Bonnafe Goes Via Rome and Brussels to Land BNP Paribas’s Top Job

Jean-Laurent Bonnafe’s route to the top job at BNP Paribas SA led through Rome and Brussels, where he spent much of the last five years overseeing takeovers that turned the Paris-based lender into Europe’s largest bank.

Bonnafe, 49, will replace Baudouin Prot as chief executive officer, Chairman Michel Pebereau told the company’s shareholders at the annual general meeting in Paris yesterday. Prot, 59, will become chairman as Pebereau, who turns 70 in January, steps down. The changes are planned for Dec. 1.