Michaël Sellam President of IRIS Finance International Group
A quarter of a century of steady expansion, six strategic acquisitions, a presence in five European countries: Michaël Sellam has built IRIS Finance International Group stone by stone, never yielding to the lure of growth for its own sake. Amid rising financialisation, mounting regulatory pressure and the emergence of new digital players, IRIS Finance has developed without succumbing to passing trends or shortcuts to rapid expansion. Every milestone, acquisition and geographic foothold follows an overall architectural logic, designed with the long term in mind. It is a rare approach, in sharp contrast to consolidation strategies often driven by volume rather than purpose. At a time when many executives face hasty trade-offs, short-term pressures and deep structural shifts, whether technological, human or regulatory, Michaël Sellam’s path offers a revealing counterpoint: that of a leader for whom growth has value only if it remains aligned with a vision.
As part of Le Monde Économique‘s special report “Bâtir sans se trahir” (“Building without betraying oneself”), he looks back on the principles that have guided each of his decisions, and on the delicate balancing act that companies must now perform: transforming without denying themselves, growing without losing their way.
Monde Économique: Artificial intelligence promises significant productivity gains. But beyond technical efficiency, what is the real strategic question leaders should be asking today?
Michaël Sellam: Building without betraying oneself is, first and foremost, a standard you set for yourself before you set it for your company. When I founded Financière Galilée in 2000, then took over IRIS Finance in 2003, I had not yet put that idea into words, but it was already guiding every decision. Values must be established upstream, before the company even begins to grow. Once they become part of you and of your organisation, they are infinitely harder to betray, because they are no longer external rules but an internalised conviction.
In our industry, wealth and asset management, betraying your values comes at a price. Our clients entrust us with what they have built most carefully, often over several generations. Transparency, proximity, independence and confidentiality are not marketing arguments: they are commitments on which trust is built. Drift away from them, even slightly, and the rupture is irreparable.
Monde Économique: But aren’t a company’s values also fragile, threatened by growth itself? The larger an organisation becomes, the greater the risk of dilution. Isn’t that the structural trap facing every builder?
Michaël Sellam: Growth is indeed a moment of truth. The larger a company becomes, the greater the risk of dispersion, and that is precisely where the leader’s role is decisive. He or she must step back far enough to constantly check that the company remains true to itself. The moment that coherence is lost, betrayal begins, and betraying your company ultimately means leading it towards failure. The values that built its success are not temporary assets of the start-up phase: they are the lasting cement of growth.
Throughout my career, I have always adapted the Group to the times, the market and the economic environment, but within a consistent underlying framework. Provalor in 2007, Compagnie Financière Genevoise in 2014, Chahine Capital in 2016, Createrra in 2019, IRIS Finance Monaco in 2022, Dynasty AM in 2023 and today IRIVEST Investment Managers: each step was conceived as a natural extension of the Group’s DNA, never as a break. The company and I have evolved together, and that, ultimately, is the secret of sustainable construction. I have never found myself out of step with what we were building, because I never sought to build something alien to who I am. Those who betray their company rarely do so out of cynicism; they do so because, at some point, they agreed to separate their personal trajectory from that of their organisation. That separation must be rejected, not out of rigidity, but out of clarity.
Monde Économique: Isn’t such constant vigilance difficult to maintain in a shifting economic environment, particularly in finance and advisory services?
Michaël Sellam: It is precisely in such environments that strategic discipline is essential. Markets evolve quickly, client expectations change, regulation grows more complex and competition intensifies. In that context, a company must evolve without being distorted. Adaptation must not be an opportunistic reaction, but a controlled transformation. At IRIS Finance International Group, we have always developed our offering in line with market needs while remaining faithful to our positioning: bespoke, high-value-added support for major financial decisions.
Monde Économique: IRIS Finance International Group now has five subsidiaries, a presence in Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Monaco, and commercial representatives in Germany and Italy. What is the logic behind this footprint?
Michaël Sellam: The logic is one of complementarity, not duplication. Each Group entity serves a specific segment, with its own expertise, while benefiting from the synergies of the whole. IRIS Finance in Paris covers discretionary private wealth management and collective management. Compagnie Financière Genevoise 1855, in the heart of Geneva’s banking district, embodies our highly personalised wealth management offering for Swiss and international clients. Createrra Finance serves a multi-generational clientele with an innovative approach. And IRIVEST Investment Managers, born from the merger of Chahine Capital and Dynasty AM, is now our collective management platform for institutional investors, with a decidedly European ambition; it also gives a select private clientele access to a range of proven, high-performing solutions. Choosing Luxembourg as IRIVEST’s registered office is no coincidence: it is Europe’s most efficient fund distribution platform. Paris, Geneva and Monaco, together with our representatives in Frankfurt and Milan, keep us as close as possible to the continent’s major capital flows. Switzerland remains, in our view, one of the most demanding and strategic markets, particularly for top-quality asset management.
Monde Économique: Against this backdrop, what are the main challenges you face as a leader today?
Michaël Sellam: The main challenge is human. We are witnessing a profound transformation in people’s relationship with work. Where employees once fitted into a collective dynamic, we are now seeing a rise in individualism: everyone is more intent on expressing their own path and aspirations. This is not negative in itself, but it calls for more subtle management. The leader must succeed in aligning these individual trajectories with a common project, which requires teaching, consistency and the ability to keep reminding people of the purpose.
This shift is not an aberration; it is a deep societal change. But it makes the leader’s role considerably more complex. It is no longer just a matter of steering an organisation or executing a strategy; it is now about orchestrating individual trajectories, often very different from one another, while maintaining strong collective coherence. The challenge is to avoid two pitfalls: a dilution of the corporate project through lack of alignment, or an excessive rigidity that would eventually cut the company off from contemporary expectations. This calls for far more nuanced, almost tailor-made management. The leader must be both strategist and teacher, explaining, embodying and repeating; providing visibility, but also meaning. Because commitment can no longer be decreed; it has to be built. And it is built over time, through consistent decisions, through example, and through the ability to create a framework in which individuals can express themselves without weakening the collective.
Monde Économique: Is Geneva still a strategic anchor for your development?
Michaël Sellam: Geneva is much more than an anchor; it is a laboratory of excellence. Geneva’s clients, whether Swiss or international, are among the most sophisticated in the world. They know how to read a report, challenge an allocation and compare offerings. Compagnie Financière Genevoise 1855, in the heart of the financial district, has embodied that standard for more than a decade. Our presence in Switzerland raises our game; it forces us to be better. That is also why we distribute IRIVEST Investment Managers in the Swiss market: we want our collective management solutions to be tested against the highest standards.
Monde Économique: To conclude, a more personal question. A quarter of a century of building, six acquisitions, five countries: was there ever a moment when you came close to betraying who you were at the outset?
Michaël Sellam: No. And I think that is because the question never arose in those terms. I did not set out to build an empire; I set out to build something durable. Longevity requires coherence, and coherence requires not betraying yourself. When a company grows with you, at your own pace and in line with your convictions, there can be no break in identity. It is those who build too quickly, or in contradiction with their founding values, who one day find themselves facing a company they no longer recognise. That is not my story.
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