Alexandre, comte de Lesseps (born ) is a French entrepreneur and pioneer of

microfinancing Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

within developing countries. He currently serves as President of Pandaw Investment Holdings of Hong Kong, focusing on investments in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

. Previously, until 2013, he held the position of Chairman at Coral Capital Group and was one of the founder investors in the rebuilt Saratoga Hotel in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 2012, he assumed the role of director at

Leopard Capital Leopard Capital LP is a private equity fund manager specializing in frontier market investments. The Group is considered a pioneer investor in Southeast Asia’s Greater Mekong Subregion and the Caribbean. Structure and key personnel Leopard Capi ...

, a private equity firm specializing in investments in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, and various other frontier markets. De Lesseps was also co-founder and Director of Blue Orchard Finance S.A. of Geneva, a leading microfinance management company.

Early life

Alexandre de Lesseps was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. His education took place in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and in

and at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

Career

De Lesseps's film career started while serving in the French military, where he was enrolled in the film department. He later become a producer of TV films with TelFrance in Paris, Inter Tel in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and Telvetia in Switzerland. He became the CEO of Intertel USA Inc and Tanit Productions, in Los Angeles, in 1984. Alexandre de Lesseps founded the company Les Laboratoires de I’Atlantique in 1986, which is a French personal care manufacturer. During the 1980s, his growing interest in emerging markets led him to become the manager of a private equity fund in Asia. In 1988 he founded The Myanmar Children Association MCA with his partner Mark Tippetts and their friend Ricardo Sicre. MCA has built a 100-pupil school in

Kakku is a Japanese abbreviation for , meaning Tuesday at 9PM. This is a popular time-slot which airs Japanese television dramas. Kakku is Fuji TV's second best-rated time-slot for TV dramas, behind Getsuku (Monday at 9PM). Prior to airing dramas, the ...

, in the Pa-O country in the Shan plateau east of

Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth lar ...

, the capital of

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

. In 1999 MCA built the first modern maternity clinic beside the school in Kakku. In 2001 MCA completed its first orphanage for boys above the village of Main Thauk, Lake Inle. Built on 11 acres of land with panoramic views across the Lake, the Orphanage sits on the historic site of the first British encampment in the Shan States, Fort Stedman built in 1860. Over 50 boys reside at the Orphanage, and attend the high school in Main Thauk. In 2002 MCA held the grand opening of its second orphanage where 60 girls now live. MCA fully supports the advanced education of ten of these girls on an ongoing basis at Taunggyi University. In addition MCA has sponsored another orphanage on Lake Inle in the nearby village of Mee Thwe Pote, and also funds all the overheads of the Day-Care Center in the village of Main Thauk.

Award

De Lesseps received the Fulbright Humanitarian Award in 2004 at the United Nations in New York.

Personal life

He is a descendant of

Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times ...

, the famous French diplomat and entrepreneur who built the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

and started the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. His fourth wife was Luann de Lesseps, an American television personality and former fashion model. With Luann he has two children, Noel and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesseps, Alexandre Living people 1940s births Counts of France

Alexandre Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...

Businesspeople from Paris