The people behind Valence.
Clients in this market buy from people, not firms.
Marc Desmarais
Managing Partner
Alexandre Bechard, CFA
Strategy & Business Development Lead
Marc Desmarais — Managing Partner
Thirty years of senior leadership across organisational transformation, culture design, and people strategy. Nearly fifteen years at Medine Limited — one of Mauritius's most diversified groups — leading HR strategy at group level, then Managing Director, Shared Services. Prior senior HR roles at MCB Group and HSBC Asia Pacific across Mauritius, the Indian Ocean, and Hong Kong.
At Valence, Marc leads the deployment model and oversees every mandate — curating the network, structuring engagement terms, and staying actively involved so the right leader is matched with precision and measurable outcomes follow.
Focus: Expert vetting & onboarding · Candidate relationship management · HR transformation mandates · People due diligence for clients
Alexandre Bechard, CFA — Strategy & Business Development Lead
Fifteen years at the intersection of corporate finance, strategy, and organisational change. International banking (LBOs, property structuring and syndicated transactions across Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa), then head of Credit & Risk at a South African finance house. Co-founder of Fundkiss, Mauritius's pioneering crowdlending marketplace, and Managing Partner of BYRD & Partners, a boutique advisory firm operating across Mauritius and the wider region.
At Valence, Alexandre shapes the strategic direction, the network standards, and the commercial relationships that anchor the firm's most significant engagements — ensuring the model stays rigorous and the governance stays intact.
Focus: Client origination & mandate development · Strategic partnerships · Geographic hub expansion · Brand positioning
Marc Desmarais
Managing Partner
Marc brings thirty years of senior leadership experience across organisational transformation, culture design, and people strategy — built inside some of the region's most complex institutions.
He spent nearly fifteen years at Medine Limited, one of Mauritius's most diversified groups, where he led HR strategy across the full enterprise before taking on the role of Managing Director, Shared Services — responsible for both support functions and the people and culture agenda at group level. Before that, he held senior HR leadership roles at MCB Group and HSBC Asia Pacific, operating across Mauritius, the Indian Ocean, and Hong Kong.
That operating experience — inside large, multi-sector organisations navigating real transformation — is what distinguishes Marc's work. He understands what change costs, what governance requires, and what leadership capability actually looks like under pressure.
At Valence, Marc leads the deployment model and oversees every mandate. He curates the network, structures the engagement terms, and remains actively involved throughout — ensuring that the right leader is matched with precision, and that measurable outcomes follow.
He holds an MSc in Human Resources Strategy from University College Dublin, with First Class Honours, and has completed executive programmes at ESSEC Business School and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
Areas of focus: Expert vetting and onboarding · Candidate relationship management · HR transformation mandates · People due diligence for clients
Connect on LinkedIn →Alexandre Bechard, CFA
Strategy & Business Development Lead
Alexandre gained experience while working for an international bank, where he contributed to several Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), property structuring and syndicated transactions across Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
He was subsequently appointed as the head of the Credit and Risk department of a South African finance house. There, he participated in the setting up of new ventures, in the acquisition of one of the leading asset rental businesses from the largest Pan African bank, and in building the team of analysts across three jurisdictions.
Alexandre co-founded and successfully launched Fundkiss, Mauritius' pioneering crowdlending marketplace, before launching BYRD & Partners, a boutique advisory firm operating across Mauritius and the wider region. As Managing Partner of BYRD & Partners, he has structured complex transactions, advised boards through periods of significant transition, and built a clear view of what separates mandates that deliver from those that do not.
Alexandre co-founded Valence Partners to address a gap he observed repeatedly across East Africa & the Indian Ocean: organisations navigating serious transformation without access to the calibre of leadership those mandates demand.
The model — pre-vetted deployment with active governance and structured performance oversight — reflects fifteen years of advisory work at the intersection of corporate finance, strategy, and organisational change.
At Valence, Alexandre shapes the strategic direction, the network standards, and the commercial relationships that anchor the firm's most significant engagements. He ensures that the model remains rigorous, the governance stays intact, and the firm's positioning continues to reflect the seriousness of the work.
Alexandre is a CFA charterholder.
Areas of focus: Client origination and mandate development · Strategic partnerships · Geographic hub expansion · Brand positioning
Connect on LinkedIn →