In 1949, the American industrialist Walter Paepcke brought together some fifty intellectuals and businessmen in Aspen, Colorado. This meeting, notably attended by Dr Schweitzer, gave rise to a new form of dialogue on the economy and society. The Aspen Institute was born, motivated by humanistic values and a novel, open-minded philosophy.

Since then, the Aspen Institute has left its mark, enriching the reflections of several generations of leaders around the world and exercising an indirect but constructive influence on the principal international debates.

The same values are the driving force behind the work and debates at the Aspen Institutes.

Institut Aspen France was created by Olivier Mellerio in 1983. Through the impetus of its Chairman, Raymond Barre, the former Prime Minister of France, the head office was set up in Lyon in 1994 as part of a partnership with the local authorities.
Michel Pébereau, President, BNP Paribas, succeeded Raymond Barre in November 2004.