From the first to the last day, the life of Serge Dassault was placed under the sign of the aircraft. The French industrial of 93-year-old son of the founder of the Dassault group, died Monday, may 28, while opening the Ebace in Geneva dedicated to business aviation. It is there that Charles Edelstenne, his right arm, learned of his disappearance.
At age 80, this last is to be found de facto in control of an empire family present in aeronautics through Dassault Aviation (Rafale, Falcon), editing software (Dassault Systems), the media (Le Figaro), passing through the vineyards (Château Dassault) and the auction (Artcurial). His mission : to avoid any jerk within a strategic group for French industry and national defence.
Until the end, the former senator has held at work. He has been the victim of a heart failure in his office at the rond-point des Champs-Elysées. On 8 march, he was still the presentation of the annual results of the company on the barge anchored in the face of the siege of Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine). Advancing age, nevertheless, it had organized, for four years now, in July 2014, the process of succession.
The more Dassault of all Dassault
He was then appointed Charles Edelstenne to replace ” automatically “, and that ” in case of vacancy of the presidency of GIMD [Marcel Dassault industrial Group, the holding company of the group] for any reason whatsoever “. Serge Dassault does not hide. He could not see himself move the hand to one of her four children. Not even Olivier, even if the member of the Oise dreamed, all the more that his grand-father Marcel would have been well-powered to the head of the group, rather than to enthrone his son, Serge. Excluded as Laurent, Thierry, or Marie-Hélène.
After Marcel and Serge, the family estate promises to be delicate so that this group was celebrated in 2017, its first century of existence. And the key man…
