Alexandre Allard

---

Alexandre Allard - Cidade Matarazzo, São Paulo - 2014

Alexandre Allard (born Washington, October 1, 1968) is a French entrepreneur. He is mostly known for the creation and subsequent sale of Consodata - the world's first comprehensive consumer database. Allard is also known for leading the rebirth of the iconic Royal Monceau hotel in Paris. Since 2011, he has been developing a real estate project in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, named Cidade Matarazzo.

Early life

First-born to a family of three, his father was a public engineer and his mother was a math teacher. Until the age of 15, he lived in the neighborhoods of Abidjan, in Ivory Coast. In 1984, he arrived in France, where he was admitted as a student at the Saint Martin de France boarding school until he took his high school diploma.

Beginnings

Tech companies

After taking his high school diploma, he started his entrepreneurial activities by establishing his first office in an old butcher shop in the city of Puteaux. In 1987, he established SeaWay Promer Sarl, a Desktop Publishing company (DTP), with his cousin Pierre-Yves Gires.

In 1990, he established Équation Graphique, a company specialized in the artistic direction of newspapers and magazines. In 1991, he created PSCHITT together with Laurent Tordjman, a pioneer in numerical engraving. He won the Jacques Douce Association Young Entrepreneurs Award (award given to personalities in the business world under the age of 30) twice, for his initiatives between 1990 and 1992.

In 1991, he created the Diacom SA company with Gérard Bonvicini, a specialist in the design of databases and information survey systems. Along with Jacques Séguéla, Mondher Abdenader and Franck Tapiro, he launched The Infomercials. The ads featured celebrities like Daniel Gélin, Christophe Malavoy and Éric Cantona, which attracted the attention of a wide audience and triggered the interest of TV channels. Diacom SA thus became the ad maker for large advertising groups, like RSCG and its clients, including BMW, L'Oréal, Danone, and Procter & Gamble. The Phillips brand campaign created by Diacom SA won the Effie award for advertising effectiveness in 1995.

Consodata

In 1994, when individual marketing started to gain momentum in the advertising industry, Alexandre Allard met Marc Hénon. Together, they created a database shared by advertisers. Alexandre Allard sold his other companies to dedicate himself to the worldwide development of this new company. Within five years, Consodata became a leader in the consumer file market, as well as the world's biggest database, with 580 million households and more than 1,000 clients. The company went public in the new Paris stock market in 1999. In 2000, Consodata was acquired by an Italian telecom group, Telecom Italia, for 500 million euros.

Investments in creativity and heritage

From the 2000s on, he dedicated himself to real estate renovation projects.

Qianmen

Alexandre Allard has carried out initiatives to renovate historic buildings in Paris, Spain, Rome, London, Miami and Morocco. In 2004, he launched a renovation project in Qianmen, a neighborhood in historic downtown Beijing. In 2006, in association with Christophe Dorey, he was able to persuade the city administration that the neighborhood should be protected and listed as cultural heritage.

Royal Monceau Hotel-Palace

After a failed attempt to buy the conference center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 368,000,000.00 euros in 2006, Alexandre Allard bought the Royal Monceau Hotel, then faced with severe financial problems, in June 2007. The project was kickstarted by an auction organized by Pierre Cornette de Saint Cyr, which raised 3.3 million euros.

The Demolition Party

On June 26, 2008, Alexandre Allard gathered famous guests from all over the world to participate in an artistic performance. Equipped with construction safety helmets and hammers, they tore down the hotel rooms and halls. The performance was accompanied by 20 artists, including André, Chen Man, Wang du, Arne Quinze, Jean Baptiste Mondino, Roberto Cabot, Xavier Veilhan, Philippe Perrin, Adel Abdessemed, John Nollet and Olympia Scary. In 2008, the event won the Cannes Lions award and the Strategy award for Best Event.

The Rebirth of the Royal Monceau

Alexandre Allard invited designer Philippe Starck to redefine the spirit of the place. The hotel reopened in 2010 and received rave reviews: it was voted best hotel in Europe, best spa, best restaurant according to the Michelin guide, CondèNast Traveler, Palace, Virtuoso, Forbes, and the best hotel in France by TripAdvisor.

The Hotel de la Marine

With Jean Nouvel and Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, he proposed a project for the Hôtel de la Marine, which had recently launched a call for bids. Formerly occupied by the Navy staff, this monument was going to be abandoned by the Ministry of Defense, which would centralize its activities in the new "French Pentagon" in the Balard district, Paris. The bidding application was filed in January 2011. The project was revealed under the name of "La Royale".

According to the creators, this project was intended to turn the Hôtel de la Marine into an open venue dedicated to arts and fine craftsmanship, to foster creation and take in patrons and artists. Supported by the Master Artisans of the Grands Ateliers de France, the monument would also receive high quality craftsmanship. "In the two courtyards opening onto the Royal Court, 150 high quality artisans can be brought together," said Alexandre Allard. The halls and courtyards, open to the public, would have hosted temporary exhibitions. The project faced criticism because of the monument's historical nature, so eventually the commitment to renovating it lost support. In view of the controversy, Nicolas Sarkozy decided to suspend the bid and appointed Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who had expressed his desire to leave the monument under the responsibility of the State, as chairman of a commission charged with thinking about the future of the monument. Disregarding an open letter published in the Le Monde and signed by 181 personalities from the creative world who supported the project, such as Johnny Hallyday, Daniel Buren, Yannick Noah and sailor Olivier de Kersauson, on September 19, 2011, the commission issued a report recommending the maintenance of the monument's administrative occupation and the return of its historic halls with a view of the Concorde to the Louvre. On January 24, 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed to the press his intention to follow the opinion of the commission.

Cidade Matarazzo

In 2011, Groupe Allard acquired the former Umberto Primo Hospital, also known as Matarazzo Hospital, which is currently being renovated. Cidade Matarazzo will open its doors in 2021, though it was at one point expected for 2019. A result of the architectural and cultural influence of the Italian community in São Paulo, this place has witnessed the birth of half a million Paulistanos. It is a monument built in the middle of 3 hectares of Atlantic Forest, located 200 meters from Paulista Avenue, the city's most popular thoroughfare. The former Umberto Primo Hospital is one of the most famous historical monuments in São Paulo.

Expected to open in 2021 and designed by Jean Nouvel, winner of the Pritzker in 2008, the Rosewood São Paulo Tower is a tribute to the Atlantic Forest. It is a "landscape building" that blends with the lush rainforest around it: flowers, plants and trees take over the public and private spaces of the building, its terraces and roofs. Not only will the vertical garden increase the sense of continuity between the tower and its surroundings, but it will also offer adequate protection to the residents. "Matarazzo park is about survival. I would say even more than survival, it is an oasis. It is the place of calm urbanization. It is the place of amazing trees: ficus, magnolias. And the hospital right in the middle is like a small town, very well organized with its yards. Around that, a bustling city. What is interesting is to start working from the memory of the place," explains Jean Nouvel. He is about to carry out his first project in the largest city in South America, considered by Alexandre Allard as a creative landmark of the 21st century.

Made by...Feito por Brasileiros

Presented as the prefiguration of the spirit of Cidade Matarazzo, a "Creative Invasion" at Umberto Primo Hospital, envisioned by Alexandre Allard, invited 100 Brazilian and international artists for an exhibition open to the public in September and October 2014. The exhibition featured artists like Tunga, Beatriz Milhazes, Vik Muniz, Xavier Veilhan, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Joan Vasconcelos, Laura Vinci and Jose Miguel Wisnik, Cinthia Marcelle, Douglas White, Dora Longo Bahia, Paulo Nimer Pjota, Rochelle Costi, Arne Quinze, Valter Lano, Artur Lescher, Maria Thereza Alves, Delphine Gigoux Martin, Sofia Borges, Daniel Paula, Oskar Metsavaht, Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg, Sonia Gomes, Jean-Luc Favero, Elisa Pône, Nino Cais, Nuno Ramos, Henrique Oliveira, Holy Spirit Iran, Janaína Tschäpe, Rodrigo Bueno, Julio Villani, Juraci Dorea, Lia Chaia, Daniel Senise, Studio Drift, Lucas Simões, Marcelo Jácome, Reginaldo Pereira, Francesca Woodman, Charlie Case, Marcia Xavier, Rivane Neuenschwander, Maria Nepomuceno, and Lygia Clark, among others.

The São Paulo Arts Critics Association, APCA^[17], granted "Made by... Feito por Brasileiros" the prize for best cultural initiative of 2014.

Rock Na Cidade

On the 461th Anniversary of the city of São Paulo, in 2015, Cidade Matarazzo opened its doors with the support of the Municipality of São Paulo (Prefeitura de São Paulo) to host a celebratory cultural day - open to the public and free of charge. The event was titled Rock na Cidade (Rock in the City) and consisted of a music festival with 40+ presentations - among the bands who participated were: Ira!, Legião Urbana, and Brothers of Brazil. The event also featured a gastronomical component, with food trucks and an animal adoption campaign. The event was attended by North-American superstar Queen Latifah, and also by the mayor of São Paulo Fernando Haddad. Thousands of people enjoyed the celebration.

Fashion

Balmain

Allard became a partner in the Balmain haute couture brand in 2005, joining Alain Hivelin in the brand's renovation and rebirth.

Faith Connexion

In 2009, Alexandre Allard bought the Faith Connexion Parisian brand. With a new team of designers, the brand partnered with American actress Annabelle Dexter Jones in 2012 and made a capsule collection for Brazilian model Isabeli Fontana in 2013. After 2014, the brand expanded its creative team and started a line for men. In 2014, Faith Connexion launched a new economic model called Circle of Faith, which is based on a new intention to rebalance the economic distribution between the brand and its representatives, as well as to promote new talents.

Culture partnerships and social responsibility

Since the 2000s, Alexandre Allard has been conducting projects with a social responsibility approach, as well as cultural partnerships.

L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui

Alexandre Allard joined Jean Nouvel and François Fontes to buy the L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui magazine, which had been abandoned in the early 2000s. Alexandre Allard dedicated himself to launching the new format of the magazine, which has resumed its traditional periodicity since September 2009. Ever since then, he has been the owner and director of the magazine created in the 1930s by André Bloc. Bringing French and international architects together in a writing committee, L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui is a space for dialogue and debate about the topics of construction, urbanization, sustainable development etc.

Microworld

Member of the Board of Groupe PlaNet Finance, Alexandre Allard launched a micro-credit platform for entrepreneurs called MicroWorld. Since 2010, he has been the co-chair of MicroWorld.

Cultural projects and socioenvironmental initiatives

Art exhibitions

• Exhibition Miro en son jardin - Fondation Maeght- Saint Paul de Vence - France (2009)
• Exhibition Xavier Veilhan Versailles - Château de Versailles - France (2009)
• Festival de la Correspondance - Grignan - France (2010)
• Exhibition ''Jean Michel Basquiat- Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris- France (2010)
• Exhibition Feito Por Brasileiros...Made By Brazilians - São Paulo, Brazil (2014)

Awards

• 1990: Jacques Douce Award recognizing notable young businessmen below 30 years of age
• 1992: Jacques Douce Award recognizing notable young businessmen below 30 years of age
• 1996: "Oracle" Award for best developer, awarded to Allard's company Consodata
• 2008: Lions Cannes "Best Event" Award to the Demolition Party of the Royal Monceau
• 2014: APCA Award (Brazil) for "Best Cultural Event" for exhibit Made by...Feito por Brasileiros
• 2017: France-Brazil Chamber of Commerce Award for "Personality of the Year" to Alexandre Allard
• 2018: São Paulo Medal recognizing leading examples of entrepreneurship in the city

External links

• Groupe Allard Archived 2016-01-23 at the Wayback Machine
• Microworld

This article "Alexandre Allard" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Alexandre Allard. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

• Alexandre Sap
• Andrea Scholze
• Hoor Al-Qasimi
• Abigail O'Brien Ph. D.
• Yoshua Okón
• Haytham Nawar
• Olivier Meric

---