Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson, OM’s rising power behind the scenes | OneFootball

Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson, 56, is stepping up in Olympique de Marseille’s corridors of power, intent on championing Frank McCourt’s interests. A board member since 2022, she became supervisory board chair in 2024.

According to L'Équipe, Ligue 1 chiefs saw her in action on 12 November during a video call from the United States alongside Pablo Longoria. She spoke for about 10 minutes, thanked FFF president Philippe Diallo and probed governance reform.

Her focus has turned to the PPL, the professional sport bill. Some club figures question her parallel work with a law firm and interventions outside the electoral framework, noting Longoria is OM’s official representative. Early November emails to Victoriano Melero and Olivier Létang, objecting to exclusion from a PPL meeting at the federation, raised eyebrows.

McCourt’s camp rejects suggestions she will replace Longoria, but sees her legal expertise as a plus. She joined Longoria in November to meet new Sports Minister Marina Ferrari, often meets senator Michel Savin, and in late spring attended an unofficial LFP, CVC and owners meeting as OM’s lone attendee.

Born in Tehran to journalist Mehdi Semsar, she studied in France and at Georgetown, graduating in international finance. From 2013 she shared a Georgetown board with McCourt, who later put her in charge of Project Liberty in 2021 and made her CEO in January 2023.

Former Politico Europe colleagues portray a precise, driven operator with a collaborative streak. She led the Brussels outlet to profit by 2020 and keeps interests across journalism, armagnac and art.

Source: L'Équipe