Frédéric Sanchez started his career in 1985 with Renault in Mexico and the US, subsequently joining Ernst & Young in late 1987 as an Audit Manager.

In 1990 he joined the Fives-Lille group, where he continued his career as management controller, then Chief Financial Officer of its main subsidiary, FCB, and finally as Chief Financial Officer of Compagnie de Fives-Lille. In 1997 he became Managing Director of Compagnie de Fives-Lille and Chief Executive Officer of Cinetic, a newly acquired sub-group.

Compagnie de Fives-Lille (which became Fives in 2007) has been run by an Executive Board and a Supervisory Board since 2002, with Frédéric Sanchez as Chairman of the Executive Board from that date.