About

French advertising company JCDecaux has been the global industry leader since inventing street furniture advertising back in 1964. Today the company earns close to €4bn annually, employs over 13,000 people and its legal function is headed by Bertrand Allain, the group general counsel and secretary of the board, who joined in early 2016. Bringing a wealth of knowledge from his previous roles, Allain manages an international team of 50 lawyers tasked with facilitating commercial development, exploring external growth operations and managing its litigation, patents portfolio and risk and insurance programs. In the Paris office, he is supported by a number of legal experts such as legal affairs director for France Jean-Baptiste Dupouy, who has been at the company since 1999 and today manages the contracts department and private law disputes. Alexandre Schaff has also been recognised, having been promoted within 18 months of his arrival to his current position of director of legal affairs for Northern and Western Africa, Europe, and Oceania. In one important deal secured in 2017, the team helped ensure the company was awarded 17 advertising street furniture contracts across several different French regions following a series of competitive tenders. The team will be challenged and play a crucial role in JCDecaux’s appeal against the decision by the Paris Administrative Court to cancel the tender procedure relating to the city’s award for information and advertising street furniture contract to SOMUPI, a 66% owned subsidiary of JCDecaux.