Mathilde advises organisations on public affairs strategy and international advocacy, with particular expertise in France and a perspective shaped by years of working in Brussels. She helps organisations understand how national and EU political and regulatory landscapes interact, identify the most effective levers of influence, and coordinate advocacy campaigns across markets to deliver impact.

She is at her best when there is a problem to solve: a roadblock to overcome, an opportunity to create, or a complex political and regulatory environment in which the obvious route is not necessarily the right one.

Mathilde likes getting to the heart of a new issue quickly, understanding the forces at play, anticipating what comes next and designing a strategy that can shift the dynamics. She also likes putting that strategy to work. The best strategies evolve when they meet the real world.

Her approach is deliberately challenging. She doesn’t take a brief at face value: she questions assumptions, explore alternative routes and work closely with clients and the wider teams around them — lawyers, economists, communications advisers and other specialists — to find the way forward. Ultimately, what she enjoys most is convincing people and getting difficult things moving.

Before moving into public affairs in 2007, she spent ten years practising as a competition lawyer. In 2018, she co-founded Blue Star Strategies SAS with Etienne Bodard, in partnership with Blue Star Strategies LLC. Together, they have built a boutique public affairs consultancy that combines strategic advice with hands-on engagement and close involvement in every assignment.

On a more personal note, nothing beats exploring wide-open spaces on horseback. She is also a lifelong space enthusiast. She still wishes she had become an astronaut, but her math grades and motion sickness had other plans.