Yvon Gattaz (born 17 June 1925) is a French businessman. He is the co-founder of

Radiall Radiall is a company that designs, develops, and manufactures connectors and associated components for use in electronic applications. The company offers interconnect components, including radio frequency/coaxial connectors and cable assemblies, a ...

, an electronics manufacturer. He was President of the Conseil national du patronat français, the main pro-business organization in France, from 1981 to 1986. He has authored many books about free enterprise.

Early life

Yvon Gattaz was born on 17 June 1925 in Bourgoin-Jallieu near

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

in France. His father was a schoolteacher. He had a brother, Lucien. Gattaz graduated from the

École Centrale Paris École Centrale Paris (ECP; also known as École Centrale or Centrale) was a French grande école in engineering and science. It was also known by its official name ''École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures''. In 2015, École Centrale Paris mer ...

Business career

Gattaz worked as an engineer for Aciéries du Nord (later Usinor-Denain) from 1948 to 1950. He worked for Citroën from 1950 to 1954. Gattaz co-founded

, an electronics manufacturer, with his brother Lucien in 1952. He served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1952 to 1993. He has served as the Chairman of its Supervisory Board since 1994. Gattaz served on the Board of Directors of Moulinex from 1988 to 1993.

Pro-business advocacy

Gattaz served on the board of the

Centre national de la recherche scientifique The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,63 ...

from 1979 to 1981. He served as the President of the Conseil national du patronat français, the main pro-business organization in France, from 1981 to 1986. He was criticized by Ambroise Roux, the founder of the

French Association of Private Enterprises The French Association of Private Enterprises (, AFEP) is a French non-profit organization founded in 1982. It is widely viewed as the main lobby group for large private-sector French companies. History The AFEP was founded in December 1982 by ...

, who thought the Conseil national du patronat français under Gattaz's leadership was not sufficiently forceful in pushing back against President François Mitterrand's socialist policy of nationalization. Gattaz founded Association Jeunesse et Entreprises, a non-profit organization which brings young people and the business world together, in 1986. Gattaz was inducted into the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

on 29 May 1989. He served as its President in 1999. He serves on the board of trustees of the Fondation Fourmentin-Guilbert. Gattaz has authored many books about free enterprise.

Personal life

Gattaz has a son, Pierre Gattaz, who serves as the Chairman of Radiall and President of the MEDEF.

Bibliography

*''Les Hommes en gris'' (Paris:Robert Laffont, 1970). *''La Fin des patrons (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1979). *''Les patrons reviennent'' (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1988). *''Le Modèle français'' (Paris: Plon, 1993). *''Mitterrand et les patrons'' (co-authored with Philippe Simonnot, Paris: Fayard, 1999). *''La Moyenne Entreprise'' (Paris: Fayard, 2002). *''Mes vies d'entrepreneur'' (Paris: Fayard, 2006). *''La Seconde Vie : faire de sa retraite un succès'' (Paris: Bourin Éditeur, 2010). *''Les ETI, entreprises de taille intermédiaire'' (Paris: Bourin Éditeur, 2010). *''L'Entreprise et les jeunes'' (Paris: Bourin Editeur, 2011). *''Création d'entreprise: la double révolution'' (Paris: Eyrolles Éditeur, 2014).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gattaz, Yvon Living people 1925 births People from Bourgoin-Jallieu École Centrale Paris alumni French company founders French chief executives French corporate directors Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques