Chairman, OC Sport

Hervé Favre

Hervé Favre is the chairman of OC Sport , the international sports event division of the French Media Telegramme Group (www.groupetelegramme.com)

He is a qualified Swiss and English lawyer since 1994. Since then, his professional journey has led him to work in Geneva, London or Bermuda for diRerent financial and tech companies, gaining extensive experience in financial and management skills before joining in 2011 OC Sport, a Swiss French company specializing in organizing international sports events.
At first Hervé was responsible for the sailing part of their activities, supervising the organizations of major oRshore sailing events such as the Route du Rhum- Destination Guadeloupe which brings every four years 1.5 million visitors to the start of the event in Saint-Malo, Brittany.
Since 2019, Hervé is also in charge of outdoor events, overseeing the development of running activities demonstrated by the growth of the Generali Geneva marathon (22’000 participants in 2024) and the take-over of the Abalone Nantes Marathon in 2022.
At OC Sport, Hervé now leads a dynamic and passionate team of around 60 people based in Lausanne, Nantes and Lorient with a yearly turn-over of around 20M€.
Hervé believes that sport has the power to bring people together and create unforgettable experiences. His approach to management is based on collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to excellence. His goal is to continue developing sports events that inspire and unite participants from around the world. He introduced OC Sport commitment to sustainability and innovation, having introduced eco-friendly initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of their events.
Outside of work, Hervé is passionate about sailing, winter sports, cycling and mountaineering. He crossed twice the Atlantic solo in the Mini-Transat on a 6.50m boat before going for three years with his family around the world. He also finished an Ironman triathlon, cycled the equivalent of the mount Everest in one day (8848m of D+), climbed several 4000m mountains in the Alps and acts each winter as an International Referee for the International Biathlon Union.