Robert Louis-Dreyfus

Robert Louis-Dreyfus (14 June 1946 to 4 July 2009) was a French businessman who led two global brands as chief executive. Born in Paris into the family behind the Louis-Dreyfus commodities group, he won a place at Harvard Business School and made his first fortune at the US pharmaceutical research firm IMS, which he joined in 1982. He was chief executive of the British advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi from 1989 to 1993, then took the top job at the German sporting goods maker Adidas in 1994 and held it until 2001, streamlining the product line and adding the Salomon group in 1997. He rejoined the family firm in 2000, was involved in creating the sports marketing agency Infront Sports and Media in 2002, and became majority shareholder of the football club Olympique de Marseille in 1996. He died in Zurich of leukemia. A 2015 report alleged a payment connected to the 2006 World Cup bid.