Axelle LEMAIRE

Bio

Axelle Lemaire works towards putting innovation in the service of the common good. She recently joined the French Red Cross, the largest social organization in France, as Deputy Director, where she addresses the topics of strategy, innovation, transformation and social impact measurement. She is also the Managing Director of 21, the association's accelerator located in Montrouge which hosts projects and programmes led by social entrepreneurs. An international lawyer by training, Axelle Lemaire worked as a researcher in the House of Commons before being elected as a Member of the French National Assembly to represents French citizens in Northern Europe in 2014. She was a member of the Government from 2014 to 2017 as Secretary of State in charge of digital and innovation, and later on spent 4 years as an associate Partner in the strategy consulting firm Roland Berger. During her ministerial tenure, she defended the law for a Digital Republic, a founding text for the respect of online freedoms, industrial sovereignty, consumer protection, digital inclusion and territorial coverage. The Bill was unanimously adopted by Parliament after a transparent online consultation, for which she was awarded the Innovation in Politics European Prize. She also supported the boom of the French Tech as a new public policy and launched the first national strategy on artificial intelligence.