To date, more than 335 people have taken part in one or more BEST meetings. Each meeting draws around 25 participants.
In addition to the core of “regulars,” some of whom have attended the meetings since the beginning (2012), there are other occasional participants, depending on the topics on the agenda.
The network itself is made up of Chief Executives or Deputy Chief Executives of large local authorities in France or around Europe.
The meetings also owe much to the contributions of guest speakers and figures from national or international institutions, universities, research organizations or companies.
The BEST network
Chief Executives
Denis SOLIVERES | AGEN |
Bernard MAGNAN | AIX-EN-PROVENCE |
Domnin RAUSCHER | AIX–MARSEILLE–PROVENCE |
Jean-Claude GONDARD | AIX–MARSEILLE–PROVENCE |
Alain BENSAKOUN | ALÈS |
Laurent LE SAGER | ANGERS |
Christophe GARNIER | BAS-RHIN |
Severin FISCHER | BERLIN |
François CORBIER | BORDEAUX (CITY) |
Valérie CHATEL | BOURGOGNE FRANCHE-COMTÉ |
Bertrand UGUEN | BREST |
Jérôme BASTIN | BRETAGNE |
Christian LAMOULINE | BRUSSELS CAPITAL (BELGIUM) |
Christophe VANOERBEEK | BRUSSELS CAPITAL (BELGIUM) |
Michel VAN DER STICHELE | BRUSSELS CAPITAL (BELGIUM) |
Rochdi KHABAZI | BRUSSELS CAPITAL (BELGIUM) |
Florence PELEAU LABIGNE | CENTRE VAL-DE-LOIRE (region) |
Marie-Claude SIVAGNANAM | CERGY-PONTOISE |
David CONSTANS-MARTIGNY | CLERMONT AUVERGNE |
Agnès FROMENT | CLERMONT-FERRAND (CITY) |
MF. FRANÇOIS | CLERMONT-FERRAND (CITY) |
Jean-Gabriel MADINIER | DIJON |
Patrick LAMBERT | DUNKERQUE |
Bertrand LANGLET | ESSONNE |
Gilles DA COSTA | FRANCHE COMTÉ |
Laurent CARRIÉ | GIRONDE |
Philippe MAHÉ | GIRONDE |
François BOUCHARD | GRAND EST |
Nicolas PERNOT | GRAND EST |
Stéphanie TEN EYCK | GRAND NANCY (metropolis) |
Christophe MACÉ | GRAND PARIS – EST ENSEMBLE |
Stéphane LE HO | GRAND PARIS GRAND EST |
Jean-François CURCI | GRENOBLE |
Pierre TONNEAU | GRENOBLE |
Emmanuel ROUÈDE | GRENOBLE (CITY) |
François LANGLOIS | GRENOBLE (CITY) |
Gilles AMAUDRIC DU CHAFFAUT | GRENOBLE (CITY) |
France BURGY | HAUTE-NORMANDIE |
Laurent VERCRUYSSE | HAUTS-DE-FRANCE |
Emmanuel GROS | LA ROCHE SUR YON |
Olivier MOULIS | LE CRÈS |
François CAVARD | LE HAVRE |
Amel KHERCHOUCH-HAVRIN | LE MANS |
Didier BAHIN | LE MANS |
Bruno CASSETTE | LILLE |
MC BONNET-GALZY | LILLE |
Michel VAYSSIÉ | LILLE (CITY) |
Anne JESTIN | LYON |
Benoît QUIGNON | LYON |
Philippe BLANQUEFORT | MARSEILLE |
Didier OSTRÉ | MARSEILLE (city) |
Christophe LAFOUX | METZ |
Christian FINA | MONTPELLIER |
Olivier NYS | MONTPELLIER |
Michel NAMURA | MONTREUIL |
Nicolas PROUST | MONTREUIL |
Jean OUACHÉE | MULHOUSE ALSACE AGGLO |
Pierre STUSSI | NANCY |
Olivier PARCOT | NANTES |
Lauriano AZINHEIRINHA | NICE CÔTE D'AZUR |
Olivier BREUILLY | NICE CÔTE D'AZUR |
Jean-Baptiste FAUROUX | NOUVELLE AQUITAINE |
Benjamin HUS | NORD (COUNTY) |
Simon MUNSCH | OCCITANIE |
Marie VILLETTE | PARIS |
Frédéric BAUDIN CULLIÈRE | PARIS-SACLAY |
Nicolas PERNOT | PAU |
Éric MARTIN | POITIERS |
Jean-Luc BOEUF | QUIMPER |
François MENGIN LECREULX | REIMS |
Marc PONS DE VINCENT | REIMS |
Joel BOSCHER | RENNES |
LAURENCE QUINAUT | RENNES |
Dominique BERTIN | ROUEN |
Frédéric ALTHABE | ROUEN |
Ghyslaine LEPAGE | ROUEN |
Laurent BASSO | ROUEN |
Pierre GEY | SAINT-ÉTIENNE |
Ingela LINDH | STOCKHOLM |
Delphine JOLY | STRASBOURG |
Pierre LAPLANE | STRASBOURG |
Yves GONÇALVES | THAU |
André THOMAS | TOULOUSE |
Eric ARDOUIN | TOULOUSE |
Deputy Chief Executives and other positions
Étienne BRUN-ROVET | AIX-MARSEILLE-PROVENCE |
Hélène GARIDEL | AIX-MARSEILLE-PROVENCE |
Vincent BONNAFOUX | AIX-MARSEILLE-PROVENCE |
Vincent FOUCHIER | AIX-MARSEILLE-PROVENCE |
François DE FLEURIAN | AMIENS |
Dominique BLANC | AQUITAINE |
Antoni FERNANDEZ | BARCELONA |
Ricard FERNANDEZ | BARCELONA |
Beate PROFÉ | BERLIN |
Claus GUGGENBERGER | BERLIN |
Jens KENDZIA | BERLIN |
Jonas MACHLEIDT | BERLIN |
Manfred KÜHNE | BERLIN |
Manuela HAHN | BERLIN |
Marion MIENERT | BERLIN |
Marion WERWOLL | BERLIN |
Petra KAHLFELDT | BERLIN |
Sabrina BÖTTCHER | BERLIN |
Ulrike ZEIDLER | BERLIN |
Elke WERTHMANN-GROSSEK | BOCHUM (GERMANY) |
Cédric GHESQUIÈRES | BORDEAUX |
Dora NGUYEN | BORDEAUX |
Karine GESSNER | BORDEAUX |
Patrick TOURNACHE | BORDEAUX |
Thierry GUICHARD | BORDEAUX |
Jean-Philippe LAMY | BREST |
Anne WILLOCX | BRUSSELS CAPITAL |
Jean-François BROUWET | BRUSSELS CAPITAL |
Olivier FILOT | BRUSSELS CAPITAL |
Philippe ROSSIGNOL | BRUSSELS CAPITAL |
Grégory STERCK | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL |
Gabriele KLUG | COLOGNE |
Rainer PLASSMANN | COLOGNE |
Dorthe NOHR PEDERSEN | COPENHAGUEN |
Fabrice CHATEL | DIJON |
Jésus RODRIGUEZ | DUNKIRK |
Rizlane BIBAOUI | DUNKIRK |
Olivier GALIANA | EVRY |
Thomas MEEKEL | GRENOBLE |
Aurélie DIRINGER-DRAGONE | GRENOBLE (ville) |
Stéphanie COHEN-LANGLOIS | GRENOBLE ALPES (métropole) |
Virginie RENAULT | HAUTS-DE-FRANCE |
Sami SAHALA | HELSINKI |
Giovanni VETRITTO | ITALY |
Annette LIPOWSKY | KEHL (GERMANY) |
Nolwenn ANIER | LILLE (métropole) |
Dany MACKOWIAK | LILLE (métropole) |
Romain PUPIER | LILLE (métropole) |
Romain ROGUET | LILLE (métropole) |
Katherine HALLE-GUET | LORRAINE |
Émilie SELLES | LYON |
Louis-Antoine SOUCHET | LYON |
Maud SGORBINI | LYON |
Saïd SAHRAOUI | LYON |
Anne RINGLET | LYON (métropole) |
Blandine MELAY | LYON (métropole) |
Pierre HOUSSAIS | LYON (métropole) |
Frédéric CHAUVEL | MANCHE |
Stéphane BASILLE | MARSEILLE |
Marianne FONTAN | MONTREUIL |
Frédéric VIEL | NANCY |
Philippe MAREST | NANTES |
Stéphane BARRANGER | NANTES |
Thierry BOUTOUTE | NANTES |
Bastien NESPOULOS | NICE |
Per-Olov STRANDBERG | NORRKÖPING (SWEDEN) |
Anne-Hélène ROIGNAN | PARIS |
Caroline GRANDJEAN | PARIS |
Denis PENOUEL | PARIS |
Hugo BÉVORT | PARIS |
Laurence GIRARD | PARIS |
Louis JACQUARD | PARIS |
Pierre-Yves DURAND | PARIS |
Sébastien MAIRE | PARIS |
Wilfried WITMANN | PARIS |
Paul FLAMME | PARIS (métropole) |
Rémy MARCIN | PARIS (métropole) |
Alexis MARIANI | RENNES |
Henri-Noël RUIZ | RENNES |
Léone GOUTANY | RENNES |
Joseph MELCHERS | ROTTERDAM |
Nathalie MAGUIN | ROUEN |
Gösta REHNSTAM | SCANIA (SWEDEN) |
Gunne ARNESSON LÖFGREN | SCANIA (SWEDEN) |
Jean-Michel CHAPET | SEINE SAINT-DENIS |
Caroline OTTOSSON | STOCKHOLM |
Fredrik JURDELL | STOCKHOLM |
Gunnar SÖDERHOLM | STOCKHOLM |
Francis CORPART | STRASBOURG |
Maud RENON | STRASBOURG |
Yves AUBERT | STRASBOURG |
Johan KRABB | SWEDEN |
Luisella NIGRA | TORINO |
Stefano CIANCHINI | TORINO |
Jean-Michel EVIN | TOULOUSE |
Pierre-Emmanuel REYMUND | TOULOUSE |
Thierry BAUCHET | TOULOUSE |
Blandine MOREAU | TOURS (ville) |
Christophe DARASSE | VERSAILLES |
Clarence PARADAS | VILLEURBANNE |
Guest speakers
National or international institutions, universities, research organizations, companies
Public interest organizations | |||||
Jean-Marc OFFNER, Managing Director | A-URBA (urban planning agency) | BORDEAUX | |||
Sarah ALBY, Director | Académie du Climat | PARIS | |||
Herminie DE FRÉMINVILLE, Coordinator | ADEME | FRANCE | |||
Éric VIDALENC, Head of Project | ADEME | FRANCE | |||
Éric VÉSINE, Head of Department | ADEME | FRANCE | |||
Jean-Louis BERGEY, Head of Project | ADEME | FRANCE | |||
Benoît PARENT, CEO | Agence d'urbanisme de la Région grenobloise | GRENOBLE | |||
Yves LEBRETON, General Director | ANCT | PARIS | |||
Jamil ARAOUD, Director General | Brussels Prevention & Security | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Brandy BOLOKO, President | Cité des Chances | FRANCE | |||
Lauren LOLO, Director General | Cité des Chances | FRANCE | |||
Léo COHEN, Member of the governance committee | Citizen's Climate Convention | FRANCE | |||
Thomas ROGÉ, Head Youth Policy Departm | City of Paris | PARIS | |||
Laurent THÉRY, Honorary Prefect, Grand Prix Urba 2010 | Club Ville Aménagement (CVA) | FRANCE | |||
Éric BAZARD, Président / CEO | Club Ville Aménagement (CVA) / SPL Deux-Rives | FRANCE / STRASBOURG | |||
François BAYROU, High Commissioner for Planification | Commissariat au plan (ministry of planification) | FRANCE | |||
Thomas DEGOS, Prefect | COVID 19 National Emergency Commitee | PARIS | |||
Hilmar von LOJEWSKI, Deputy Managing Director | Deutscher Städtetag | GERMANY | |||
Stefan HAHN, Deputy Managing Director | Deutscher Städtetag | GERMANY | |||
Jean-Baptiste MARIE, CEO | Europe des projets architecturaux et urbains | FRANCE | |||
Aurore MEYFROIDT, Head of studies and publications | Europe des projets architecturaux et urbains | FRANCE | |||
Gilles de MARGERIE, General Commissioner | France Stratégie | FRANCE | |||
Vincent AUSSILOUX, Director of the Economic and Finance Department | France Stratégie | FRANCE | |||
Charles BOZONNET, Project Manager | France Stratégie | FRANCE | |||
Boris LE HIR, Project Manager | France Stratégie | FRANCE | |||
Julien ROUSSELON, Deputy Director Department Society Social Policies | France Stratégie | FRANCE | |||
Pierre HENRY, Director General | France Terre d’Asile | FRANCE | |||
Philippe ANGOTTI, Deputy Delegate | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Delphine BOURDIN, Adviser | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Franck CLAEYS, Director | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Ludovic GROUSSET, Director | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Emmanuel HEYRAUD, Director | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Olivier LANDEL, Executive Officer | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Kader MAKHLOUF, Adviser | France Urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Anselmo JALABERT, Adviser | France urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Bastien TALOC, Adviser | France urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Marion TANNIOU, Adviser | France urbaine | FRANCE | |||
Didier LESCHI, Director General | French Office of Immigration and Integration | FRANCE | |||
Guy LE BRAS, Director General | GART (Association of public transport authorities) | FRANCE | |||
Dominik GRILLMAYER, Manager of Projects | German-French Institute (dfi) | GERMANY | |||
Guillaume THIERIOT, Managing Director | GIP Capitale Verte | FRANCE | |||
Pierre DUCRET, Chairperson | I4CE | FRANCE | |||
Benoît LEGUET, Director General | I4CE | PARIS | |||
Morgane NICOL, Programme Director | I4CE | FRANCE | |||
Nicolas STEINIK, Engineer, facilitator | JAC | FRANCE | |||
Élisa YAVCHITZ, Director | La Maison des Canaux | PARIS | |||
Flore BONAFÉ, Director of Communication | Le Centquatre-Paris | PARIS | |||
Neil OKNINSKI, Project Director | Local Partnerships | UNITED KINGDOM | |||
Charlotte GOUNOD, Advisor | Ministry of the Economy Finance and Recovery | FRANCE | |||
Louis FERNIQUE, Project manager | Ministry of Transport | FRANCE | |||
Emmanuel de LANVERSIN, Member of staff | Ministry of Transport | FRANCE | |||
Pierre des ROSEAUX, Member of staff | Ministry of Transport | FRANCE | |||
Bernhard DRECHSEL, Member of the Board | Möckernkiez Housing Cooperative | BERLIN | |||
Michaël JONNIAUX, Divisional Commissioner in the Police | Montgomery Area (Municipalities of Etterbeek & 2 other) | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Marianne PEKOLA-SJÖBLOM, Director of Research | National Federation of Finnish Towns | FINLAND | |||
Dorothée ALLAIN-DUPRÉ, Head of unit | OECD | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Claire CHARBIT, Dialogue / Local and Reg. Authorities | OECD | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Antti MOISIO, Economist | OECD | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Paqui SANTONJA, Policy Analyst | OECD | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Aziza AKHMOUCH, head of the Cities, urban policies and sustainable development division | OECD | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Géraldine BASTIN, Chairperson | Public Centre for Social Action (CPAS) of Molenbeek | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Didier ROZEN, Temporary Secretary General | Public Centre for Social Action (CPAS) of Molenbeek | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Hélène PESKINE, Permanent secretary | PUCA | FRANCE | |||
Bettina MANCHEL, Director | QJ (Quartier Jeunes) | PARIS | |||
Françoise WAINTROP, Team Manager | Secretariat-General for Modernization of Public Action | FRANCE | |||
Renan MÉGY, Deputy Head Territories Unit | The Prime Minister's Office | FRANCE | |||
Corentin RIET, Project Manager | The Shift Project | FRANCE | |||
Walter LEIBL, General Director | WISTA-Plan GmbH | BERLIN | |||
Clara FAURÉ, Co-coordinator | Young Ambassadors for the Climate (JAC) | FRANCE | |||
Leona LYNEN, Head of Project | ZUsammenKUNFT eG | BERLIN | |||
Didier DECOUPIGNY, Director General | Devel. & urban plan. agency of Lille Métro. | LILLE | |||
Bruno GAUDICHON, Chief Curator & Dir. | « Swimming Pool » Museum | ROUBAIX | |||
Emmanuel DELAMARRE, Director | Plaines Images | LILLE | |||
Claire MERLIN, Director General | Autonomous Port of Strasbourg (PAS) | STRASBOURG | |||
Gert VAN DER EEKEN, Director General | Port of Brussels | BRUSSELS | |||
Thierry GUIMBAUD, Director General | VNF - French Waterways Gen. Directorate | FRANCE | |||
Marie-Céline MASSON, Territorial Director | VNF Nord-Pas-de-Calais Waterways Sector | LILLE | |||
Muriel MOURNETAS, Head Internat. Relat. | VNF - French Waterways Gen. Directorate | FRANCE | |||
Delphine JENART, Head of Projects | Technocité in the City of Mons | MONS (BELGIUM) | |||
Marianne GUILLON, General Secretary | Series Mania - international festival | LILLE | |||
Higher education and research | |||||
Pierre VELTZ, town-planner sociologist et economist | PARIS | ||||
Luciano VANDELLI, Professor | Bologna University | BOLOGNA | |||
Olivier GALLAND, Emeritus Director of Research | CNRS | PARIS | |||
Marie-Christine JAILLET, Head of research / Scientific director | CNRS / POPSU | TOULOUSE / PARIS | |||
Elisabeth CAMPAGNAC, Former Head of Research | ENPC | PARIS | |||
Jean CARASSUS, Professor | ENPC | PARIS | |||
Géry DEFFONTAINES, PhD Student | ENPC | PARIS | |||
Thierry LEBEL, Director of Research | Environmental Geosciences Institute (IGE) | GRENOBLE | |||
Philippe RAIMBAULT, President | Federal University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées | TOULOUSE | |||
Kai MASSER, Head of Research | German Research Institute for Public Administration | SPEYER (GERMANY) | |||
Thibault DAUGIGEOS, professor | Grenoble École de Management | GRENOBLE | |||
Sandra MOATTI, Director | IDEHATE | PARIS | |||
Graham WINCH, Professor | Manchester Business School | MANCHESTER | |||
Vincent AUBELLE, Professor | Marne-la-Vallée University | PARIS | |||
Catherine WHITOL DE WENDEN, Professor | National Centre for Scientific Research, Centre for International Research of Sciences Po | PARIS | |||
Dominique RIVIÈRE, Professor | Paris Diderot University | PARIS | |||
Christian DE PERTHUIS, Professor of Economics | Paris- Dauphine University | PARIS | |||
Alain BOURDIN, Sociologist, Head of Research | Paris-Est University | PARIS | |||
Jean-Paul VOLLE, Professor | Paul Valéry University | MONTPELLIER | |||
Koos VAN DIJKEN, Director of Projects | Platform 31 | EUROPE | |||
Valeria FEDELI, Professor of Urban Planning | Politecnico di Milano | MILANO | |||
Jean-Bernard AUBY, Professor | Sciences Po | PARIS | |||
Marc LAZAR, Professor emeritus of history and political sociology | Sciences Po | PARIS | |||
Brigitte FOUILLAND, Executive Director | Sciences Po École urbaine | PARIS | |||
Luc ABBADIE, Professor | Sorbonne University | PARIS | |||
Gunnar SCHWARTING, Professor | Speyer University | SPEYER (GERMANY) | |||
Francesco TIMPANO, Professor and Deputy Mayor | University and City of Piacenza | PIACENZA (ITALY) | |||
Jaume MAGRE FERRAN, Professor of Polical Economy | University of Barcelona | BARCELONA | |||
Hellmut WOLLMANN, Professor | University of Berlin | BERLIN | |||
Patrick LÉVY, former president | University of Grenoble Alpes | GRENOBLE | |||
Magali TALANDIER, professor | University of Grenoble Alpes | GRENOBLE | |||
Nicolas BERNARD, Professor | University of Saint-Louis | BRUSSELS | |||
Patrick LE GALÈS, Research director and professor | Urban School of Science Po | PARIS | |||
César DUCRUET, Director of Research | CNRS and Research Lab Economix | PARIS | |||
Nicolas FIEULAINE, Researcher soc. psychol. | Univ. of Lyon & Publ. Innov. Chair at INSP | LYON | |||
Étienne PEYRAT, 1st Vice Pres. / Lecturer | University of Lille / Sciences Po Lille | LILLE | |||
Alexandre PAGOT, Director of the Lille Campus | School of Digital Arts ARTFX | LILLE | |||
Companies and consultants | |||||
Philippe ESTÈBE, géographe, directeur d’études | Acadie | FRANCE | |||
Pierre-Aymeric DEWEZ, Senior Manager | Ernst & Young | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Béatrice TOULON, Consultant | Maestria Consulting | PARIS | |||
Patrick PÉLATA, CEO | Meta Consulting LLC | FRANCE | |||
Olivier PORTIER, analyste territorial | OPC | FRANCE | |||
Olivier RYCKEWAERT and Jacky FOUCHER | Public policies design consultants | PARIS | |||
Gilles VERMOT-DESROCHES, Director Sustainable Development | Schneider Electric | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Anne BOSCHE-NOIRET, Delegate Manager | SNCF Mobilités TER | FRANCE | |||
Franck LACROIX, General Manager | SNCF Mobilités TER | FRANCE | |||
Frédéric MOONENS, Director of Human Resources | Solvay Business Services | INTERNATIONAL | |||
Jean-Marc JANCOVICI, Chairperson / Co-founder | The Shift Project / Carbone 4 | FRANCE | |||
Claude LENGLET, Operational Executive Nord Europe | TIR Consulting Group LLC | FRANCE | |||
Arthur NICOLET, CEO | Transdev Rouen | FRANCE | |||
Mathieu RICHEZ, CEO & Creative Director | Ihstar Games | LILLE | |||
Banks | |||||
Yves MILLARDET, Chairman | Agence France Locale | FRANCE | |||
Bruno DANET, Founding CEO / Former CHO | COREo / Keolis Group | FRANCE | |||
Stéphane VIALLON, Signing Officer | European Investment Bank | EUROPE | |||
Maria VIIMNE, Deputy Managing Director | Kommuninvest | SWEDEN | |||
Local Public Companies | |||||
Nathalie RENNEBOOG, Managing Director Urban Renewal Department | CityDev | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Christian CLEMENT, Managing Director | Eau du Ponant Local Public Company | BREST | |||
Carlos RODRIGUEZ-FERRER, Secretary General | Federation of Local Public companies | SPAIN | |||
Carl CEDERSCHIÖLD, President | Federation of Municipal Companies | SWEDEN | |||
Raymond HERNANDEZ, Director of Development | Gelsenwasser S.A. | GELSENKIRCHEN - GERMANY | |||
Ludovic BOYRON, Managing Director | Lyon Part-Dieu Local Public Company | LYON | |||
Tom SANDERS, Director Territorial Strategy | Perspective.brussels | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Brieuc de MEEÛS, Administrator - Managing Director | STIB (Brussels Region intermunicipal transport company) | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Isabelle MEULEMANS, CEO | Talents.Brussels | BRUSSELS-CAPITAL | |||
Giuseppe LO MONACO, Deputy Director General | Semi-public comp. Renewed City | LILLE |