Olympics-Roux de Bezieux named head of French Alps 2030 committee, organisers say

Geoffroy Roux de Bezieux, the former head of ​France's main business lobby MEDEF, was appointed president ​of the French Alps 2030 Winter Olympics ‌organising ​committee (OCOG) on Thursday.

He succeeds Edgar Grospiron, who left the post last month before chief executive Vincent Roberti was named interim president. Stakeholders appointed 64-year-old Roux de Bezieux "unanimously" ‌during an extraordinary general assembly, OCOG said in a statement.

His main challenge will be to get the project back on track after months of tensions over the organisation and governance of the Games. "This appointment reflects the Alps 2030 stakeholders’ ‌desire to select an experienced leader capable of steering a project as complex and ambitious as the ‌organisation of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games at the highest level," the statement added.

"Roux de Bezieux has extensive experience in leading and managing large-scale organisations." The French businessman was a member of the board of directors for the Paris 2024 Olympics and the 2023 Rugby ⁠World Cup ​in France.

Head of MEDEF from ⁠2018 to 2023 and chairman of OCOG's Remuneration Committee since April, Roux de Bezieux will take up the job on Monday. "JOB OF ⁠A LIFETIME"

"I thank the members of the Executive Board for the trust they have placed in me," he said in the ​statement. "Serving as president of Alpes 2030 is an honour, because it is, above all, a commitment to ⁠collectively make sports and France shine."

"It's the job of a lifetime. I've done a lot of things in my life, but the Olympics ⁠in ​France are something exceptional," he told reporters. French sports minister Marina Ferrari added that he was "the person the OCOG needed".

Grospiron's departure in September, a year and a half after taking charge, was the latest upheaval in the ⁠Games’ troubled preparations. His exit followed that of former chief executive Cyril Linette, who stepped down earlier this year ⁠citing "insurmountable disagreements".

Roberti, named as Linette’s ⁠successor in May, has also served as acting president since Grospiron's departure. "This unanimous choice will give new momentum, a kind of fresh impetus that is very good for ‌this project," French ‌Olympic Committee president Amelie Oudea-Castera told reporters.