AMBASSADORS AT THE HEART OF ACTIVITY
The proposals, involvement and monitoring of the Ambassadors of the projects, current or former employees of Comgest Group, are at the heart of the endowment fund’s activity. Each project to be considered by the Comgest Foundation must have a sponsor who acts as an Ambassador.
• To be considered as an Ambassador, a person will have to be an active or retired employee of Comgest Group
• As an Ambassador, a person accepts a responsibility to present, monitor and report on an individual project of their choice.
• Before presenting a project, an Ambassador should :
– Visit or otherwise meet the organisation behind the project
– Help the organisation – where appropriate – prepare the required project documentation for The Comgest Foundation
– Help the Comgest Foundation with any additional information requirements
– Provide a key contact(s) and stay closely in touch with them
– Upon a successful project application, the Ambassador becomes responsible for updating the Foundation at least every 6 months.
– For multi-year projects, the Ambassador should attempt to conduct regular visits to ensure appropriate progress
– Upon completion of a project, the Ambassador should assist the organisation in preparing and present on its behalf the success analysis of the project.
The idea behind the Comgest Foundation Ambassador is to ensure accountability, active engagement and to encourage engagement on behalf and side-by-side with Comgest.
CALL FOR PROJECTS
In March 2019, calls for projects were sent to all Comgest Group employees. A total of 15 projects were received and reviewed by the Board and 12 were selected (8 were financed by The Comgest Foundation and 4 by Comgest Group entities)
SELECTION PROCESS
In analyzing the projects, the Board members base their choices with a reference to the following criteria (non-exhaustive list):
• Compliance with the purposes of the Comgest Foundation,
• Commitment level of the Ambassador in the project monitoring
• Impact on final beneficiaries,
• Quality of the presentation document (information, detailed budget, timetable)
• Guarantee on the honorability/reputation of the applicant and the responsible people involved.
• Project’s budget compatible with the Foundation’s budget in order for the Foundation to make a significant impact. The Board may decide to finance only a part of the project
• Diversity of the selected projects,
• Number of current projects with respect to the Foundation’s budget,
If a member of the board is Ambassador of a project, this member of the board will be excluded from deliberations regarding this project.
The process ends in September with the selection of the projects to be financed. If the projects are not presented by French non-profit organization, they are financed directly by a Comgest entity.
GOVERNANCE
The Board of Directors is composed of current and former Comgest’s employees
• Abla Bellakhdar, Fund Manager, Comgest S.A.
• Arnaud Cosserat, Chairman and CEO of Comgest Group
• Frédérique Darré, Investment Management Assistant, Comgest S.A.
• Monique Erbeia, Coordinator – Funds and Partners, Comgest S.A.
• Conny Fabozzi, Investor Relations Team, Comgest S.A.
• Yann Gerain, Environmental, Social and Governance Analyst, Comgest S.A.
• Richard Mercado, Fund Manager, Comgest S.A.
The members of the Board are responsible for the overall management of the endowment fund as well as for the selection of the projects to be financed.