Meet the Foundation’s 2025 Gala Honorees
March 26, 2025
Each year, the Annual Gala honors individuals who have demonstrated exemplary leadership in their respective field and for their contributions to the French-American relationship. In 2025, the French-American Foundation is proud to honor:
Jean-Luc Allavena
Born in Monaco in 1963, Jean-Luc Allavena is the Chairman of the Investment Company Atlantys (in partnership with Apollo Management) and Honorary Chairman of HEC Alumni and Foundation.
After graduating from HEC Paris in 1986, Jean-Luc Allavena began his career at Paribas bank (1986-88), then joined the Lyonnaise des Eaux group – now Suez – in 1989 as financial controller. In 1992, he became CFO of Techpack International. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1996, and in May 1999 succeeded the company’s founding Chairman, Alain Chevassus. When Pechiney bought out the entire capital, Jean-Luc Allavena became Chief Executive Officer of its cosmetics-luxury division.
In 2000, Arnaud Lagardère called him to his side as Chief Operating Officer of Lagardère Média Group. At the same time, he became Chief Executive Officer of Lagardère Active (formerly Europe 1 Communication) and Director of the group’s three other main divisions: Hachette Livre, Hachette Filipacchi Médias and Hachette Distribution Services.
Coming from an old Monegasque family, Jean-Luc Allavena was the First Chief of Staff of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2005/2006, in charge of the organization and main orientations of the new sovereign’s early reign.
In 2007, Jean-Luc Allavena joined the investment fund Apollo Global Management in London as a Partner. Apollo is one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world with a portfolio of approximately 700 billion dollars. He initiated the buyout of Alcan Engineered Products – formerly Pechiney – in 2010 with the French Strategic Fund. Eager to finance major French industrial projects, Jean-Luc Allavena made other successful industrial investments, including Monier, Latécoère, Verallia. Valliurec, Kem One, Ingenico, Air France, etc…
Today he is Chairman and founder of Atlantys Investors, which works and invests with Apollo and other funds. Jean-Luc Allavena has been involved in Pro bono activities for several decades. He was Chairman of HEC Alumni from 2001 to 2003 and then Honorary Chairman, as well as Chairman of the HEC Foundation (2003-2005) and then Honorary Chairman. In particular, he initiated and launched the first fundraising campaigns for HEC.
From 2010 to 2015 Jean-Luc Allavena was Chairman of the French-American Foundation (then Honorary Chairman), which is dedicated to strengthening ties between France and the United States. From 2017 to 2024, he was Chairman of the Aspen Institute France (then Honorary Chairman).
Honors:
- Officer of the French Legion of Honor (Officier de la Légion d’Honneur)
- Knight of the order of Saint Charles (Principality of Monaco)
Anne Dias Griffin
Anne Dias is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aragon Global Management, an investment firm active in global equities, with a focus on the internet, technology, and consumer sectors, as well as alternative assets. Ms. Dias started her career at Goldman Sachs in London. She served as a portfolio manager at Soros Fund and was a founding member of the investment team at Viking Global.
Ms. Dias is an Independent Director of FOX Corporation. Ms. Dias is a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art, where she serves on the Finance Committee and the Painting & Sculpture Committee. She is also the head of the Investment Committee of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and a trustee of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. She sits on the board of directors of the French American Foundation in New York.
French-born, Ms. Dias graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and received her MBA from Harvard Business School.
Dan Schulman
Dan Schulman most recently served as the President and CEO of PayPal from 2014 to 2023. During his tenure, PayPal went public on the NASDAQ and grew its market capitalization by 125%, its revenues tripled from $8B to $30 billion, its free cash flow tripled from $1.4B to over $5B, while its global customer base grew by over 200 million to 435 million, and its payments volume quintupled to $1.5 trillion. During his tenure, Fortune ranked PayPal as the #1 company in the world for its work in tackling the biggest challenges facing society.
Dan is currently the chairman of the board of JUST Capital, vice chairman of the Valor Capital Group, the lead independent director of the Verizon Board of Directors, the lead independent director of Lazard, as well as being on the boards of Cisco Communications, and the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to his tenure at PayPal, Dan served as group president at American Express, the founding CEO of Virgin Mobile USA, the president and CEO of the Priceline Group (Booking.com), and spent 18 years at AT&T, running its consumer and internet divisions.
Dan’s leadership has received numerous accolades, including ranking third on Fortune’s list of the World’s Greatest Leaders, three consecutive appearances on Fortune’s Top 20 CEOs of the Year. He has been knighted twice, receiving the Order of the Oak knighthood from Luxembourg, and was inducted in 2024 as a Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor by President Macron.