Lausanne Metropolitan Area
I am currently managing the OCP group innovation platform on the EPFL university campus in Lausanne, Switzerland. I have a passion for open innovation, user experience and art, especially the intersection between Tech and Art (cf. my contribution in https://www.kultur.art/) . Very curious, I love to interact with different stakeholders (laboratories, institutions, startups etc.) and define shared vision / roadmaps. A creative thinker, I have strong analytical skills and a lot of common sense which I love to use. Skills acquired over the years : Open innovation (IP management, innovation portfolio, technology segmentation), HMI and UX design, VC investing, financial analysis, web 3.0 use cases, and a great ability to sort complexity out of markets and technologies through segmentation. I speak and read fluently in Mandarin Chinese (12 years spent in China) and recently got a 2-years training, out of curiosity, on the Christian heritage of the western hemisphere.
Am using my experience in open innovation, and leveraging the Swiss EPFL innovation ecosystem, to help Moroccan institutions in their innovation-related efforts : - OCP (www.ocp.com), world leader in phosphorus products - UM6P (https://um6p.ma/fr) , the fastest growing university in Africa (if not in the world), along with its soon to be healthcare innovation cluster (https://ledesk.ma/2022/06/22/health-care-city-le-nouvel-hopital-de-lum6p-en-voie-de-concretisation/) - InnovX (https://innovx.ma/), the newly created national platform for disruptive innovation in Morocco, involved in numerous industrial and digital projects, with a strong focus on green technologies and substainable development (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/11/03/climate-investments-will-reap-big-dividends-for-morocco-says-world-bank-report) Responsibilities include : - Bringing disruptive technologies from laboratories and startups into operations - Providing guidance on corporate <> universities <> startup ecosystems innovation best practices, benchmarks, and organizational structures Focus on AI and industry 4.0 ; AgTech; Co2 friendly and other substainable technologies (solar, CCU, green fuels such as H2 and methanol, carbon credits) ; healthcare
Carrying out "skin-in-the-game" investments with my own money, to earn money (hopefully) and to learn (in any case). Focus on deeptech and software companies. > Small stake investor in 10+ startups with www.verve.vc and one-on-one investment agreements. > Small stake investor in TGV4 VC fund - https://www.tgv4plus.com/ > Liquidity provider and staker on several blockchains (Eth, Terra, Atom, Avax, Matic etc.)
Initiated and managed cooperative R&D efforts with external partners (laboratories, startups, SMEs) by identifying skill gaps and appropriate partners, negotiating IP and cooperation budgets, building industrial consortium, identifying and applying for subsidized projects. > Identified technology gaps within PSA research & product portfolio : electrified powertrains and batteries, autonomous and connected vehicle, artificial intelligence and digital modeling etc. > Scouted for new technologies within EPFL’s ecosystem by reaching out to startups, laboratories and multinationals > Launched 10+ new research projects, by defining research roadmaps and objectives aligned with market and engineering teams' needs > Managed IP, project milestones and deliverables with external partners Illustration with car PV panels : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az78MDbfXjk
> Main China interlocutor for the Advanced Engineering Division (500 engineers and researchers) ; in charge of all projects and technologies with time-to-market > 3 years. > Built from scratch a multi-disciplinary team : market analysis, User eXperience, idea generation (creativity workshops and creativity webplatforms), driving simulation for Human Machine Interface evaluation. > Helped transform PSA from a hardware manufacturer to an Internet Of Things player 1. Innovation opportunities analysis and exploration : > Identified market trends and needs, screened available technologies, defined time-to-market with headquarters development and marketing teams > Provided PSA headquarters with innovation insights based on the Chinese automotive market needs > Initiated and organized open innovation events : idea challenges and creativity sessions involving other parties (suppliers, start-ups or university students) 2. IOT, HMI and connected applications : > Managed PSA HMI usability laboratory in Shanghai : user tests of different functions/applications for different types of multimodal Human Machine Interfaces (voice, gesture, touchscreen, etc.) > Identified key applications needed to meet Chinese market needs, negotiated with Chinese third-party applications strategic partnerships and defined roadmaps for on-board integration on next-generation vehicles
〉Identified strengths-weaknesses of PSA R&D portfolio for the Chinese market ; coordinated France and China R&D center’s activity. Provided PSA France with an understanding of Chinese customers needs and acceptance towards innovation. 〉Led open innovation initiatives of PSA in China : 2.0 innovation communities, development of PSA R&D partnerships with Chinese universities, laboratories and suppliers. Core areas covered : telematics and on-board applications, powertrain electrification, ADAS, health
> In my spare time with a Chinese partner, launched a smartphone tourist application concept for Chinese travelers distributed on Chinese Android forks marketplaces (安卓市场， 安智市场...) > Achieved and learned : entrepreuneurship, product definition, interface design and coding, social media, fund raising, lean start-up, business model definition > EmilyAPP was second finalist at the 2013 Mobile Monday start-up challenge and 2013 GSMA world congress hold in Shanghai : https://mobilemondayshanghai.net/partners Had to give up on the project because of new responsibilities with PSA.