Euronext, the pan-European stock exchange operator that runs the Paris Bourse, announced on Monday that chief executive Stéphane Boujnah will not seek a new term and will be succeeded by Dutch financial executive David Knibbe.
Boujnah, who serves as chairman of the managing board and chief executive officer, has led the exchange group since 2015. He will resign from his post at the close of Euronext's annual general meeting of shareholders in May 2027, concluding more than ten years in charge.
To replace him, Euronext selected Knibbe, the current chief executive officer of NN Group, a Dutch financial services company focused on insurance and asset management. Shares in Euronext fell 1.3% on the Paris stock exchange in late morning trading on Monday following the announcement, making the stock the steepest decliner on France's benchmark CAC 40 index.
David Knibbe appointment and career background
In a company statement released on Monday, November 2, Euronext said Knibbe brings extensive experience running a strictly regulated business, executing operational transformations, and creating significant value for shareholders. The group added that this track record puts him in a strong position to continue Euronext's development.
A graduate of the University of Rotterdam and Harvard, Knibbe has spent the bulk of his career in the Dutch financial sector at ING and NN Group. NN Group is a former insurance and asset management subsidiary of the Dutch banking group ING that was spun off as a separate company in 2016.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, NN Group provides retirement services, life and non-life insurance, banking, and investment management across multiple European markets and Japan, operating under strict European insurance capital and solvency rules.
Market reaction and Euronext share price
The selection of an external executive from the insurance industry caught parts of the market by surprise on Monday morning. Questioned by the news agency Reuters, one trader called Knibbe's appointment surprising and noted that many market participants had expected Euronext's chief financial officer, Giorgio Modica, to succeed Boujnah.
On the Paris Bourse, where Euronext is listed as a member of the CAC 40 index tracking France's 40 largest publicly traded companies, the stock's 1.3% late-morning drop was modest in absolute terms but still represented the sharpest fall on the index at the time.
Barclays analysis of the Euronext leadership change
Analysts at the British bank Barclays offered a supportive view in a research note published before the market opened on Monday. Barclays wrote that while the appointment might appear surprising at first glance, the bank believed investors would welcome the move.
Barclays noted that the press, including French media outlets very recently, had speculated widely about potential candidates to replace Boujnah, as well as about the influence and competing interests of the different countries where Euronext operates.
Because Euronext runs primary national stock exchanges across multiple European countries, its governance requires balancing the priorities of several national financial centres and regulatory authorities. Barclays said it viewed Knibbe's selection as a good example of how Euronext balances different European cultures on its board while naming a highly respected financial services chief executive who is already well known to the market.
The British bank also stated that although Knibbe's background is in the insurance sector, it believed his expertise in corporate integration would prove particularly relevant for Euronext's future growth.
Euronext acquisitions and revenue growth under Stéphane Boujnah
Boujnah has led Euronext for almost the entire period since the group returned to the stock market in 2014, when it was relisted as an independent company after being separated from Intercontinental Exchange. Over his decade at the helm, the company changed significantly in scale and geographic reach.
Originally formed in 2000 through the merger of the Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris exchanges and later joined by Lisbon, Euronext historically operated across those four founding markets. Under Boujnah's leadership, the group expanded across Europe through a series of acquisitions, adding the stock exchanges of Dublin in 2018, Oslo in 2019, Milan in 2021, and Athens.
Those acquisitions helped drive sharp growth in Euronext's financial results over the past decade. According to figures reported by BFM Bourse, annual revenue increased from 519 million euros in 2015 to 1.82 billion euros in 2025, while net profit nearly quadrupled over the same period to reach 643 million euros.
Operating profitability also expanded during Boujnah's tenure. Euronext's adjusted gross operating margin, or EBITDA margin, which measures operating cash profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation as a percentage of revenue, rose from 54.7% in 2015 to 62.7% in 2025.
Expansion into bond trading and post-trade services
Alongside its geographic expansion, Euronext diversified its revenue mix under Boujnah by moving further into fixed-income bond trading and post-trade services, including central securities depository and custody operations.
In the exchange industry, post-trade businesses handle the clearing, settlement, and safekeeping of securities after trades are executed, providing recurring fee income that is less dependent on daily stock market trading volumes. Euronext's share price rose nearly sixfold during Boujnah's tenure, culminating in the company's entry into the benchmark CAC 40 index in September 2025.
