France has been playing to the beat of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games for almost 2 months now. And ESSEC has been leading the dance with some 40 alumni among the organisational team of this historic event, including Tony Estanguet (EXEC M07) himself. Discover their profiles! 

Tony Estanguet (EXEC M07) needs no introduction! The President of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games organisational committee rose to fame for his sporting achievements: the three-time European and World champion and three-time slalom canoe Olympic champion became the first French athlete to win three gold medals during three different games, at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and London 2012. He was the flag-bearer of the French delegation at the Beijing 2008 games and joined the International Olympic Committee in 2013, where he served until 2021. In 2014, he also took up the vice-presidency of the International Canoe Federation along with the co-presidency in 2015 of the Paris Bid to lead the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
See also our interview 

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (E02) is the Minister for Sports and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This former tennis champion previously headed the French Tennis Federation (FFT). Prior to this position, she held the roles of Executive Director of e-commerce, data and digital transformation with Carrefour, and Director of Marketing, Brand, Service & Digital at Axa. Also a graduate of ENA and Sciences Po Paris, she worked briefly for the French Court of Auditors and has sat on ESSEC’s Board of Overseers.  

Michel Cadot (E75) is the president of France’s National Sports Agency and interministerial delegate for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Also a graduate of ENA and Sciences Po Paris, he began his career within the prefecture, holding various positions including a posting to the French Embassy in Venezuela and a senior international trade mission with the Elf Group (a public company at the time). He then alternated between chief-of-staff roles to the ministers for Agriculture and the Interior, advisor to the Prime Minister and Prefect of the departments of Meuse, Martinique, Maine-et-Loire, Limousin, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Île-de-France and Paris (at the time of 13 November 2015 terrorist attacks).
See also our interview (in French)

Michaël Aloïsio (EXEC M06) is the Deputy General Director of Paris 2024. A former French taekwondo champion, bronze medallist at the 1998 World University Championships and the 1999 World Military Championships, he joined the French Taekwondo Federation as deputy national technical director for high-level athletes during the 2008 Beijing Games. He then became a technical advisor to the office of Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno before a secondment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late 2011, and was appointed Olympic attaché to the French Embassy in Britain just a few months prior to the London Olympic Games. He joined the committee for the Paris Bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2015. 

Capucine Bernet (E00) is Ticketing Manager of Paris 2024. She began her career in marketing with Carrefour, followed by Sara Lee (now Jacobs Douwe Egberts) in Australia. She returned to France to join Fnac, where she rose to the position of Director of Diversification. She then took over the sales management of France Billet. 

Caroline Caron (EXEC M09) is Head of Ticketing, Hospitality and Games Experience at the International Olympic Committee. She started out organising the America's Cup before managing the media rights for Euro 2008 for Lagardère Sports, then becoming Hospitality & PR Director at Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.). She then became a Managing Partner in the Interface Marketing agency in Switzerland before returning to the America's Cup, this time as Project Director for the French team, then joining Caron Consulting Services, where she carried out assignments for Vélib and Fifa, among others. She was then appointed Managing Director of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre.

Romain Lachens (EXEC M06) is Engagement Manager of Paris 2024. He began his career at ISP Tennis Academy prior to taking over the management of Carrière Plus, a consultancy specialised in the career transition of high-level athletes. He was then appointed Marketing Director of Lagardère Unlimited and Lagardère Paris Racing. He also started working in 2015 for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as head of engagement of the sport community and athletes for the Paris Bid. 

Ludivine Roosebeke (E03) is Deputy Director of Partnerships for Paris 2024. She began her career as head of sponsoring with the Paris 2024 Bid. She then held the position of Account Manager at IMG Consulting, followed by the International Olympic Committee. To complete the hat trick, she returned to the Paris 2024 Games team after a stint in sports marketing with Omega. 

Yann Ledru (EXEC M10) is General Manager of the Trocadero venue for Paris 2024. Highly experienced in this field, he began his career as Head of Accreditations at the Parc des Princes in 1998, followed by Head of Operations for Paris Expo, then specialised in logistics and security for sporting events, holding managerial or technical advisory roles for a variety of operators (Larivière Organisation, Groupe Ifores, Keneo), several sporting institutions (Stade de France, Stade Français) and competitions (Super Cross de Bercy, Ryder Cup, Tour de France à la voile (yachting), Transat Jacques Vabre, Rugby World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup and UEFA Euro). 

Augustin Nechad (E12) is General Manager of the Eiffel Champ de Mars venue for Paris 2024. He began his career in strategic planning with Saint-Gobain before moving definitively to the sports world on taking up the position of project head for the general secretariat of the World Athletics. He joined the Paris Bid committee in 2015. 

Arnaud Pugin (EXEC M12) is Director of Operations of the Couronne cluster (Arena Paris Sud - Bercy - La Chapelle Arena - La Défense - Parc des Princes - Roland Garros - Yves du Manoir) for Paris 2024. He began his career as project head with the Grenoble municipal council, where he managed the 2008 Snow Games notably, prior to moving into communication and sports marketing with Daily Fresh Media followed by Alpe d’Huez Tourism. His then turned to the event management sector, initially as Head of Fan Zones during the 2016 UEFA European Championships, and then venue manager for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This was followed by two years of consulting at Allian’sport and finally Paris 2024, initially as Director of Ceremonies. 

Laetitia Boudot (E16) is Deputy Event General Manager at the Paris 2024 Concorde venue. She has been working in the event management sector for 10 years, initially with A.S.O. as Production Assistant for the Tour de France à la Voile, then at the French Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Quebec, followed by UEFA Euro 2016, before returning to A.S.O., this time as Director of Sailing Events.  

Yoan Simoes (EXEC M24) is Head of the Ministry for the Armed Forces’ operational centre for the rollout of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This role marks a change of scene for the former soldier and member of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the French Land Forces, where he rose to the rank of unit commander, prior to being made military staff officer for the Employment division of the National Territory Land Command. 

Antoine Ormières-Selves (E10) is Head of Partnerships for Paris 2024. He began his career with the start-up Cityzen Sciences as head of the sports sector. He then moved into business development and operations with Fleury Michon prior to taking over the management of the training organisation Campus WorkForce Simplon. He returned to the sports world for the Olympic Games. 

Esther Levi (E10) is Head of Sales Operations for Paris 2024. She began her career with Vivendi, in mergers & acquisitions and then strategy & development, before being made Director of Operations for Bandsquare. This start-up was rapidly acquired by Fimalac Entertainment, who appointed her Head of B2C Sales & Digital. She then took over the management of the Grande Arche venue for Paris&Co, the regional innovation agency for the Paris metropolis. 

Cécile Israël (IMHI 11) is Head of Hospitality Operations for Paris 2024. She began her career in revenue management with the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide group, followed by the event operator Viparis, before moving to China. There she launched Easy Bacchus, a start-up devoted to initiation in wine, and took up the presidency of the CCI France China Entrepreneurs’ Club, as well as that of La French Tech Hong Kong and Shenzhen. She then became the Marketing, Communication & Business Development Director of the online grocery Nogogo by Epermarket. She returned to France for the Olympic Games. 

Naïm Roux (BBA 14) is Head of Business Operations for Paris 2024. He began his career in Hong Kong, with successive roles in marketing for Richemont, business development at Cosmoluxury and sales & e-commerce at Intermed Asia, prior to becoming Director China for the Rubik’s brand, then South-East Asia Director of BrandLoyalty. He then moved to Dublin to join TikTok, and was in charge of strategic partnerships. He returned to France for the Olympic Games.    

Sharlen Crespin (BBA 15) is Head of UAC operations for Paris 2024. She has been working in the events sector for 10 years, with various organisations including the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, CRIT France, H2 Concept, NewsCo Group, ChoYou, Champs-Élysées Film Festival, Novateam and Groupama. 

François-Marie Bourgeois (E09) is Head of Operational Planning and Manager at the main Paris 2024 operations centre. He began his career with the marketing and events team of the Canadian Football League’s Toronto FC, prior to moving into Olympic activities for 10 years with the International Olympic Committee and a stint on the organisational committee of the Lausanne Youth Olympic Games. 

Anne-Laure Joigneau Conté (EXEC M14) is Head of Accreditations at the Golf National venue for Paris 2024. She began her career in sales and marketing with PSINet Calvacom and Softbank Interactive, prior to her appointment as Web Project Manager at Angie Interactive, where she handled accounts including BNP Paribas and Médecins du Monde. She then joined AXA Investment Managers, where she rose to the position of Director of Change Management for new business, before specialising in digital transformation in successive roles at the French Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, MOOC Agency and ADEME.  

Clara Ceccaldi (BBA 15) is Head of Games Time Activations & Hospitality Partnerships for Paris 2024. She has spent her entire career in the sports events sector, successively with the French Basketball Federation, UEFA Euro 2016 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. She then took up the position of Marketing & Sales Manager for the NBA in London.  

Christophe Goniot (EXEC M11) is Training Site Supervisor for Paris 2024. At the same time, he manages his own gym, Station-S, and works for television as a baseball analyst. His previous positions include Managing Director of the Savigny-sur-Orge baseball club and Sales & Marketing Manager of Vistory Sports. He also created his first gym, KeepCool.  

Delphine Perrin (EXEC M08) is Coordinator of Ceremonies for Paris 2024. This role marks a change of scene for the former financial specialist, who worked in the trading sector with the Italian bank Intesa San Paolo for 17 years, followed by 11 years as Administrative Director for P.P.O.  

Jean-Michel Idiart (EXEC M10) is Event Coordinator at the Trocadero venue for Paris 2024. He is also the Vice-President of the International Federation of Basque Pelota and has been actively committed for many years to the development of frontball, a discipline he created to offer a more accessible version of Basque pelota, adapted to urban spaces. 

Antoine Urrea (EXEC M07) is Head of Press Operations for Paris 2024. He began his career in customer relations with Mitsubishi Motors, followed by Chrysler, where he worked in procurement, sales and training, before rising to the position of CRM, Marketing & Loyalty Manager. He then moved to Mercedes Benz for 15 years, rising to the role of Sales Director, and subsequently became Volkswagen’s Multi-site Manager. This was followed by a move into the sports sector, initially with the 2023 Rugby World Cup accreditation office. 

Jeanne Le Comte du Colombier (E20) is Project Manager at the interfaith centre of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village. This role marks a new venture for the former consultant in communication at Oresys, who also carried out educational tasks in Indonesia as an international solidarity volunteer for the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris. 

Colomba Chetochine (BBA 18) is a project officer for the main entrance of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village. This is the third major competition she has worked on, having coordinated partnerships for the Heart Surgery Sponsors of the Tour de France and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

And lastly, Paris 2024 also offered many fresh ESSEC graduates their first professional experience: Maximilien Benyahia (BBA 23), contract manager; Anne-Claire Boutellier (E22), project manager, security operations integration; Levana Choukroun (M24), deputy workforce manager on the Roland Garros venue; Gaspard Citroën (E23), project officer for senior management; Baptiste Dessendier (E21), coordinator of football & blind football services; Antoine Dioulouffet (E21), junior consultant to the Managing Director; Carline Fourcade (E22), climbing coordinator; Mathias Grimaux (BBA 22), deputy head of transport for the Stade de France stadium; Nicolas Jozwiak (BBA 22), Athlete Experience project officer; Constance Maurin (E23), project officer to the President’s chief of staff; Maïlys Piquet-Gauthier (E21), events coordinator for the Invalides venue; Alexandre Pratesi (BBA 23), Olympic Village coordinator; Valentine Simal Aldea (E22), coordinator of the Paris operations centre; Pauline Vercken de Vreuschmen (BBA 23), volunteers manager and assistant to the workforce manager on the Concorde venue; and Armand Vergnet (BBA 21), contract manager in the Transport, Arrival & Departures department. That’s what they call starting in the big league!  

A mention also goes to Georgina Grenon, holder of an ESSEC Executive Education Women Be Board Ready Advanced Certificate and Environmental Excellence Manager for Paris 2024; and Lise Cosimi-Bréant (EXEC PROG 16), after 20 years in sports broadcasting, was General Manager at the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) from 2021 to 2023, while Jean-Philippe Gatien (EXEC M06), former world table tennis champion and silver medallist at the Barcelona Olympic Games, and President of INSEP’s Board of Directors, was Paris 2024 Sports Director from 2017 to 2023.

A huge thanks to all the alumni who contributed to this historical sporting, national and international event!

Did you spot other alumni in the Paris 2024 teams? Let us know!

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