He was President of the Conseil national du patronat français, the main pro-business organization in France, from 1981 to 1986.

[3] Gattaz served on the board of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique from 1979 to 1981.

[3] He served as the President of the Conseil national du patronat français, the main pro-business organization in France, from 1981 to 1986.

[2][5] He was criticized by Ambroise Roux, the founder of the French Association of Private Enterprises, who thought the Conseil national du patronat français under Gattaz's leadership was not sufficiently forceful in pushing back against President François Mitterrand's socialist policy of nationalization.

[6] Gattaz founded Association Jeunesse et Entreprises, a non-profit organization which brings young people and the business world together, in 1986.