Céline Merle-Béral

About Céline Merle-Béral

Céline Merle-Béral is a French corporate executive known for a career spanning law, media development, mobility projects, and human resources leadership. She is a member of the Paris Bar and holds a graduate degree in economic and social law from Paris-Dauphine University. She also spent a year at the University of California, Berkeley, an experience that broadened her international outlook. She joined the Bolloré Group in 1997 within the legal and social affairs function, then between 2000 and 2002 built the group’s first venture capital activity as Director of Development. This early phase of her career highlights a strong ability to structure new initiatives and support non-traditional growth areas. From 2002 onward, she moved into the media division of the Bolloré Group. She contributed to the bid for a digital terrestrial television channel, which later became Direct 8, and was appointed Director of Media Development. In that role, she worked on several strategic initiatives: a year in feature-film production, the launch of the AM radio station Radio Nouveaux Talents, the management of the magazine L’Événementiel after its acquisition by the group, and the on-air launch of Direct 8 in 2005. She also helped create the free newspapers Direct Matin and Direct Soir. These responsibilities gave her broad operational experience in content businesses, media brand launches, and high-visibility editorial projects. In 2008, she joined the group’s electric battery division, where she supported the launch of the Bluecar and the bid for Autolib’. After the contract was awarded, she became Director of Customer Relations and Partnerships. In 2012, she moved to Havas’ Human Resources department, where she progressively advanced to Global Chief Human Resources Officer in 2019. In June 2022, she joined Vivendi’s Management Board and became Chief of HR Strategy and Corporate Culture. Her expertise now centers on organizational transformation, talent strategy, corporate culture, and governance support within a diversified listed group.