Our team

Stéphane Desselas

Partner, President

Born on May 11, 1968 in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, I am the partner and president of Athenora CONSULTING. My professional career started very early on the European front, almost 30 years ago. Driven by the desire to contribute to the defence of general interest missions, I have worked for La Poste, EDF and the European Railway Federation. When founding Athenora Consulting in 2003, my ambition was to combine the defence of general interest with the most modern tools of influence and rigorous professionalism, stemming from an active practice of Anglo-Saxon lobbying methods acquired within a British public affairs firm. I have also sought to make these methods accessible to as many people as possible and to share the fruits of my experience by publishing two books (Un lobbying professionnel à visage découvert and Les règles d’or du lobbying) and by giving numerous training sessions in academic settings (Sciences Po, ICP, ENA…) as well as to professionals (new representatives in Brussels, public affairs departments). Today, I lead a firm enriched by its methods, its team, and its partner-clients, with the ever-renewed pleasure of promoting sustainable lobbying in the service of the European public interest. This pleasure, Natacha and I, Stéphane Desselas, share as passionate advocates for the influence and visibility of Athenora and European public affairs. 📧 Contact : stephane.desselas@athenora.com

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Natacha Clarac

Partner, Managing Director

As a convinced European, I chose to become a lobbyist to help build a common space that goes beyond our national realities, around solutions of general interest. I am committed to promoting my clients' messages to European decision-makers and to contributing to the drafting of texts in an ethical and professional manner. For more than 20 years in Brussels, I have developed contacts with a wide range of actors, from stakeholders to decision-makers. I enjoy being at the crossroads of these two worlds. I am proud to contribute to the influence of Athenora and to the understanding of lobbying, alongside Stéphane. I am resolutely positive and see in each problem an opportunity to go beyond the obvious and the established, to find innovative solutions. I graduated from Sciences Po Aix and the Institute of European Studies in Brussels. I also hold a MBA from the IAE of Aix-en-Provence and I have a perfect command of English I am president of the Cercle des réseaux européens and the Cercle Europe et Technologies du futur. I am also a lecturer in lobbying at Sciences Po Paris. I had the pleasure to co-author "Les règles d'or du lobbying" with Stéphane.

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Thomas Dorget

Partner, Director

I've always been fascinated by European integration, which is the relevant scale for addressing the most pressing issues of our time: ecological and digital transitions, industrial competitiveness, democracy... That's why, after a law degree at Université Paris II-Assas, I decided to study a Master's degree in European law at the Université Catholique de Louvain, where I learned from European affairs professionals. I completed my training with a specialized Master's in Internal Market Law at the London School of Economics, right in the middle of the Brexit debates. I started my professional career at the French Ministry for an Ecological and Solidary Transition in 2017, working on the economic implications of France's commitments to the Paris Agreement, as well as the financing of the ecological transition. To diversify my experience, I then moved to Brussels to work with the think tank Confrontations Europe as Executive Director for over three years. There, I learned about the challenges of European influence and public affairs from a research perspective, and had the chance to work with multiple players involved in the European integration (institutions, companies, trade unions, universities, associations...). Passionate and committed, I'm glad and honored to take my career further by joining Athenora as a senior consultant, and to support the firm on environmental and industrial issues.

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Cheïma Zaizouni

Consultante

A lawyer by training, I am passionate about the idea of ​​promoting ethical lobbying within European institutions. I am convinced that interest representation, when carried out in a transparent and responsible manner, constitutes an essential element of the dialogue between private actors and public officials. After completing two years of B/L preparatory classes (hypokhâgne and khâgne), I joined SKEMA Business School, where I followed a double course in European business law and business management. This academic courses allowed me to understand the legal and economic environment in which businesses operate. I then joined the bar school in order to pursue a career as a public affairs attorney. A profession which is doubly regulated, by the ethics of the lawyer and the transparency of the interest representative. I have worked in various public affairs firms and representative offices in Paris and Brussels. These various experiences have allowed me to acquire solid experience of European issues, particularly in terms of the regulation of new technologies and finance.

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Justine Vial

Junior consultant

With a strong interest for politics and public affairs, I decided to be more specialized into the European field in order to get closer to the great challenges for the EU. After two years spent in a french prep school (hypokhâgne and khâgne) in Paris, where I developed a great sens of rigor and methodology as well as a good culture and a general knowledge, I chose to study about politics. Therefore, I joined the university Paris-III Sorbonne-Nouvelle where I obtained a master degree in European politics. This has been the opportunity for me to be more aware of the legislative process. Then, I went to Paris-II Panthéon Assas to learn more about the national and european laws. Before joining Athenora Consulting, I worked for the european think-tank Europartenaires, created in 1994 by Elisabeth Guigou and ruled by herself and by Jean-Noël Jeanneney. This experience allowed me to be in touch with many influent actors and also to tackle some political issues in a more active way, such as the Green Deal.  I am also passionate about digital issues, on which I work within the Europe and Technologies of the Future Circle of which I am Secretary General.

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Leyla Hidalgo

Junior consultant

Passionate about European issues and the role of lobbying within the EU decision making processes, I chose to specialise in European public affairs by joining Athenora Consulting. My academic career highlight my determination to get closer to European challenges, with a Master's degree in European Union law from the University of Nantes. This course gave me a solid understanding of the decision-making processes & policies within the EU. I deepened my knowledge of European defence and security policies, particularly through the prism of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, by taking part in the Stiftung Genshagen Summer School in Berlin, dedicated to the future of European security. This experience also strengthened my interest in European lobbying. Keen to contribute to transparent and responsible lobbying, I joined Athenora Consulting to further develop my skills in resolving strategic issues at the heart of our societies.

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