To lead is to be French. Why do so many French nationals lead major companies overseas?

(Credit: David Paul Morris—Bloomberg via Getty Images)

• French nationals head about 30 major foreign companies with a total valuation of $2 trillion, comparable to the entire market cap of France’s CAC 40 index, according to Le Monde. They include Marguerite Bérard at ABN Amro, Ariane Gorin at Expedia, Christophe Fouquet at ASML, and Fidji Simo at Instacart.

While it isn’t particularly unusual for a foreign national to head a major company in another country, what is surprising is the number of French C-suite players outside of French borders.