Elsa Berry, Head of Corporate Finance at BNP Paribas, Wins Prestigious Award

BNP Paribas is pleased to announce that Elsa Berry, Head of Corporate Finance for North America at BNP Paribas' Corporate and Investment Banking division was recently awarded the prestigious “Woman of the Year/Trajectoire” award from ‘HEC au Feminin,’ the organization dedicated to female graduates from HEC, one of the top French business schools.

The “Woman of the Year/Trajectoire” award was created in 2007 to promote exceptional careers led by females who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and boldness to succeed in their professional lives.

“I am proud and moved to receive this award which represents great recognition for all of my efforts both in my professional life and in the community. The training I received at HEC was a key stepping stone: it gave me confidence to succeed in a field largely dominated by men. I hope this award will inspire younger women who are just starting their careers,” explains Elsa.

Elsa graduated from HEC in 1980. Four years later, she founded Vendome & Company, a mergers and acquisition boutique that specialized in middle-market strategic transactions with offices in New York, Paris and Stuttgart. Vendome was sold to BNP in 1989 and Elsa become head of BANEXI, the US investment banking arm of BNP. Elsa was appointed head of Corporate Finance North America in June 2006 having previously served as co-head of Corporate Finance in New York following the merger of BNP and Paribas in 2000.

Elsa was elected Chairman of the Board of the Lycée Français de New York in 1999; she is a Councilor Member of the French-American Chamber of Commerce and a Foreign Trade Advisor to the French Government (“Conseiller du Commerce Exterieur”).

About Corporate and Investment Banking at BNP Paribas:

BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment banking division (CIB) has 16,000 employees, deployed in over 53 countries around the world. It operates in advisory and capital markets (Corporate Finance, Equities, Fixed Income) as well as in financing businesses (Energy, Commodities, Export and Project Finance and Structured Finance). CIB excels in three fundamental sectors in particular: Derivatives - it is one of the leading global players in rates, credit, forex, commodity and equity derivatives Capital markets - it is amongst the top ten Euro houses for both ECM and DCM (bond issues, securitization, convertibles and shares). Structured finance - it is amongst the world leaders for acquisition, export, project and commodity finance. For further information please visit our website at http://cib.bnpparibas.com/.

About BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is a European leader in global banking and financial services and is one of the 4 strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor’s. The group is present in over 85 countries, with 161,000 employees, including 125,000 in Europe. The group holds key positions in three major segments: Corporate and Investment Banking, Asset Management & Services and Retail Banking. Present throughout Europe in all of its business lines, the bank’s two domestic markets in retail banking are France and Italy. BNP Paribas also has a significant presence in the United States and strong positions in Asia and the emerging markets.