She comes to the family company with 20 years’ experience in sales and business development in the intellectual property information market, having worked at industry leaders ThomsonReuters, LexisNexis and Macmillan.

She is, in effect, rejoining the business, having started her sales career as a student, cold-calling and visiting timber merchants in Germany and successfully starting PiveteauBois’s exports to the country.

Unable to escape the "family passion for timber" she said, she is now joining forces with her father, uncle, brother and sister at the company once more.

Ms Piveteau described it as "surprising" that the UK currently imports so little softwood from France which, with production of 7.5 million m3 a year, is Europe’s joint fourth biggest producer with Austria.

"We need to work hard to make the UK supply and procurement chain aware of France’s resource and capacity to deliver quality softwood timber, semi-finished and finished products that meet its requirements," she said. "That’s my mission in my new role at PiveteauBois."