Built to Perform : How Gerflor won the US Market

The Alliance Française de Chicago, in partnership with the French American Chamber of Commerce (FACC), is excited to present this informative and interesting conference on the topic of sport and business.

Built to Perform: How Gerflor Won the U.S. Market tells the story of a French company that successfully adapted to the American sports business ecosystem through strategic innovation, cultural agility, and a sharp portfolio approach. 

As part of the FACC’s new Business of Sport series, this conference highlights how sport can be a powerful driver of market entry, innovation, and brand strategy.

Featuring Michel Rochard, Director Sport & Education at Gerflor, interviewed by Jean-Pierre Le Cannelier, Founder & President of Marketing Movers, this conversation offers a concrete, business-driven perspective on international growth through sport.

About the Speakers

Michel Rochard is Director of Sport & Education at Gerflor, where he leads the company’s global strategy at the intersection of sports flooring, innovation, and market development. With more than 30 years of experience in the international sports surfaces industry, he has built and scaled high-performing product portfolios across Europe and the United States. Michel has held senior leadership roles at Armstrong DLW, Limonta Sport, and Gerflor, where he consistently drove international expansion, brand portfolio optimization, and profitable growth. His career spans product strategy, sales leadership, and business unit management, including launching new sports product lines, restructuring portfolios, opening new markets, and significantly improving margins in highly competitive environments.

A strong advocate of international collaboration, Michel is a Board Member of the FACC and a French Foreign Trade Advisor, actively supporting cross-border economic development between France and the United States.

He holds an MBA in Marketing from EMLyon business school, along with advanced training in finance and accounting from London Business School and IAE Brussels.

Jean-Pierre Le Cannelier is President and Co-Founder of Marketing Movers, a Chicago-based consultancy helping international companies successfully enter and grow in the U.S. market. He works hands-on with leadership teams to design and execute go-to-market strategies that translate strong products into real commercial traction—connecting brands to their first U.S. customers and scaling from there.

With more than 30 years of experience across consumer goods, technology, entertainment, and food, Jean-Pierre brings a pragmatic, execution-driven approach to market entry. Having lived and worked across four continents, he firmly believes that connecting cultures is central to business success, and that understanding local market dynamics is just as critical as having the right product or strategy.

Through Marketing Movers, he focuses on clarity, speed to market, and tangible outcomes—helping companies navigate positioning, pricing, channels, and partnerships in complex and competitive environments.

Jean-Pierre is a member of the FACC and Co-Chair of their Marketing Club.