Clara Chappaz joins the Élysée as advisor for attractiveness, digital and AI
Clara Chappaz joins Emmanuel Macron’s office as Advisor responsible for attractiveness, digital technology and artificial intelligence. Former director of the French Tech Mission then Deputy Minister in charge of AI and Digital, she takes over the files followed by Victoire Vandeville and Claire Vernet-Garnier. Its scope will bring together promotion of the French ecosystem, digital sovereignty and protection of minors facing the risks of platforms.
Marc-Antoine Brillant leaves VIGINUM to launch a counter-intervention agency with HAVAS
Marc-Antoine Brillant will leave the management of VIGINUM at the beginning of October to create with HAVAS an agency advising companies and managers in the face of information threats. A former army officer formerly with ANSSI, he led the Honfleur Task Force then prefigured VIGINUM in 2021, before taking charge in October 2023. HAVAS thus recovers expertise built at the intersection of military operations, cybersecurity and the fight against foreign manipulation. Anne-Sophie Dhiver will act as interim manager at VIGINUM, seven months before the presidential election
SANOFI strengthens its German management in the face of tensions over drug prices
Madeleine Roach will become, on September 1, 2026, Country President of SANOFI in Germany and will also take responsibility for the organization bringing together Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This newly created function will centralize the group’s activities and representation in its third largest global market, behind the United States and China. SANOFI places this reorganization in a context of increasing pressure on prices and access to treatments, between the American most favored nation policy and the German reform of health insurance financing.
Grégoire de Tilly succeeds Nicolas d’Audiffret at the head of ANKORSTORE
Former director of JUMIA and LA RUCHE QUI DIT OUI!, Grégoire de Tilly took over as president of ANKORSTORE, replacing his co-founder Nicolas d’Audiffret. He inherits a marketplace which raised 365 million euros, but also underwent several restructurings after years of hypergrowth. His roadmap consists of refocusing the company on its initial mission, namely connecting independent brands to local businesses and developing the financial and operational services that differentiate them from SHEIN or TEMU. Find his interview with our colleagues at BFM BUSINESS
Adrien Facon takes charge of the Defense Innovation Agency
By order of the Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin, Adrien Facon takes over as director of the Defense Innovation Agency from September 1, 2026, succeeding Patrick Aufort. Polytechnician, Corps des Mines engineer and doctor in quantum physics, since 2024 he has advised the government on industry, AI, quantum and digital sovereignty. His appointment confirms the growing rapprochement between military innovation, dual technologies and industrial policy.
Manon Alix joins CAILABS to manage public affairs
Manon Alix joins CAILABS as Head of Public Affairs and Institutional Relations. She will be responsible for strengthening Rennes’ deeptech relationships with public stakeholders, as its photonic technologies and secure communications solutions take on increasing importance in defense and sovereignty policies.
Thomas Grjebine becomes general rapporteur of the High Commission for Strategy and Planning
Thomas Grjebine takes office on September 1, 2026 after leading the “International Macroeconomics and Finance” program at CEPII. A specialist in industrial policies and deindustrialization dynamics, he had already coordinated the report for the High Commission European industry facing the Chinese steamroller. His appointment strengthens the economic and industrial orientation of the institution in a context of European reindustrialization and increased competition with China.
Guillaume Ghyselinck joins SPORE.BIO to manage machine learning applications
Guillaume Ghyselinck joins SPORE.BIO as Machine Learning Applications Lead. He comes from DENTALMONITORING, where he spent thirteen years developing computer vision architectures within this medtech that became a unicorn, until obtaining FDA authorization for one of its medical devices. His recruitment should help SPORE.BIO transform its AI models into applications deployed on an industrial scale.
Olivier Pailhes takes over the management of AIRCALL
Olivier Pailhes, co-founder of AIRCALL, returns to his role as CEO with the objective of getting closer to the product and customers. The company is also accelerating in AI voice agents, designed to absorb part of the call volume and reserve the highest value conversations for human teams. This return to control thus accompanies AIRCALL’s transition from cloud telephony to a platform combining voice automation and human interactions.
Dominique Danaë takes over as director of JFD
Dominique Danaë takes over as director of JFD, fifteen years after the creation of the organization by Delphine Remy-Boutang. The founder remains fully committed to him, but now entrusts him with operational management and the embodiment of her actions. This appointment thus opens a new phase of governance
Anil Chakravarthy to succeed Shantanu Narayen as head of ADOBE
Anil Chakravarthy will become president and CEO of ADOBE on December 1 and join its board of directors. Arriving in 2020 after leading INFORMATICA, he currently manages the Group’s Customer Experience Orchestration activities and global commercial operations. Shantanu Narayen will become executive chairman after eighteen years as CEO, at a time when ADOBE must adapt its creative and marketing franchises to the rise of software natively designed around AI.
