Mathilde Defarges

President, Blue Star Strategies SAS

Mathilde Defarges is Co-Founder and President of Blue Star Strategies SAS, serving clients in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium. Ms. Defarges has more than 20 years professional experience as a strategist and a lawyer, assisting clients in articulating and executing robust public affairs strategies.

She has acquired deep knowledge in creating a constructive dialogue between key political decision makers and the private and non-governmental sectors. Her client engagements, emanating from diverse regions and cultures, have allowed her to develop a keen sense of understanding of transcultural management and strong mediation skills.

Ms. Defarges is focused on assisting international clients for which she implements game-changing strategies by connecting the dots between their various areas of action through a systemic approach of problem solving, addressing needs in political mapping and intelligence, risk assessment, and stakeholder engagement. She has built a strong campaigning experience, advocating for global coalitions in France and in the Brussels arena.

Awarded Young Leader for the USA and Italy in 2011, Ms. Defarges has a transatlantic footprint and assists numerous U.S. clients. In 2012, she completed a post-graduate program at Harvard University to develop her skills in Systems-Thinking and American Government. Convinced that tackling persistent inequalities in our societies is fundamental to economic prosperity and social cohesion, Ms. Defarges has in her previous position initiated strategic partnerships with Ashoka for the regional branches of the group to provide pro-bono advocacy services for social entrepreneurs.