Experience Matters

Deep tech companies rarely struggle because the technology doesn't work. They struggle to turn a hard-won technical advantage into a repeatable commercial engine — the right offer, the right route to market, the right business model.

That's the gap I help close. Over 25+ years I've sat on both sides of the table that most companies keep separate: leading global sales organisations and running product management. I've defined offers and brought new products to market, then built and led the international sales and pre-sales teams that had to sell them — across EMEA, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

I've worked across the full range of commercial models, which matters because deep tech products rarely fit just one. I've run direct sales to large strategic accounts and built indirect growth through partner and channel ecosystems. I've commercialised hardware, software and services, including subscription and license-based models. I'm equally comfortable on the contractual side: structuring and negotiating large multi-country deals, master purchasing agreements and partner agreements that hold up over time.

A few things that came out of that work: P&L responsibility for $100M+ businesses, double-digit compound growth in software revenue, and a successful integration of an acquired market leader with strong growth and zero unwanted attrition.

Underneath the commercial side is a genuine technical foundation — an MSc in Computer Science, two granted patents, coupled with an MBA from HEC Paris. The combination is the point: I can talk credibly to engineers and to buyers, and translate between the two.

Beyond advisory work, I invest in and mentor early-stage start-ups as a member of Grenoble Business Angels. It keeps me close to how young deep tech companies find their first customers and their footing — and it puts me on the investor's side of the table too. A commercial strategy has to win over prospective customers, but it also has to resonate with the investors backing the journey, and I help build strategies that speak to both.