Team
A Multinational Team with Deep Sector Expertise
Cofarco brings together a multinational team of professionals based in Paris, Geneva and London, with backgrounds spanning investment banking, structured finance and specialty insurance.
Collectively, the team accumulates over 150 years of experience across the banking and insurance sectors.
Our team’s diverse educational and professional roots foster an acute understanding of cross-border operations, emerging markets, and the realities of global trade.
“With teams in Paris, Geneva and London, and direct access to Lloyd’s, we connect clients seamlessly to the world’s deepest pools of credit and political risk capacity—wherever their business takes them.”
Mircea Bala
Group Deputy-CEO, Geneva
Tel: +41 (0)2 25 75 60 66
Mob: +41 (0)7 94 61 78 51
Biography
Mircea joined COFARCO in April 2011 as an Account Manager in Paris, later becoming Head of the Geneva branch in 2017, where he has played a key role in expanding COFARCO’s franchise.
In December 2024, he was appointed Deputy Group CEO, leading the development of COFARCO into a new phase of growth.
He is a FINMA-accredited insurance broker.
Mircea holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan–Fudan program and a Master’s in Management from Grenoble École de Management. Before joining COFARCO, he spent a year in China developing an academic competitive cluster for France’s Rhône-Alpes region.
Ibrahim Balde
Associate – Geneva
Tel: +41 (0) 22 506 86 77
Mob: +41 (0) 76 518 67 90
Biography
Frédéric Blanchi is the founder and Executive Partner of COFARCO.
Prior to establishing the firm in April 2009, the first half of his career was in investment banking, particularly at Natixis, where he held various roles in corporate lending, derivatives markets, and structured commodity finance in Paris and London.
Frédéric holds a Magistère degree in banking, finance, and insurance from the University of Paris Dauphine, where he is today a lecturer on credit risk.
Emmanuelle Biehler-Marghieri
Head of Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 41 66 72
Mob: +33 (0)6 26 68 15 08
Biography
Emmanuelle is responsible for the Paris desk covering EU clients as well as some international banks and financial institutions.
Prior to joining COFARCO, Emmanuelle worked for 17 years at Diot Siaci as Political Risk Director. She started her career at Marsh.
She holds a Master’s degree from Paris Sorbonne University and is currently a Conseiller du Commerce Extérieur in France.
Emmanuelle graduated from the Université Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne
Frédéric Blanchi
Group CEO, Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 41 66 70
Mob: +33 (0)6 18 75 31 90
Biography
Frédéric founded Cofarco in April 2009 after serving as the Global Head of Metal Trade Finance at Natixis in Paris. Prior to that he was Head of Marketing, Base Metals Derivatives at Natixis Commodity Markets in London. Frederic has 20 years’ experience in corporate and investment banking and specialises in asset-based lending for the commodities industry.
Frédéric holds a degree in banking, finance, and insurance from the University of Paris Dauphine. He has arranged a number of landmark commodity finance transactions and insurance policies throughout his career, spanning a large spectrum of clients and types of risks.
Outmane Farhour
Deputy Head ofGeneva
Tel: +41 (0) 22 575 60 65
Mob: +41 (0) 78 410 86 03
Biography
Outmane joined COFARCO in December 2018 in Geneva and was appointed its Deputy Head in November 2015. Prior to joining the team, Outmane worked for JP Morgan for 3 years as an analyst in Switzerland for the asset and wealth management department. He is in charge of monitoring and developing a number of key accounts in the branch.
Outmane is accredited with FINMA as a licensed insurance broker. He holds a Master’s degree from Grenoble Ecole de Management.
Alexandre Nakhla
Associate – London
Mob: +44 (0) 7780 341069
Biography
Alexandre joined COFARCO in August 2024, after gaining three years of experience at Willis Towers Watson in credit and political risk insurance. In his role, he is actively involved in placing COFARCO’s client transactions on the Lloyd’s market in London, working closely with the market’s leading underwriters.
Alexandre holds a Master’s degree from ESCE International Business School in Paris, as well as a degree from Regent’s University in London.
Ron Reshef
Associate – London
Mob: +44 (0) 7824 101994
Biography
Ron joined COFARCO in September 2025 as a Credit and Political Risk Associate. Prior to joining the team, he worked as a Financial Lines Broker at Aon in London, and as a Senior Political and Credit Risk Underwriter at ASHRA in Israel, where he structured complex finance solutions for agriculture, renewable energy, and infrastructure projects. Earlier in his career, Ron held roles as a Credit Analyst at Leumi Bank.
He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy Analysis from Tel Aviv University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Economics from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Sofía Pérez Sánchez
Associate – Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 40 41 66 73
Mob: +33 (0)7 60 08 44 93
Biography
Sofía is a Credit and Political Risk Analyst at COFARCO’s Paris desk, having joined the firm in April 2023. In her role, she actively participates in managing key client relationships for the Paris desk, handling all aspects of these engagements.
She holds a degree in International Business from Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, as well as a Master’s from Audencia Business School in France.
Véronique Herguido Lafargue
Compliance, Paris
Tel: +33 (0)1 46 83 90 31
Biography
Véronique has been responsible for compliance at COFARCO since September 2015. Prior to starting her specialist consultancy firm, she spent 16 years at Archon in Paris, the investment subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, where she served as Head of Compliance until October 2013.
She holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Bordeaux Montesquieu.