Cadres pour l'entreprise (CPE)

What Cadres pour l'entreprise (CPE) does

Cadres pour l'Entreprise (CPE) is a French non-profit association (association loi 1901, SIRET 52320397400010) founded in 1986 and headquartered at 6 rue Albert de Lapparent in Paris's 7th arrondissement. It provides structured career-rebound support to experienced executives (cadres) who are unemployed or in career transition, primarily in the Île-de-France region. CPE reports having helped more than 3,000 executives relaunch their careers over nearly four decades, with an average time to re-employment of 4 to 6 months.

The association's core service is a structured member program built on weekly plenary meetings (50+ participants), small-group coaching ("Echanges entre Actifs"), a documented 18-workshop cycle, individual mentorship (parrainage), and collective dynamic work. Workshop modules include Projet Flash, Marketing and Communication CV, Pitch, LinkedIn Optimization, AI Tools for Job Search, Social Networks and AI, Stress Management, and English/cultural activities. The underlying technology stack is modest: a WordPress-based public website, a Kananas SaaS platform for back-office member management and contact forms, plus standard communications tooling including Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, a public LinkedIn page, a private LinkedIn group, and a YouTube channel (@cadrespourlentreprise3872). CPE operates no proprietary software, no mobile app, and no API.

CPE's business model is community-led and member-funded: prospective members submit an information request via the website, are contacted by a volunteer, attend an in-person meeting, and sign a charter committing to weekly participation. The association is funded by recurring membership contributions from adherents and is run almost entirely by volunteers who are themselves former members (former executives or business owners who became active after retirement). A secondary audience — recruiters and companies seeking senior executive talent — accesses member "projets flash" profiles through the public website. CPE has no parent company, no external investors, no acquisitions, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed revenue, and it is governed by a president (currently in transition following the December 2023 death of long-serving president Patrice Grenon) with annual general assemblies (most recently the 39th on March 18, 2025).

Name

Cadres pour l'entreprise (CPE)

Legal name

Association Cadres Pour l'Entreprise

Website

https://cadrentreprise.paris

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cadres pour l'Entreprise (CPE) is a French non-profit association founded in 1986 that helps experienced executives in career transition through a structured program of weekly plenary sessions, an 18-workshop cycle, small-group coaching, and alumni mentorship, operating primarily in Paris.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership contributions: As a non-profit association, Cadres Pour l'Entreprise is funded by membership contributions from its adherents. Members sign a charter committing to weekly participation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CPE is a Paris-based non-profit association founded in 1986 that provides structured career-transition support to experienced French executives ("cadres") seeking employment. Its core offering is a multi-month program combining weekly plenary meetings, a curated cycle of 18 thematic workshops, small-group coaching sessions, one-on-one alumni mentorship, and the "Projet Flash" member-profile showcase that surfaces members to corporate recruiters.

Product overview

Cadres pour l'Entreprise (CPE) is a non-profit association founded in 1986 that provides comprehensive career support services for experienced managers seeking employment. The organization offers a structured program combining weekly plenary sessions, group coaching, workshops, mentorship, and networking activities. The service portfolio includes workshops on professional positioning (Projet Flash, Pitch), self-marketing (Marketing CV workshop), digital presence (LinkedIn optimization, AI tools), stress management, and interview preparation. The Kananas platform serves as the back-office system for member management. CPE operates primarily in Paris with a network of volunteer former members now providing support to current job seekers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Career Transition and Job Search Program (Programme d'accompagnement)
• Projet Flash — Member Profile Showcase
• Coaching Space (Echanges entre Actifs)

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

AI capability4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Cadremploi: Major French job board and career-services platform dedicated to executives and managers. Comparable to CPE's target market (cadres in job search) but delivers services digitally at national scale rather than through in-person workshops and volunteer coaching.
• Réseau Entreprendre: French non-profit network supporting entrepreneurs with mentoring from experienced business leaders. Comparable to CPE in its volunteer-executor model, mutual-aid philosophy, and French non-profit structure, though focused on business creation rather than executive job placement.

Direct peers

• Force Femmes: French non-profit supporting women executives (45+) in career transition. Closely mirrors CPE's audience (senior cadres), community-led mentorship model, and Paris-headquartered operations, with a differentiated segment focus on gender.
• Transitions Pro (Transitions Collectives): French association providing career transition support for executives facing redundancy or career change. Compares to CPE on target population (senior cadres in transition) and structured program delivery, though Transitions Pro operates regionally via public funding.
• APEC (Association Pour l'Emploi des Cadres): France's leading executive employment association, funded by employer contributions. Directly comparable to CPE in mission (helping cadres find jobs) and audience (experienced executives), but operates at national scale with paid staff and digital tools rather than a volunteer-led Paris-only model.

Regional players

• NQT (Nos Quartiers ont des Talents): French non-profit pairing young graduates with experienced professional mentors for employment support. Comparable to CPE's mentor-driven, community-led structure and French non-profit model, though focused on youth employment rather than senior cadres.

Others

• Michael Page France: Leading international executive recruitment firm with substantial French operations. Comparable to CPE in serving experienced executive job seekers, but as a paid recruitment intermediary rather than a volunteer-led support association.
• Hays France: International recruitment firm with a strong French executive search practice. Comparable to CPE as a channel connecting experienced executives with French employers, but operates as a paid commercial recruiter rather than a member-supported association.

Broad incumbents

• LHH (Lee Hecht Harrison): Global career-transition and outplacement firm (part of ADPM Group). Directly comparable to CPE's executive outplacement function but operates at global scale via corporate-paid contracts, contrasting with CPE's volunteer-driven, individual-member approach.
• ManpowerGroup (Right Management): Global outplacement and career-transition provider operating in France through Right Management. Overlaps with CPE's mission of helping executives find new roles, but delivers services through paid corporate contracts and digital platforms rather than a community model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cadrespourlentreprise3872
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cadres-pour-l'entreprise-cpe-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cadres pour l'entreprise (CPE)