> Throughout his career as a banker expert in structured finance, Bertrand has developed a strong knowledge of international issues. And this experience and expertise coupled with an excellent understanding of the economic issues surrounding energy ─ which of course directly impact the survival of endangered species ─ has made him highly sensitive to ecological issues.

> Today, Bertrand is Deputy Director of the Structured Finance Department of a major banking group where he manages the financing of projects in France and abroad. He makes a perfect pairing with Lionel to lead this humanitarian adventure, Le Monde des Bonobos.

> Lionel is a doctor of medicine specialised in anaesthesia and resuscitation, and in the 90s he was one of the pioneers of lung transplants. In this same decade, his profession enabled him to discover North and Sub-Saharan Africa while carrying out humanitarian missions and providing medical assistance at extreme sports events.
At the end of a highly distinguished and varied career devoted entirely to the health of his fellow human, he decided to undertake a “useful conversion”, one that would take him away from the confines of the operating room and out into the world.

> Lionel has always been sensitive to the sustainable management of the Earth's resources, and so from human lungs he moved to one of the great lungs of our planet ─ the African rainforest ─ and an animal threatened with extinction ─ the bonobo, a hominid (great ape) species endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

> Convinced that no environmental conservation project can succeed without the consent and active participation of indigenous populations, at the end of 2018 he founded Le Monde des Bonobos, an ecological and philanthropic association.
Since then, he has devoted his energy to building trusting relationships with NGOs and researchers active in this region of Africa and to raising funds to bring eligible projects to life.

> Coming from a family with altruism in the genes and yearning to contribute to the well-being of her fellow humans, Alexandra chose to work in health care as an operating room assistant.

> After a stay in the Cape Verde archipelago where she had the opportunity to contribute to a local association working for women (OMCV ─ The Women’s Organization Of Cape Verde) and to teach French with the local branch of the French Cooperation, it was a natural decision for her to commit to this associative project alongside Lionel, her husband, and Bertrand, a lifelong friend. As she says, in the words of Theodore MONOD:

« Le peu qu'on peut faire, le très peu qu'on peut faire, il faut le faire »
“However little we may be able to do, we still must do it.”