Portrait of Stephan Ramoin,
President of Gandi SAS

CEO, Stephan Ramoin

Born in Nice in 1971, Stephan Ramoin, graduated from Paris XII University, France with a Masters Degree in Marketing and Management.

In 1995, he began his professional career as Key Export Areas Sales Manager at VIVENDI UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING GROUP. At that time, he was responsible for the development of over 100 publishers including Larousse, Nathan, Bordas, Pocket, and Laffont for the French market. He played an essential role within the company as Indian Ocean and Maghreb Sales Director, and strongly contributed to introducing and developing multimedia products sales (Video Games and educational CD-Roms), specifically in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, West Africa, and French Reunion Island.

In 2000, Ramoin joined the French start-up MULTIMANIA S.A, as Partnerships Director. Once LYCOS Europe Gmbh acquired Multimania, he then contributed to the restructuring of the BU’s organization. In 2001, he acquired the role of Director of Product Management within the Hosting Product Department, creating the first paid services within the company, and managed growth with "reach from free products". He rapidly acquired a solid knowledge of the industry, and with his oversight, LYCOS Europe succeeded in the acquisition of United Domain AG in 2003 and its conversion to Secure Domain Name, a strategic product. Then, following a promotion to European Managing Director of the Hosting Services BU, he created the Lycos Customer Care Center to focus on consumer needs and develop transversal synergies with Product Managers.

The combination of his experience in the field of Domain Names, his seeing the potential for the development of such an industry, and his curiosity for new challenges led Ramoin to be interested in the sale of Gandi in 2005. Along with three other partners and investors, he raised the 15 million Euros required to finance the LBO of Gandi, the largest domain name registrar in France, and 6th in the EU. He is now the CEO.

Today, thanks to his visionary leadership and strong managerial skills, he oversees the ongoing development of Gandi, with the objective of maintaining its position as the alternative provider of domain name services. Since its acquisition in 2005, Gandi has grown from 7 to nearly 100 employees and has seen annual growth rates in excess of 30% per year.