Stéphane Boujnah revived Euronext after the stock exchange operator had been reduced to an afterthought in a merger. The shares are as blisteringly hot as the weather in Paris on the day I meet him, valuing Euronext at just shy of €4.9bn.

Though Euronext is still a relatively small exchange, Boujnah has managed to ensure that its rivals remain divided, lobbying regulators to block a mega-merger that would have upended the continent’s trading landscape.