Gilles C. Pélisson, a member of Accenture's board of directors since April 2012, became our independent Lead Director in January 2020. Gilles was chairman of TF1 Group, a leading French private broadcasting company, from February 2016 until February 2023 and served as chief executive officer of TF1 Group from February 2016 until October 2022. Mr. Pélisson also previously served as Senior Vice President at Bouygues Group, the parent company to TF1 Group, from February 2023 to February 2024, and as chairman and chief executive officer of Accor SA, the global hotel group.
Gilles began his career with Accor in 1983 in the United States and then served as senior vice president for Accor’s Asia-Pacific region, based in Los Angeles. He was appointed chief executive officer of the French Courtepaille restaurants in 1988 and co-chief executive officer of the Novotel hotel chain in 1993.
From 1995 to 2000, Gilles served as the chief executive officer of Disneyland Paris Resort and as its chairman and chief executive officer beginning in 1997. In 2000, he joined the SUEZ group to lead the 3G license bid for the Consortium Suez-Telefonica ST3G. In 2001, he joined mobile operator Bouygues Telecom as chief executive officer and was appointed chairman and chief executive officer in February 2004.
Gilles rejoined Accor as chief executive officer in 2006 and was appointed chairman in 2009. He served as chief executive officer of Accor until December 2010 and as chairman until January 2011.
Gilles is a director of Sodexo and previously served on the boards of BIC Group, Bouygues Telecom, TF1 Group, Groupe L. Barrière Hotels and Casinos, NH Hotels and Sun International, and as a member of the global senior advisory board of Jefferies Group, Inc. He is the former chairman of the Supervisory Board of ESSEC (École Supérieure des Sciences Économiques et Commerciales) Business School, the former chairman of the of the ESSEC Foundation and a former member of the executive board of MEDEF, the French Employers’ Association. Gilles was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre National du Mérite, both as a Chevalier, and Officer des Arts et des Lettres from the French Republic.
Gilles studied at ESSEC in Paris and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Nominating, Governance & Sustainability Committee (Member)
