Cédric O

Cédric O (born 18 December 1982) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as Secretary of State (junior minister) for the Digital Economy in the governments of successive Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex from 2019 to 2022.

O is a cofounder of the artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI.

Early life and education

Cédric O, son of a French mother from Lyon and a Korean executive, was born on 18 December 1982. He is the brother of Delphine O, former member of the National Assembly for Paris's 16th constituency.

After graduating from Lycée du Parc, he enrolled at HEC Paris and graduated in 2006.

Business career

In 2007, O started working as communications manager for the Operationelle corporation. Between 2014 and 2017, he was project manager for the Safran aircraft & rocket engine manufacturing company.

Political career

Along with future La République En Marche! cadres Ismaël Emelien and Benjamin Griveaux, as well as HEC alumnus Stanislas Guerini, O participated in the campaign team of Dominique Strauss-Kahn for the 2006 French Socialist Party presidential primary.

After serving as political adviser to finance minister Pierre Moscovici, during the presidency of Socialist François Hollande, O was appointed treasurer of the La République En Marche! party in Emmanuel Macron's 2016–17 presidential campaign. In November 2017, O assumed the duties of political advisor to Macron and prime minister Édouard Philippe.

Also since November 2017, O has been part of LREM's executive board under the leadership of the party's successive chairmen Christophe Castaner and Stanislas Guerini.