French businessman, Jean-Michel Aulas is the founder of CEGID, a company specialized in the edition of software package. He is also Chairman of the football club Olympique Lyonnais since 1987.

After a license in management, Jean-Michel Aulas founded at 19 years old a Center for studies and management by computing. This market is emergent and Jean-Michel Aulas is inexperienced, two fact that compromise the achievement of this project, sold two years later to Cegos.

In 1983, enjoying the law that imposes to the companies the utilization of a general accounting plan and specific account numbers, Jean-Michel left the CEGI and launched a bigger project. Called the Cegid, this company is a study and decentralized IT management centre. With its catalogue offering various offers (hotels, construction, restaurants...), the project attracted small and large businesses.

At the same time, Jean-Michel Aulas had a network of public accountants which allowed him to penetrate the market quickly through those who decide on the choice of software.

In 2004, CEGID buys CCMX, its main competitor. The new entity holds approximately 70% of market shares.

Keen on football, Jean-Michel Aulas enters in 1987 in the board of directions of the Olympique Lyonnais. Later he was elected Chairman of the club. The strategy of Jean Michel Aulas is clear: help the club to go in Division 1 and win at least one title in four years.

Twenty years later, it is not less than seven championships of France Ligue 1, which were won by the club. In addition to sporting success, Jean-Michel Aulas has managed to clean up the finances of the club handled by the OL group since its IPO on January 26, 2007.

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