Our team

Our team shares the same objective: results. We only consider our work to be complete when the objective set by the customer has been achieved. If this is not the case, we have to try another route until we achieve the desired result.

Gérard BALLY

Founder

Benoît LOMBRIERE

Partner

Successively parliamentary assistant at the National Assembly, technical advisor in several ministries, and then advisor to the President of the Republic, Benoit has acquired, during ten years, a perfect knowledge of the governmental and administrative decision-making circuits, and a great capacity of analysis of the power stakes.

A graduate of ESSEC and Sciences Po Bordeaux, Benoit joined Action Europe in 2012 and opened the Paris office. His background in public institutions allows him to develop first-class influence strategies for the benefit of our clients.

Emmanuel DETTER

Partner

Graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce in Lyon (HESTRAD), with a degree in Sociology and a Preparatory Diploma for Accounting and Financial Expertise (DPECF), Emmanuel joined Action Europe in 2007.

After starting his career as a CIRI correspondent in the central administration, Emmanuel then held responsibilities in national groups and listed SMEs.

For more than 15 years, Emmanuel has been a regular interlocutor of the European Commission. He has a thorough knowledge of its decision-making processes, which allows him to recommend the most relevant strategies to Brussels.

Robert SENGEL

Partner

Awarded the National Order of Merit and a diploma from the École Nationale des Ingénieurs des Techniques Agricoles in Dijon, Robert joined Action Europe in 2019.

Director for 6 years of the Etablissement Départemental de l’Élevage de La Réunion, in charge of the development of the animal sector, and then Secretary General of the two livestock interprofessional associations of Reunion Island, Robert brought to the Action Europe team his great financial rigour, as well as his intimate knowledge of the functioning of agricultural cooperatives.

Klaus-Dieter Borchardt

Senior Consultant

At the European Commission, Professor Klaus-Dieter Borchardt was successively member of the Secretariat General, member of the Cabinet, Deputy Director General of DG Energy and Director of DG AGRI.
His in-depth knowledge of the European legislative, regulatory and legal framework for renewable energies, energy efficiency and state aid give him a precise vision of how public action works in Brussels, as well as a solid network of contacts.
During his 33 years at the European Commission, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt played a decisive role in several major developments in EU law and energy policy. He spent 12 years in the Commission’s Legal Service, where he was responsible for state aid, the internal market and agriculture, and 9 years in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy.
Trilingual German-English-French, he teaches in Germany and Denmark. He is also a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
He joined Action Europe in 2024.

Emeric BREHIER

Senior Consultant

Former Member of the French Parliament (2012-2017), Emeric joined Action Europe in 2022. Graduated from Sciences Po Grenoble and doctor in political science (PhD), Emeric started his career very early on as a cabinet assistant at the Ile-de-France Regional Council, then as Chief of Staff for several mayors in the Paris region.

His experience gives him a precise vision of how public action works, as well as a solid network of contacts at all institutional levels.

Emeric is also in charge of the Master’s degree in “Politics” since 2017 at the IEP of Bordeaux, and director of the Observatory of Political Life of the Jean Jaurès Foundation.

Jacques GERAULT

Senior Consultant

Chief of Staff of three French ministers of the interior and two ministers of defence, former prefect of the Rhône-Alpes Region, Jacques has managed the institutional relations of two strategic French companies in the nuclear and maritime freight sectors. As a senior civil servant with more than ten years of experience in the corporate world, Jacques joined Action Europe in 2022, bringing to our firm his perfect knowledge of the French administrative system, of which he was a leading practitioner.

Thomas LEDWIDGE

Senior Consultant

Graduated from Sciences Po Lille and holder of a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Kent (UK), Thomas has held several positions in the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, in the decentralized services of the State as well as within research structures in international relations in East Africa.

As a fine jurist, perfectly bilingual in French and English, Thomas joined Action Europe in 2012. He has brought to the team a fine technical expertise of agricultural issues, his knowledge of the functioning of decentralized administrations, and the rigor of his legal reasoning, particularly in European law.

Gautier MANGENOT

Senior Consultant

Gautier holds two masters’ degrees in international business law and European lobbying and joined Action Europe in 2022. For 15 years, Gautier worked with CIS and Southeast Asian countries, firstly for the French administration, then for various European companies for the development of structuring projects and industrial partnerships.

Back in France, Gautier specialized in strategic consulting for the energy transition. He works on the adaptation of infrastructures, market rules and the use of low carbon and renewable hydrogen in the decarbonization of the energy system.

Sonia-Sarah BAKRIM

Senior Consultant

Sonia-Sarah holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Lyon. She has been a state-qualified nurse, parliamentary assistant and secretary general of a group of elected representatives at the Lyon Metropolis. Trilingual in English, French and Spanish, she also speaks Japanese.

In charge of the relations with the French Parliament at Action Europe, Sonia-Sarah also teaches political communication at the Catholic University of Lyon. She brings to the firm her perfect knowledge of the French Parliament and its actors, as well as her expertise in the field of health.

Luis Miguel ARRIAGA

Junior Consultant

Born in Madeira, an Outermost Region of the EU, Luis studied in the United Kingdom and graduated with First Class Honours in History and International Relations from the University of Aberdeen.

He began his career as an oil and gas journalist in Trinidad and Tobago, where he developed the journalistic skills that allow him to write precisely and concisely on a range of complex technical subjects.

Luis later held positions within the Portuguese government, including at the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations in New York City, and with the RegionalGovernment of Madeira, having lobbied for his region’s interests at the EU level.

Since January 2022, he has been based in Brussels, working in European Affairs—first as a Public Affairs Consultant for a major American company, and more recently at the European External Action Service (EEAS).

He is fluent in Portuguese, English, French, and Spanish.

Mathis BARROT

Junior consultant

Graduating with a DUT in Business and Administration Management, and currently a grande école student at the Rennes School of Business, Mathis joined Action Europe in 2023. He is also studying law at the Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris. His university career has enabled him to consolidate his knowledge of European and national institutions, as well as his rigour and analytical skills.

His experience in both the private and public sectors has given him a solid grounding in public policy, finance and the business world.

Mathis speaks French, English and Spanish and has started learning German.

Manuel Maria BUAL

Junior Consultant

Graduating from the University of Lisbon’s School of Arts and Humanities and having studied studied in the same University’s School of Law, Manuel Maria joined Action Europe in 2023. During his time in Law School, he concluded a series of specialised courses relating to EU Affairs and international energy policy. He speaks perfect Portuguese and English, as well as Spanish, French and German.

His former career as Master of Yachts allowed him to travel all over the World for nearly a decade, bringing to Action Europe a rigorous, focused and problem-solving methodology, particularly in the context of the agricultural issues he is particularly well versed in.

Marie-Laure Collet

Senior Consultant

Founder of Abaka Conseil in 2002, Marie-Laure Collet chairs the Kalicéa group, a family holding company that, since 2017, has brought together several companies and holdings in the fields of human resources, consulting, agri-food, and real estate. Today, she is the CEO of Calder & Partners, where she works with business and institutional leaders. The company brings together the best experts in corporate governance consulting and also allows her to serve as an independent director for several companies.

A graduate of the IAE in Rennes and holder of a PhD in art history, Marie-Laure Collet is involved in several associations and unions and holds numerous positions. As vice-president of Medef Bretagne in her capacity as president of the Syntec Federation for the Brittany region, she chairs the Medef mandates for the region. At the national level, she has been vice-chair of the board of directors of Apec (Association Pour l’Emploi des Cadres) since December 2023, after serving as its chair from December 2021.

Active in other professional organizations, such as the CCI Bretagne, Bretagne Développement Innovation, and Produit en Bretagne, her commitment extends beyond the entrepreneurial sphere. She is also involved in several think tanks, such as Breizh Lab, a regional foresight laboratory, and the association Entrepreneurs pour la Planète, which has joined the Fondation Agir Contre l’Exclusion.

After three years as ambassador for the Interaction group and member of its strategic committee in charge of strategy, inclusion, and influence, Marie-Laure Collet joined the board of directors of the Union des caisses nationales de sécurité sociale (UCANSS) in October 2024 and Action Europe in early 2025.