Alain Taravella

Alain Taravella (born May 24, 1948) is a French entrepreneur in real estate. He is the founder and the chief executive officer of Altarea Cogedim, a French multi-channel real estate company.

Taravella is a graduate of the French HEC Paris Business School. In 1975, he joined Brémond Group as the head of the Leisure Division. The company was to become Pierre & Vacances in 1975, now the leading European company in the tourism services sector. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1985.

In 1994, he created Altarea, a shopping center development real estate investment trust. In 2007, it acquired Cogedim, a housing and office property development company. Since then, Altarea Cogedim has pursued its development on the three main property markets: retail, residential and offices. The group created the retail-entertainment concept with Bercy Village and spearheaded a new approach to edge-of town retail with Family Village® shopping centers.In 2010, it acquired Cap 3000, one of France's premier regional shopping centers located in the outskirts of Nice. It also developed the housing and office property program for the former Laennec Hospital site in Paris' 7th arrondissement and renovated the First Tower in the La Défense business district, the largest high environmental quality project in France.

By acquiring Rue du Commerce in 2011, a leader in e-commerce in France, Altarea Cogedim became the first multi-channel property company.

The Group currently has more than 1,200 employees. With operations in France, Spain and Italy, Altarea Cogedim manages a shopping center portfolio of €4 billion.

Alain Taravella owns approximately 48% of the Group's capital. Listed in compartment A of the NYSE Euronext Paris, Altarea recorded sales of €1.584 billion in 2012 and had a market capitalization of €1.4 billion at June 30, 2013.