Mr Contamine was previously senior executive vice president, deputy general manager and CFO of Veolia Environment.
Mr Contamine is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (X), and ENSAE, the national statistics and economics engineering school, affiliated with the Ministry of Finance (1982).
Chris Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi-Aventis, said: “I am extremely pleased with the appointment of such a highly qualified professional as Jerome Contamine, who will bring to our group a very high level of expertise, as well as an extensive knowledge of international corporations. Jerome will be deeply involved in the simplification of our operational structures to adapt our group to future challenges.”