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Cédric de Lestrange himself readily admits that he fell into the real estate business somewhat by accident. This pure Parisian, third in a family of four children spent most of his schooling in a Jesuit college , which instilled in him a certain self-discipline and spirituality. At 16, his life turned upside down when his father passed away. As the youngest, he felt the need to take on family responsibilities for the household and threw himself into work to "not be a burden" on his family.

“we will make it” his mother always told, facing countless difficulties. To make it, Cédric de Lestrange enrolled at Sciences Po and complemented his education with an economics course at ESCP. A “gifted” student but also a “hard worker” passionate about politics, he joined the ENA – Copernicus promotion – not without first fulfilling his military obligations. He was one of the very last to complete his military service in 1999, before Jacques Chirac abolished it. And he is most certainly one of the very last to be grateful for having done so. He traveled the world on the frigate La Fayette, the same ship where a crime syndicate managed to steal a helicopter right under the nose of the French Navy in a James Bond film (GoldenEye for the uninitiated). There, he discovered "the life of a micro-society" where 160 military personnel coexist in a confined space (La Fayette is a stealth ship, meaning it has no windows) during missions that can last up to four months. His journey took him through the Persian Gulf, the Suez Canal, Jordan, Bangladesh, and Djibouti, where he dined with the eccentric Jean-François Deniau at his home in Tadjoura. Beyond his travels, Cédric de Lestrange remains a geopolitics enthusiast, which led him to write a book on the subject in 2005.*

The Bercy years

Having entered the ÉNA in 2000, Cédric de Lestrange found himself in Colmar alongside Dominique Dubois, the future prefect of Corsica. He made a six-month detour to Berlin as part of an exchange program as a "German diplomat," working particularly on the tax package, and experienced the alternative Berlin just 18 months after the installation of the government of a reunified Germany. Upon graduating from the ÉNA, he joined Bercy for a nine-year tenure. He spent five years at the Directorate General of Taxes as a tax specialist, followed by four years in the office of the Minister of Finance, Éric Woerth, then François Baroin, between 2007 and 2011.

Do not expect Cédric de Lestrange to sound the death knell for Bercy. He praises the administration as the most efficient, supported by arguments. Especially since he participated in the general review of public policies advocated by the new President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy... whose campaign team he joined at the end of 2004 under the leadership of Emmanuelle Mignon. He also helped to draft part of the UMP candidate's program.

The real estate virus

Cédric de Lestrange got a taste of real estate through Éric Woerth, specifically, state real estate. After taking inventory and handling sales during the boom years, he focused on poorly managed stock in addition to ongoing operations. The great financial crisis of 2008 brought the real estate market to a halt. Bercy's "Mr. Productivity" made real estate austerity the new state strategy. The goal was to achieve a ratio of 20 square meters per workstation and to save on real estate costs. Cédric de Lestrange initiated a movement to renegotiate and lower rents paid by the State. He also tackled a more delicate issue: the maintenance of public real estate and aimed to start an energy renovation dynamic amidst the early stages of the Grenelle Environment Round Table and its real estate counterpart, the Sustainable Building Plan. He clashed with his administrative counterparts who had not understood (or accepted) that Bercy now managed state real estate following the abolition of the assignment principle.

"I caught the real estate virus," he acknowledges. A virus he would develop further in the private sector at Bouygues Immobilier, where then-boss François Bertière noticed this young advisor. In 2011, he left the administration to join the Corporate Real Estate department led by Éric Mazoyer, focusing on major users. His success is evident in projects like the Deloitte headquarters in Lyon, Unilever, Schneider, and Franfinance in Rueil-Malmaison, Schneider in Grenoble, CMA-CGM in Marseille... This includes a whole generation of "green offices" that foreshadow today’s sustainable and efficient buildings. "Bouygues Immobilier was at the forefront of innovation at that time, both in residential and corporate real estate. We were the first to offer guaranteed charges, and we pioneered a 'plug & play' offer for businesses," recalls Cédric de Lestrange. Ahead of the curve, the developer embraced restructuring by creating a dedicated subsidiary—Rehagreen—which he directed alongside UrbanEra, a neighbourhood-scale offer.

In the "Axe"

The adventure ended in 2020, just before the onset of the health crisis, during a transitional moment in the group's governance. Cédric de Lestrange emerged from it with a few convictions. "First, that it’s the redevelopment market that interests me the most and that will be the most promising in the future. Second, that a developer-restructuring company must operate on two legs: residential and office sectors. Finally, that it’s time to launch an entrepreneurial project." He checked these three boxes in the summer of 2020, when he met Alain Beynet and Alain Delaporte. 

The two founders of Axe Immobilier were looking for a managing director they wanted to partner with and to whom they hoped to entrust the future of this SME, created in 1993 at the height of the real estate crisis. "I found proven expertise, a smooth operation, and a great team, particularly on the technical side," says Cédric de Lestrange. Above all, the new managing director of Axe Immobilier appreciates the sense of risk and concept of cycle. "Good development is counter-cyclical development. This is what Alain Beynet and Alain Delaporte achieved in the 1990s and 2000s. It’s what was done in Montrouge, then during the health crisis in Montreuil. It's what we've been restarting for the past nine months." In short, buy at the sound of cannons and sell at the sound of violins.

Axe Immobilier has returned to the Parisian market, acquiring "off market" 111 rue Cardinet, 7 rue de Surène, and 33 rue Miromesnil. These outdated buildings, are superbly located, and the group intends to create value in a market that primarily seeks to lose as little as possible. "We remain naturally cautious, but we will be more aggressive than many others in the coming months to ride the wave of recovery."

Having become president of Axe Immobilier and the sole representative this summer, Cédric de Lestrange embarks on his third life, that of an entrepreneur, with "enthusiasm and optimism" and with the desire to establish Axe Immobilier's position as "an innovative developer so that real estate, both residential and commercial, is efficient and sustainable, both ecologically and in terms of heritage."

This professional life is added to numerous personal commitments. He is notably the co-founder, alongside Anne Coffinier, of the Kairos Foundation housed by the Institut de France, whose mission is to promote new educational pedagogies.

Does he have time for it all? This father of three, a history enthusiast, lover of heritage (his wife, a former lawyer, works for the Sauvegarde de l’art français, the oldest foundation supporting heritage), steeped in cinematic culture, and passionate reader, is a hard worker. "I operate on merit." And as his mother so aptly puts it, "we will make it."

*Geopolitics of Oil, Éditions Technip, with Pierre Zelenko and Christophe-Alexandre Paillard.*