San Francisco, California, United States
A former diplomat, used to deal with crisis situations (war, literally), negotiation and people's psychology. Then changed career path: now support VC investments in tech startups and try to help founders thrive. Passionate about learning, getting things done and helping people. Being in your comfortable zone is boring.
As Consul general of France in San Francisco, my activities mainly focused on the following : - Building a strong business network, mostly in the high tech sector; - Supporting business development of French corporations and start-ups; - Supporting US corporations or start-ups investments in France; - Building a bridge between US investors and the French Government, at a high level; - Achieving academic partnerships between Californian and French universities and research institutions; - Promoting French culture (and "art de vivre", i.e gastronomy !) in the US.
As Secretary general of the 25th France - Africa Summit, I organized an international Summit with 42 Heads of States, 110 Ministers and 400 CEO's (including CEO's of the biggest French corporations). Leading a wonderful team of more than 100 people (logistics, protocol and economic affairs), this Summit was focused on ways to boost economic development in Africa. Heads of States as well as CEO's qualified this Summit as a "première" and "a great success".