Jean-Louis Louvel

EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Class of 2024, France
Founding President of PGS Group

Share the joy of Jean-Louis Louvel’s winning moment at Entrepreneur Of The Year™ France.

Jean-Louis Louvel helps carry businesses to success. 

Wooden pallets are used to transport 95% of the world’s goods, making them indispensable to business. Using this knowledge as his starting point, Jean-Louis Louvel founded PGS Group in 1993 with two friends as a small shop repairing wooden pallets so they could be reused — a testament to Jean-Louis’ concern for the environment and his desire to build a circular, ethical business.  

Today, the company is the European leader in wooden pallets, selling over 45 million new and recycled pallets every year. Since its founding, the company has implemented an environmentally friendly strategy to build an international business with more than 900 employees in nine countries. PGS Group has also diversified, embracing activities in forest management, sawmills, pallet production, reconditioning and recycling, and nail production.  

Jean-Louis says he is a born entrepreneur: “Entrepreneurs feel the need to move forward, have new ideas, follow our dreams and make our vision a reality.” With no formal qualifications but a great thirst for learning, he considers himself a graduate of the business world, where he learned everything from firsthand experience.