Jean-Yves Parisot
| Jean-Yves Parisot | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | Doctorate in veterinary medicine (École nationale vétérinaire de Lyon); MBA (HEC Paris) |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Employer | Symrise AG |
| Title | Chief Executive Officer |
| Known for | Chief executive of Symrise AG |
Jean-Yves Parisot (born 1964) is a French business executive. He has been chief executive officer of Symrise AG, a German publicly listed company that makes fragrances, flavours and ingredients for the food, nutrition and cosmetics industries, since March 2024.
Parisot took over as chief executive on 31 March 2024, succeeding Heinz-Jurgen Bertram. Symrise is headquartered in Holzminden, Germany. Alongside his executive role, Parisot holds several outside board positions in France and Sweden and, from 2023 to 2025, led an international trade association for the flavour industry.
Early life and education
Parisot was born in 1964. He holds a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the École nationale vétérinaire de Lyon and later completed a Master of Business Administration at HEC Paris.
Career
Early career
Parisot began his career in management roles at a number of international companies, including Pfizer, Rhône-Poulenc/Rhodia, Danisco and Air Liquide.
Diana Group, 2009 to 2016
In 2009, Parisot joined Diana Group, a company specialising in natural ingredients that was later folded into Symrise. He first led the group's Food division before taking charge of the Diana division as a whole.
Symrise management board, 2016 to 2024
In 2016, Parisot became a member of Symrise's management board. He served in that role for eight years before moving into the top executive position.
Chief executive officer, since 2024
Parisot became chief executive officer in 2024, taking office on 31 March and succeeding Heinz-Jurgen Bertram; his contract runs to September 2028. Under a strategy the company calls "One Symrise", Parisot has pursued greater integration of operations across the business worldwide. According to the company, it has also pursued sustainability initiatives during his tenure, including a targeted date of 2045 for carbon neutrality and alignment with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, alongside digital transformation efforts such as an artificial intelligence hub the company opened in Barcelona.
Other positions
Parisot chairs the board of directors of Probi AB, based in Lund, Sweden, and chairs the board of VetAgro Sup in Lyon, France. He also sits on the board of Swedencare AB, based in Malmo, Sweden. From 2023 to 2025, Parisot was president of the International Organization of the Flavor Industry (IOFI).
Publications
With Jacques Campistro, Parisot co-authored Tectonic Management: de la gestion internationale au management global par le geographique (Diatope Management, 2014, ISBN 978-2954818108).
Assessment
Parisot's career shows a long, steady rise through operational roles at established international firms before he reached the top of Symrise, a path that combines an unusual academic background in veterinary medicine with a later business qualification from HEC Paris. His appointment to the chief executive post in 2024 followed eight years on the company's management board and, before that, seven years running divisions of Diana Group, giving him direct experience of the business he now leads. His concurrent board seats at Probi, VetAgro Sup and Swedencare, along with his past presidency of IOFI, point to standing within the flavour and ingredients industry beyond his own company. At the same time, the available sourcing on Parisot is limited to a single foreign-language biographical entry and does not include independent press coverage, financial results, or third-party assessments of his performance as chief executive. His tenure to date is also short, having begun in 2024, so no settled record of his leadership can yet be drawn from the material available.