Portrait of Soria Zidelkhile, founding president of Szia Conseil

The founder

Twenty years alongside leaders and institutions

Soria Zidelkhile advises presidents, executive teams and organisations on their communications, their positioning and sensitive situations. She founded Szia Conseil in November 2019.

She began her career at the agency Adgency Advanced Communication, where she developed new business, produced strategic recommendations and research, and took charge of strategic planning. Her accounts there included Transdev, SNCF, RATP and DIM.

At the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF), she was first deputy to the director of communications and marketing. She created the institution’s first annual report, published every year since, reorganised the department and its supplier processes, and brought part of its functions in-house. She handled press relations for the French delegation at the Athens Games in 2004 and the Turin Games in 2006.

As director of communications, she led the department, its budget and a team of five to ten people: campaigns, publishing, web and social media, press relations, events, public relations, crisis communications. She oversaw the redesign of the logo and visual identity of the institution and of the French Olympic team, which won the Stratégies 2015 design award in the sport category, and defined the digital and social media strategy.

She directed France’s media operations at the Beijing Games in 2008, Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012, as well as at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010 and Innsbruck in 2012. She handled press relations for the presidents of the CNOSF, Henri Sérandour and then Denis Masseglia, and worked as a trainer for elite athletes, notably at the Athletes’ Forum, alongside journalists from RMC, L’Équipe and France Télévisions.

Since 2019, she has led consulting engagements for federations, companies, local authorities and leaders. The trade press readily presents her as a crisis management specialist; she points out that this is only one part of her work.

This background shapes the way she works: senior, multidisciplinary counsel, as much at ease with strategy as with the urgency of a crisis or the dynamics of influence. She favours a direct relationship built on trust — an experienced, candid and available counterpart, from the first conversation through to implementation.

Milestones

Early career

Adgency Advanced Communication

Strategic planning, new business, research.

CNOSF

Deputy to the director of communications and marketing

Athens 2004, Turin 2006. The institution’s first annual report.

CNOSF

Director of communications

Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, London 2012. Stratégies 2015 design award.

Since November 2019

Founding president of Szia Conseil

Counsel to leaders, organisations and institutions.

Education

1999 – 2001

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, Information and Communication

CELSA – École des hautes études en sciences de l’information et de la communication. Specialisation in operational marketing and communication.

2006 – 2007

Executive MBA — Management, Communications and Society

CELSA – École des hautes études en sciences de l’information et de la communication.