In 1991, when she was only 25 years old, Delphine André took over her father’s business: GCA (Charles André Group). This Drôme native will lead this company on the road to success and even build her own chain of hotels, before participating, in 2020, in the show Who wants to be my partner?, broadcast on M6. In 2023, the businesswoman is still present on the jury of the M6 show.
Founded in 1932, the Charles André Group was created by Delphine André’s grandfather in Montélimar, a city which is still the company’s headquarters today. It specializes in the transport and logistics of food products, cars, but also dangerous materials.
But before joining the family business, Delphine André will study at Aix-Marseille University. After training in business law, taxation and accounting, she worked as a lawyer in a firm.
In 1991, upon the death of her father, Delphine André took over as head of the group. She is only 25 years old and this decision arouses concern in the ecosystem which wonders if she is capable of piloting such a big machine with so little experience. And yet, in thirty years, it will lead GCA towards success: today, the company is present in more than 15 countries and achieves a turnover of around 1.3 billion euros for 9,700 employees (compared to 6,500 10 years ago!).
In 2014, she even became President of the supervisory board of the port of the city of Marseille, a role that she takes very seriously.
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The concept of the show Who wants to be my partner? broadcast on M6
Who wants to be my partner? is broadcast on M6 every Wednesday evening from January 4, 2023. The show highlights talented entrepreneurs who wish to raise money to launch production of their large-scale project.
The business angels, which include Delphine André, must then decide, after the entrepreneurs’ pitch, whether they wish to invest in the startup or not. This is a sort of televised fundraising during which Delphine André, but also Jean-Pierre Nadir or Anthony Bourbon put money on the table to help young companies develop, against a certain percentage of the capital. of said company.
Delphine André: an improbable career change
From a young age, Delphine André was passionate about sport and practiced a lot of skiing. His parents already imagined him having a career in the industry. But she instead turned to law. She joined the University of Aix-Marseille in 1990 where she obtained a master’s degree in business law, taxation and accounting. Following this, she began her career as a legal advisor within the Mireille Reynaud-Daviaud firm in 1993. In 1995, she joined the family business as a lawyer and, four years later, launched her own law firm. lawyer to practice as a liberal.
Delphine André ends up buying the shares of her uncle and her sisters. She takes full control of the family business. At only thirty years old, she found herself CEO of a company with 5,800 employees and a turnover of 640 million euros. If she admits that being a woman has never held her back and that she has never felt “rejected because she was a woman”she acknowledges that some were able to test it, without however specifying whether this came internally or from potential external partners.
Delphine André, CEO of GCA (Charles André Group)
The Charles André Group (GCA) was founded in 1932. At the head of the company is Delphine André, a juror of Who Wants to Be My Partner?, but above all granddaughter of the founder. It is a European Player in Transport and Logistics serving the industry which has been able to deploy its portfolio of activities while extending its range of services to the entire logistics chain in different and varied sectors: automotive , food, energy, chemistry, environment, construction, aeronautics, etc.
Today, the group has grown significantly and is present in 15 countries with a total of 9,400 employees. He has been involved in multimodal transport since 1978. He therefore has real expertise in the field, under the leadership of Delphine André who therefore took over his grandfather’s company.
The company has a turnover of more than 1.4 billion euros. 15% of its activity is linked to the rail-road and river sector, which is an ecologically more virtuous offering complementary to road transport. This is part of the signing of the ADEME Charter, which makes the company a very committed player in reducing CO2 and pollutant emissions.
GCA also has 6 hotel establishments, the most emblematic of which is the Hôtel Les Barmes de l’Ours, in Val d’Isère. Beyond the transport activity, the group also has several car dealership and industrial washing activities. Its turnover is estimated at 1.3 billion euros in 2021.
The other adventures of Delphine André
The entrepreneur’s hotel adventure
In addition to her very demanding role as President of GCA, Delphine André has launched into the world of hospitality. With the Charles André Group, the business leader bought several prestigious hotels, including: Les Roches (Lavandou), Le Domaine de la Valdaine and the Hôtel du Monard (Monboucher-sur-Jabron) and Les Ateliers de l’ image (Saint-Rémy de Provence).
She is also the owner and supervisor of Les Barmes de l’Ours, in Val d’Isère. The choice of this resort is no coincidence since it is where Delphine André saw the birth of her passion for skiing. This is also her first project in the hotel industry, which she carried out with Louis Bonnevie (ski instructor).
Delphine André’s investment in football
Another sport in which she is involved: football. Indeed, in addition to her passion for skiing, Delphine André was, for two years, president of UMS Montélimar Football. This investment demonstrates Delphine André’s love for sport. The entrepreneur has in fact always forged a special relationship with this field which attracted her in her youth, but also throughout her career.
Delphine André’s commitments
Beyond being an entrepreneur and businesswoman committed to entrepreneurship, Delphine André is committed to empowerment feminine and leadership. She recently participated in a Women For Future round table where she explains that leadership is the ability to lead your teams towards an ambitious objective. This testimony also gives an overview of Delphine André’s management with her colleagues. We see a business leader who is attentive to her teams, arguing that we should not “ endanger » those with whom we work and that she wishes to allow them to “ progress and developr”.
The fortune of Delphine André
The heritage of Delphine André
Delphine André is quite rare in the media. She speaks little and carries out her projects discreetly. Few elements of his private life are known to the general public. Only his fortune (and that of his family) is public knowledge. Indeed, with a fortune estimated at 500 million euros, she is ranked 186th in the list of the 500 richest French people published by Challenges.
Then in 186th place among the greatest fortunes in France, Challenges estimated, in 2022, that Delphine André’s fortune was estimated at 600 million euros. She is today in 197th place in the list of the richest people in France. However, it is important to note that Delphine André did not wish to respond to the magazine’s questionnaire and that she formally disputes this information.
The composition of Delphine André’s fortune
The media Challenges explains that Delphine André’s fortune is mainly made up of the shares she owns in her father’s company. This estimate is also based on Delphine André’s hotel properties that she has acquired over the years.
Delphine André, juror of Who wants to be my partner? on M6
Today, Delphine André has joined other entrepreneurs and business leaders such as Marc Simoncini, Éric Larchevêque or Isabèle Chevalier and is part of the jury of the show “Who wants to be my partner? », broadcast on M6 and presented by Julien Courbet. With the others business angelsshe sees the startupers pitching their ideas and decides whether or not to invest in their project.
If she completed the first season, in 2020, Delphine André returned for a season 2, filmed in April 2021 and broadcast in January 2022. Delphine André stands out from the other investors. With her good humor, she always tries to invest in projects that make sense. She then offers real support to the startups she invites, after the show, to give them advice and ensure follow-up. This is particularly what she was able to do with Daan Tech, the startup co-founded by Damian Py, which produces the Bob dishwasher.
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