It was very frustrating but intellectually exciting

What energy! Two-hour interview with Alexandre de Palmas live like a marathon, but for him the day has just begun: the new CEO of Clear Channel France planned to catch a train to Reims in the afternoon, leave the next day for Nancy... Objective, having met before mid-December the whole of the 1,200 employees of the company, a subsidiary of the world number one of the display, based on the France. And have convinced them of the relevance of the plan in three years it has nicely this summer, planning to return to growth.

A thirty-six years, ce eclectic athlete has earned its promotion, according to his boss, Philippe Baudillon, who had recruited him early 2008 as Deputy Director-General to assist in redressing a badly society. "It was a formidable efficiency and amply earned his stripes manager", he says, taking now himself the Presidency of the company to concentrate on his duties to the Executive Committee of Clear Channel International. Alexandre de Palmas did not hesitate, it is true, to dive headlong into a huge business: modernize the heritage of the 140,000 billboards owned by Clear Channel France and renegotiate to a 15,000 contracts. "We conducted the site as a shopping challenge," he says, still bright eyes with excitement. In the end, the operation will save EUR 15 million per year and to find a "normal profitability", according to Philippe Baudillon.

From the contemplative jobs

For Alexandre de Palmas, this weapons is only the latest in a career conducted drum beating, as the coincidences, meetings and especially an obsession: not to be bored in a contemplative job. This is what will lead him to leave the Court of Auditors in 2004, where he entered in 2000 after the ENA and Sciences po. son of an officer of the army and of a teacher, he grew up in Montpellier, where he had begun studying law before choosing the senior public service. "It was very frustrating but intellectually exciting." "I wanted to be more operational, teamwork, move forward," he said. It will be served, because he chooses to join the cabinet of Jean-François Lamour, then Minister for sport, to defend the Paris bid for the 2012 Olympic Games. He spent "days and nights", experience ends poorly, but it will be allowed to meet Philippe Baudillon, driver file. The two men to were already crossed, having been two Presidents of the sport association of the old of the ENA. They will have to wait more than two years to work together: after the failure of Paris at the Olympic Games in 2006, Alexandre de Palmas joined the Casino Group as General Manager of Casino development. Its new functions may not leave him the leisure to read lot of BD, a passion which he shared with his friend and former roommate Laurent Wauquiez. It will have to fight to develop on the French market, where its competitor JCDecaux, trailing Clear Channel worldwide, is heavy. Clear Channel France has lost the tender of the RATP for display in the Paris Metro, in favour of Metrobus (subsidiary of JCDecaux and Publicis), which holds the contract for sixty years. Alexandre de Palmas looked forward to the imminent results from Aéroports de Paris, a contract held by JCDecaux fifteen years...