Joël Lautier is a French chess Grandmaster and former president of the Association of Chess Professionals. He was born on April 12, 1973, in Canada but grew up in France.
He focused on collaboration and representation for professional chess players, becoming Vice-President of the Grandmasters Association in 1991 and co-founding the Association of Chess Professionals in 2003, before serving as its president from 2004 to 2005.
Lautier has not been as active in chess since 2005, instead working as a business consultant in Russia. He speaks multiple languages, including French, English, Japanese, German and Russian. He is also known for his relationship with Woman Grandmaster Almira Skripchenko.