On Wednesday, the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games announced the arrival of Édouard Donnelly as Executive Director of Games Operations.
If the profile of this experienced and well-known man in the world of sport - he was notably the boss of the Handball World Cup organized in France in 2017 and worked for the Rugby World Cup in 2007 -, is not really debated, the fact that his company RNK is part of a consortium that has won a major contract for the Games (the organization of the torch route) has provoked reactions.
Monday afternoon, in a hurry, the file of Edouard Donnelly, who then appeared as co-founder of the agency, disappeared from the RNK website.
At Paris 2024, we are assured that the recruitment of the one who is close to the current CEO Étienne Thobois (the two men had created Keneo, long cited as a reference in terms of consulting and events and since sold to the Japanese from Dentsu) , took place "according to a strict process".
The job description was published on the Paris 2024 recruitment site on September 14, Edouard Donnelly took office on November 2.
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According to Paris 2024, which does not wish to give further details, “several applications” have been studied.
The Cojo also specifies that the ethics committee was seized, in particular to trace the course of the new director of operations (in particular his passage at Keneo) and to question possible conflicts of interest.
At the end of 2020, Edouard Donnelly had indeed founded, with his brother David and Alexandre Ferracci, RNK, an agency specializing in the development of sporting events.
He had to sell the shares of his company to his associates
The company recently organized the beach volleyball tournament at Roland Garros.
It has also positioned itself on various markets launched by Paris 2024: it won, with a collective of seven companies, that of the flame route and lost that concerning the setting up of the sailing site in Marseille.
It has, according to our information, responded to other calls for tenders, concerning the operation of competition sites during the Games.
It is also likely to respond to other markets, Paris 2024 launching many this year.
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According to our information, the ethics committee know by the Cojo, which is chaired by Jean-Marc Sauvé, honorary vice-president of the Council of State, and composed of six personalities from the Court of Auditors and the French agency anti-corruption, made two demands: that Édouard Donnelly sell the shares of RNK to his associates before signing his contract and that he withdraw from any market in which one of his former companies would be a candidate.
Because, according to the job description, the new director of operations will have under his direct responsibility the management of sites and infrastructures and Event delivery integration (EDI), two divisions which will be in contact with the companies responsible for operating certain competition sites.
Potentially RNK, then.
A priori, Edouard Donnelly will however not be concerned by the torch relay.