How Deel’s Combative Father-Son Duo Sparked a Spy Scandal

Philippe Bouaziz has always expected his only son to fight—and to fight alongside him. He made his hope plainly apparent on the day he chose his son’s name: Alexandre, a deliberate homage to Alexander the Great, the ancient Macedonian conqueror, Philippe has told people with evident pride. The name tied Alex closely together with his father. After all, Alexander the Great’s own father was named Philip.

Since 2019, father and son have labored side by side on Deel, a fast-growing software startup recently valued at $12 billion. Alex, 31, is CEO. Philippe, 59, is chairman and chief financial officer—positions he has juggled with other business interests in his native France while living in the Middle East. (For a time, he was also Deel’s general counsel even though he has no legal background.) In addition, at least four other Bouazizes have or had had roles at Deel.

Together, father and son have courted investors, attracting some of the most high-profile ones in Silicon Valley, including Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management and General Catalyst. And on multiple occasions, father and son have been combative with partners and competitors—including an alleged corporate espionage campaign against Rippling, their top rival.