Choiseul Sud 2026 ranking: Alpes-Maritimes claims 38 of the 100 “leaders of tomorrow”

The seventh edition of the Institut Choiseul ranking recognises business leaders under 40 from the Région Sud. Start-ups, family firms, culture and research: a look at the profiles from the French Riviera and Provence.

They are under 40 and run a start-up, a family business, a department or a laboratory. At the end of October the Institut Choiseul published the seventh edition of its Choiseul Sud ranking, which lists one hundred young “economic leaders of tomorrow” from the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. The Alpes-Maritimes takes the lion's share, with 38 names and the top three places, according to WebTimeMedias.

Founders of young tech companies feature prominently. Melpomeni Dimopoulou, co-founder of Pearcode, a CNRS spin-off specialising in storing data on DNA, is on the list, as is Alexis Patissier, president of Shadow, which helps hospitals reduce their environmental footprint. Julien Choukroun, co-founder and research director of Datagreen, a Nice-based designer of energy-efficient data centres, brings up the rear in 100th place. Manuel Pariente, co-founder of Pulse Audition, acquired by EssilorLuxottica in early 2025, is ranked 99th as head of artificial intelligence research at the group's SmartEyewearLab.

The sea is a source of inspiration for several of those listed. Billy Devauchelle, 94th, founded Naval Transition in Nice in 2023, a naval architecture firm specialising in the eco-design of vessels. Blanche Duncombe, co-founder of La Pousseraie, an urban farm in Nice growing microgreens using aquaponics, is also recognised.

Family businesses are not forgotten. Guillaume Fornas, who succeeded his father in April as head of Citycare, a Venelles-based specialist in connected defibrillators, is in the ranking. Adrien Saget, 93rd, is deputy managing director of Diffazur, a Saint-Laurent-du-Var swimming pool builder specialising in sprayed concrete. Laurent Lachkar is recognised as co-manager of BEA Groupe Laurent Lachkar in Nice.

The ranking also extends beyond entrepreneurship. Audrey Bereder, purchasing director at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a luxury hotel in Antibes belonging to the Oetker Collection, is included, as is Elliott Betito, operating partner at Villa Blu, the start-up accelerator run by perfume maker Robertet in Grasse. Romain Krafft, co-founder of the fragrance advice app Perfumist, another Grasse company, is ranked 92nd.

Culture and research are also represented: Camille Frasca, director of the museums of the Citadelle in Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Maxime Menuet, professor of economics at Université Côte d'Azur and a member of the GREDEG research laboratory. Bastien Vergoni, founder of the Play Azur Festival, Nice's major pop culture event, completes the list from the French Riviera.

Outside the Alpes-Maritimes, the Vaucluse is represented among others by Matteo Gachon, co-founder of the Apt-based start-up EEC Technologies and co-president of French Tech Grande Provence since 2023, recognised as president of La Source.