With sadness, we recognize the passing of Bruno Bich, former Chairman and CEO of Société BIC and Chairman of the Board of Directors, who died at age 74 on May 30, 2021. The son of BIC founder Marcel Bich, Bruno devoted his entire professional life to BIC and was known as a well-respected global business leader and advocate of French production and Franco-American friendship. In 2006, he was decorated Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
Active for many years in the French-American community in New York, Bruno Bich was a champion of youth and education. He was an avid supporter of both K-12 and higher education, serving as a board member of numerous educational institutions including the Harlem Academy in New York and EDHEC business school in France. Mr. Bich will particularly be remembered by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States for his transformative support of the French Dual Language Fund, a program of FACE Foundation, fostering a flourishing of bilingual dual language immersion education in the US. His vision supported a growing network of bilingual classrooms in New York and 35 states across the country.
Mr. Bich served as a lifelong advocate of collaboration between France and the U.S. His philanthropy was characterized by an active commitment to transatlantic exchange, and his philanthropic efforts included longstanding support of the French Institute-Alliance Française in New York as well as the American Hospital of Paris Foundation, where he served a member of the respective boards. An international leader and inspiration for many, he will be deeply missed
