the company’s UK transportation division based in London, managing the UK rail network’s largest privatised network(s). Three years later, in 2001, he became General Manager of Veolia Transportation Inc, Veolia’s US transport division, based in Washington DC. During this time the company acquired ATC which resulted in the firm being the leading private operator of urban passenger transport in the USA. In 2006, he was appointed Executive Vice President of Veolia Transport, based in Paris.
Saur Group
In 2008, Olivier Brousse was recruited to join the Saur Group as CEO where he helped develop the group's activities in Europe and the Middle East. He was appointed Executive Chairman of the Group in February 2013, at the beginning of negotiations to refinance the Group. Following the successful completion of the refinancing project, in January 2014, Olivier Brousse announced his departure to go and work overseas.
John Laing
John Laing appointed Olivier Brousse as Chief Executive in March 2014.
Legion of Honour
In February 2016, Brousse was awarded a Legion d’ Honneur, France’s highest accolade by French President Francois Hollande.
Other
Olivier Brousse is a French entrepreneur and businessman. He is a Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite.
Brousse has been President of FP2E, the trade body for water service companies in France. He was appointed in 2011 following his time as vice president since 2008. He is a member of the American Aspen Institute and a Henry Crown fellow.
Olivier is on the board of directors at Brive Rugby Club