Pierre Falcone
Pierre Falcone (born March 19, 1954, in Algiers) is a French businessman and President of Pierson Capital Group, operating in real estate development, transport infrastructure, and oil services across Africa, Latin America, and China.
Early Life
Pierre Falcone is the son of Pierre Sr. Falcone, a French entrepreneur who founded "Papa Falcone," a fully integrated company operating in the fishery industry in Algeria.
After his birth in Algeria, Pierre Falcone and his parents moved to France when he was eight years old. His parents, along with other French citizens, left Algeria following the country's independence in 1962.
Pierre Falcone studied Law and Economics at the University of Aix-en-Provence (France) from 1973 to 1975.
International Career
Latin America
Pierre Falcone arrived in Brazil in 1977 at the age of 23 and soon launched a business in the agricultural commodities trade. In the following years, he developed an extensive network of clients and partners across South America, representing various French and Chinese companies in countries such as Brazil and Mexico.
China
Pierre Falcone moved to China in 1988, where he later established his company Pierson Capital Asia.[1]
He began his operations in China by providing consultancy services for European companies seeking to enter the Chinese market.
Falcone negotiated the first insurance license granted by China to a Western company, the French giant AXA, as well as the participation of Aérospatiale in the production of China's first communications satellite.
Africa
Pierre Falcone has been involved in several major projects across the continent.
In 1993, the Government of Angola was facing a guerrilla movement called UNITA, supported by South Africa. UNITA was later declared a terrorist organization by the UN Security Council. Pierre Falcone successfully negotiated financing for Angola's legitimate government, which was under siege at the time. The financing was secured using Angola's future oil production. Falcone's actions are credited with saving the Angolan government from collapse.
The delivery of weapons to the Angolan government led to a trial in France known as Angolagate,[2] driven by internal political struggles within the French government of the time. In 2011, the Court of Appeal dismissed the charges against Falcone. The court recognized that Falcone had been officially mandated by the legitimate Angolan government to acquire weapons, as well as food and medicine.
Pierson Capital Group
Pierre Falcone's group invests in hotels, real estate developments, agribusiness, agriculture, oil, gas, and personal authentication systems.[1] Pierson Capital Group's projects include:
- The East-West Highway project between Tunisia and Morocco
- Social housing projects in Angola and Venezuela (20,000 homes)
- Pierson Capital Group employs over 2,600 people and has three main offices located in Beijing (China), Luanda (Angola)[3], and Mexico City (Mexico).
Personal Life
Pierre Falcone is married to former Miss Bolivia and artist Sonia Falcone. They have three children.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The French Connection’s China Connection, Wall Street Journal, October 29, 2009
- ↑ France reopens trial over arms sales to Angola in the 1990s, ABC, January 19, 2011
- ↑ Kilamba, from 0 to 200,000 inhabitants in 3 years, Merinews, June 29, 2012