Robert Louis-Dreyfus
Encyclopedia
Robert Louis-Dreyfus was a businessman who had major success as Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Adidas-Salomon and Saatchi & Saatchi
. He was a majority shareholder
of the French football team Olympique de Marseille
, and during his tenure they re-emerged as a major European football club.
. He was a great grandson of Leopold Dreyfus, who began buying and selling wheat in the Alsace
region a century earlier.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus was not an exceptional scholar, but he excelled at poker, winning considerable amounts of money from his rich friends at the Lycee Janson de Sailly
in Paris. In 1967, he spent time at a kibbutz and was involved in the Six Day War. He later secured a place at Harvard Business School
with a presentation about his experiences during the war. He spent the early years of his working life mentored by Siegmund Warburg, in the family business of the Louis-Dreyfus Group.
(CEO) at Saatchi & Saatchi
, the United Kingdom
-based advertising agency
from 1989 to 1993. Louis-Dreyfus invested his own money in Saatchi and Saatchi and during his tenure the agency grew considerably.
He proved equally successful when in 1994 he took the top job at Adidas-Salomon, the German-based sporting goods maker. Louis-Dreyfus added to the brand by streamlining the product line and adding new companies to the group, including the Salomon ski-wear and golf company. He remained CEO of Adidas until 2001, combining this position with chairmanship of Neuf Telecom with whom he served until 2004. He also served as a director of Neuf Cegetel
.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus re-joined the family company, Louis-Dreyfus Group and restructured, a major commodities trading and merchandising firm), in May 2000.
of Olympique de Marseille
, a famous French football team who had been rocked by a match fixing scandal and relegated to the French second division. Louis-Dreyfus, with Adidas and the telecommunications company Neuf, sponsored the team; Louis-Dreyfus invested heavily in rebuilding the Marseille squad, marketing the team to the new immigrant populations in Marseille. The financial fortunes of the club improved with shirt sales rocketing though success, if judged purely on trophies won, eluded the club despite reaching the final of the UEFA Cup
on two occasions and twice losing in the final of the Coupe de France
. Olympique de Marseille also missed out on the Ligue 1
title during Louis-Dreyfus's tenure, though shortly before his death they finished second to FC Girondins de Bordeaux
and qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League
.
Louis-Dreyfus was also a shareholder in the Belgium football club Standard Liege
, and was involved in the creation of Infront Sports & Media in 2002 (transition from the former KirchSport completed in February 2003) acting as the company's chairman of the board. The Swiss-based sports marketing agency was handling the media rights distribution of the FIFA World Cup
in 2002 and 2006. Today it is the marketing partner of 130 sports federations and clubs.
aged 63 on 4 July 2009, following a long battle with leukemia
.
is his cousin.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(CEO) of Adidas-Salomon and Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
. He was a majority shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
of the French football team Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
, and during his tenure they re-emerged as a major European football club.
Early life
Robert Louis-Dreyfus was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He was a great grandson of Leopold Dreyfus, who began buying and selling wheat in the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region a century earlier.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus was not an exceptional scholar, but he excelled at poker, winning considerable amounts of money from his rich friends at the Lycee Janson de Sailly
Lycée Janson de Sailly
Lycée Janson de Sailly is a lycée located in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris, France. It is generally considered as one of the most prestigious lycées in Paris...
in Paris. In 1967, he spent time at a kibbutz and was involved in the Six Day War. He later secured a place at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
with a presentation about his experiences during the war. He spent the early years of his working life mentored by Siegmund Warburg, in the family business of the Louis-Dreyfus Group.
Business career
In 1982 Louis-Dreyfus joined IMS, the US pharmaceutical research company enjoying spectacular monetary success. His original grew twentyfold by the time the company was sold in 1988. He served as Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(CEO) at Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
from 1989 to 1993. Louis-Dreyfus invested his own money in Saatchi and Saatchi and during his tenure the agency grew considerably.
He proved equally successful when in 1994 he took the top job at Adidas-Salomon, the German-based sporting goods maker. Louis-Dreyfus added to the brand by streamlining the product line and adding new companies to the group, including the Salomon ski-wear and golf company. He remained CEO of Adidas until 2001, combining this position with chairmanship of Neuf Telecom with whom he served until 2004. He also served as a director of Neuf Cegetel
Neuf Cegetel
Neuf Cegetel is a French wireline telecom services provider and a mobile virtual network operator offering different services to consumers, enterprises and wholesale customers, ranking number two in the country...
.
Robert Louis-Dreyfus re-joined the family company, Louis-Dreyfus Group and restructured, a major commodities trading and merchandising firm), in May 2000.
Sporting interests
In 1996 Louis-Dreyfus became the largest shareholderShareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
of Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille is a French association football club based in Marseille. Founded in 1899, the club plays in Ligue 1 and have spent most of its history in the top tier of French football. Marseille have been French champions nine times and have won the Coupe de France a record ten times. In...
, a famous French football team who had been rocked by a match fixing scandal and relegated to the French second division. Louis-Dreyfus, with Adidas and the telecommunications company Neuf, sponsored the team; Louis-Dreyfus invested heavily in rebuilding the Marseille squad, marketing the team to the new immigrant populations in Marseille. The financial fortunes of the club improved with shirt sales rocketing though success, if judged purely on trophies won, eluded the club despite reaching the final of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
on two occasions and twice losing in the final of the Coupe de France
Coupe de France
The Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France , is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation...
. Olympique de Marseille also missed out on the Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
title during Louis-Dreyfus's tenure, though shortly before his death they finished second to FC Girondins de Bordeaux
FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux is a French association football club based in the city of Bordeaux. The club currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football, and won its last Ligue 1 title in the 2008–09 season....
and qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
.
Louis-Dreyfus was also a shareholder in the Belgium football club Standard Liege
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
, and was involved in the creation of Infront Sports & Media in 2002 (transition from the former KirchSport completed in February 2003) acting as the company's chairman of the board. The Swiss-based sports marketing agency was handling the media rights distribution of the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
in 2002 and 2006. Today it is the marketing partner of 130 sports federations and clubs.
Death
Louis-Dreyfus died in ZurichZürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
aged 63 on 4 July 2009, following a long battle with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
.
Personal
Robert Louis-Dreyfus was married with three sons. Actress Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedienne, widely known for her sitcom roles in Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine....
is his cousin.