APRC Group strengthens its Executive Committee with the arrival of Olivier Barge
“With experience at Bouygues Construction, Goodman, and Prologis, Olivier Barge’s career has always been synonymous with major groups, real estate, and a diversity of roles. As head of Afilog’s Innovation Commission (French Association for Logistics Real Estate) and of the working group on the Reciprocal Commitments Charter with the State, Olivier Barge is also a seasoned expert in the logistics real estate sector. By joining the Lyon-based holding APRC Group as Chief Operating Officer and taking on the role of Managing Director of its subsidiary APRC, his mission is to support the growth—particularly international—of the company led by Karim Abdellaoui.
Coming from a long line of entrepreneurs in the construction sector, Olivier Barge began his career in 1991 at Bouygues Construction in France and later in the United Kingdom. Over 17 years, his experience took him from works to commercial activities and into real estate development, across all asset classes—including logistics from as early as 2001.
Three years as Technical Director France for the Australian operator Goodman confirmed his specialisation in the logistics real estate sector. But it was at Prologis, from 2012 onwards, that he became one of the leading specialists in an industry now recognised as a driving force of economic growth. As Head of Development Management for Southern Europe at the American group, Olivier also acted as CSR/Energy referent and innovation leader.
It was in this context that he became one of the first executives of a major group to successfully entrust APRC with a large-scale project—a 30,000 m² development that helped establish the credibility of the then very young company.
The relationship of trust forged on that occasion with Karim Abdellaoui—sharing the same respect for keeping one’s word and agility in decision-making—naturally leads today to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer of APRC Group and Managing Director of its general contracting subsidiary, APRC.
APRC Group has grown very quickly from around ten employees to more than 80 today. My mission is to support this growth by bringing my experience in organisation and development, particularly at the international level in countries I know well, such as Italy and Spain. The first challenge is to build local teams to respond to the many requests the Group has been receiving over the past few months.
My second objective is to orchestrate Karim Abdellaoui’s ambition to make execution quality one of the Group’s lasting hallmarks. Finally, my most motivating challenge is to support this born entrepreneur in each of his endeavours—whether in rolling out the joint venture created with 6e Sens Immobilier, 6e Sens UNIK, or in setting up a new structure dedicated to renewable energy production.
