Louis Franck CBE: Biography
Louis Franck was a Belgian, who was born in 1907. In the 1930s he was working for the Belgian central bank when he was sent to London to expand his knowledge by working en stage at the Bank of England.
Whilst there it became apparent that Samuel Montagu, a London merchant bank then in some difficulty, needed to strengthen its senior staff and they turned for advice to the Governor who recommended Louis Franck. Louis made an immediate impact and over the years created from Samuel Montagu one of the City’s leading merchant banks.
Louis was, in almost every sense, a larger than life figure. Early on in the Second World War, after the Germans had occupied Belgium, he spirited the central bank’s gold and silver reserves across the North Sea to England using river barges.
Conveniently, the vaults at Samuel Montagu had plenty of space for their storage. Louis joined SOE and became one of the key individuals who managed payments across occupied Europe to the resistance. It was said that he was landed on to occupied Europe more than any other man.
The connections he made stood him in good stead after the war when, as a major bullion and foreign exchange operation, Montagu was involved in moving bullion and funds around – in an environment where exchange controls were preventing free transfers. In particular he played a critical role for Lazards in New York as their business was built up after the war by Andre Meyer – one of the few men to whom Louis deferred.
In addition to his banking and war experience, Louis was a serious sailor.
At the first Olympics after the War Louis helped fund the British sailing team and himself provided the competition they required during their training. He went on to helm the Belgian 6 Metre and won one of the stages.
Working for Louis was a mixed blessing, he was demanding and difficult. You had to know when to stand your ground and when to defer as he boomed at you.
However, he was also passionate in promoting the interests of staff he felt had promise and it was in the late Sixties that he decided to send the first two individuals from Montagu to INSEAD. Louis believed that the British were ludicrously insular and he hoped to broaden horizons as well as have his staff trained. Later, he established the scholarship scheme so that, in his original concept, other young Brits could also have their horizons and education broadened – some repayment he felt for all that the UK had done for him.
Having retired, Louis left England in the early 1970s, and settled in his home in Gstaad.
Louis died in 1988.
Louis’s son, Eric, remains on the Board of the charitable trust that administers the Louis Franck Scholarship: The Old Broad Street Charity Trust.
Charity Information
Charity Number: 231382
Date Registered: 29/06/1964
The charity is focused on awarding scholarships throughout England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to British Citizens of proven ability to spend time in a seat of learning (INSEAD Business School).
The purpose of the award is to widen that person's knowledge and experience and thus strive to attain the highest level of executive management.