Édouard Michelin (born 1963)
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Édouard Michelin (August 13, 1963May 26, 2006) was managing partner and co-chief executive of the Michelin Group. He was the great-grandson of Édouard Michelin (18591940), a co-founder of the company.


Life

He was born in
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
; after first studying at Ecole Massillon in Clermont-Ferrand, he entered the Lycée Sainte-Geneviève in
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
. He also spent almost a full year studying at Christ Church Episcopal School in Greenville, South Carolina. It is there that he gained fluency in English. (Michelin has its North American headquarters in Greenville, and he lived with his relatives who were executives at Michelin in Greenville at the time.) An engineering graduate of the École Centrale de Paris, he joined the Michelin Group, which was then headed by his father, François Michelin, in 1985. He initially worked at the lower levels of the company, including a stint on an assembly line. In 1987–1988 he completed his military service on French nuclear submarines. When he returned to the company in 1989 he was first appointed production manager at
Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its c ...
(France) plant, then team manager at
Montceau-les-Mines Montceau-les-Mines () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is the second-largest commune of the metropolitan Communauté urbaine Creusot Montceau, which lies southwest of ...
. He was appointed CEO of Michelin North America, in charge of both industrial plant and truck UOT sales and distribution, under the leadership of
Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Ni ...
, a future
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
Nissan CEO. In 1993, he joined François Michelin and René Zingraff in
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
as Managing Partner of Michelin. One of his first challenges was implementing a plan to lay off 7500 employees. Despite criticism, he emerged with his reputation intact, especially after he supported the French government's proposal for a
35-hour workweek The 35-hour working week is a part of a labour law reform adopted in France in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. Pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry, it was adopted in two phases: the "Aubry 1" la ...
. He later launched a reorganization whereby Michelin plants would specialize rather than all producing a wide range of products. In 1998 he launched an initiative to encourage the development of environmentally friendly vehicles. One of his successes was in his decision to re-involve the company in Formula One racing. The company returned to F1 competition in 2001 and was immediately competitive. Success culminated in back-to-back World Championship successes in 2005 and 2006 with the Renault team and Fernando Alonso. The company withdrew from F1 following these successes as F1 reverted to a single-tyre supplier rule. Among Edouard's business failures was a proposal in 2004 to market the Michelin brand without its most recognized mascot, the "Michelin Man" (
Bibendum Bibendum (), commonly referred to in English as the Michelin Man or Michelin Tyre Man, is the official mascot of the Michelin tyre company. A humanoid figure consisting of stacked white tyres, it was introduced at the Lyon Exhibition of 1894 w ...
). However stockholders voted against this idea. He was appointed Michelin Group CEO at the Annual Shareholders Meeting on 11 June 1999, 110 years after the establishment of the company. In 1992 he was married to his wife Cécile in a ceremony at
Chartres Cathedral Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...
presided over by his elder brother, Father Etienne Michelin. He was the father of six children. Fond of theology, Gregorian chants, and mountain walks, he was a member of the
World Business Council for Sustainable Development The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a CEO-led organization of over 200 international companies. The Council is also connected to 60 national and regional business councils and partner organizations. Its origins ...
(WBCSD). In April 2005, he was elected to the board of directors of
Nokia Corporation Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
at the company's Annual General Meeting. In France, he was given two nicknames by his employees: "Dudu", because of his kindness, and "L'americain", due to his overseas experience . Édouard Michelin died by drowning, while fishing in the Raz de Sein, near the island of Sein, off the coast of
Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.
in northwest France, on 26 May 2006. The skipper of the boat, Guillaume Normant, also died in the accident. After his death, Michelin announced that co-managing partner Michel Rollier would head up the company. He is buried in the Orcines cemetery (
Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Edouard Michelin Dies In Shipwreck Off French Coast – Forbes.com




{{DEFAULTSORT:Michelin, Edouard (Born 1963) 1963 births 2006 deaths Businesspeople from Clermont-Ferrand École Centrale Paris alumni 20th-century French businesspeople Michelin people Accidental deaths in France Boating accident deaths