Olivier Salesse has been director of rail transport at the Autorité de régulation des transports (ART) since December 2017. He holds a postgraduate diploma (DEA) and a master's degree (magistère) in industrial economics from the University of Paris XIII (Paris-Nord). His professional career was split between strategy and regulatory economics consultancies (PriceWaterhouseCooopers and TERA Consultants), from 2000 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2016, and the La Poste group, from 2002 to 2010, where he was head of the regulatory accounting department and head of the cost modelling unit for the mail division (from 2002 to 2010). He joined ARAFER (which became ART in 2020) in September 2016, where he was responsible for regulating rail service facilities and managing issues relating to the opening up of domestic passenger rail transport services to competition, before taking over as Director of Rail Transport.