“International shipping must speak with a single and ambitious voice whilst protecting the interests of the industry. Being part of ICS is essential to guarantee that measures for the shipping continue to be negotiated at an international level and supervised by the IMO.”

Jean-Emmanuel Sauvée

Jean Emmanuel Sauvée was born in 1964 and comes from a family of seafaring officers. His grandfather was a maritime journalist, founder of the Le Marin newspaper, while his father was appointed Administrateur Général des Affaires Maritimes, an official in charge of maritime matters for the French government.

A graduate of the French Maritime Academy and the University of Western Brittany, his career started when he was just 16, as an officer-cadet with Brittany Ferries. He then worked for Bourbon Offshore and then CGM. At the age of 20, he already had the idea of creating a maritime company specialised in cruising. Straight out of college, in 1988, he joined forces with Philippe Videau and a team of fellow officers to create La Compagnie des Iles du Ponant.

Jean Emmanuel Sauvée decided to include commitments in terms of environmental policy in the company’s purpose and to create the PONANT Foundation in 2019 to help to protect the oceans and the polar regions and bring peoples together. He is a member of the Board of Directors.

Over the course of his career, he has received a number of awards: Chevalier du Mérite Maritime in 2000, then Officier du Mérite Maritime in 2017, Ordre National du Mérite in 2005 and the Légion d’Honneur in 2015. In 2016, he was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a fédérateur, in charge of coordinating the overseas promotion of French tourist activities. On 6 April 2020, he was appointed President of the French Shipowners Association.