With the acquisition of Aleris by Novelis, I join Novelis as SVP Chief Technology Officer. Member of the Executive Committee, I contribute to shape the strategy of the Company. I have under my direct responsibility the definition and deployment of the R&D activities. They include the Customer Solution Centers, working in simultaneous engineering with our customers to enhance the speed of adoption of the solutions we develop and to get the deep understanding of their needs to guide the definition of our R&D. As the largest Aluminum flat rolled product producer and Aluminum recycler in the world, Novelis plays a leading role to shape a sustainable world together and commits to meet net zero carbon neutrality by 2050. The R&D activities are defined and executed to enable this objective, making sustainability the backbone of our product, process, and solutions development. Taking full advantage of the infinite recycling ability of Aluminum we also allow our customers to meet their own sustainability and strategic targets and transform the industry together. The R&D resources are further deployed and strengthened, building on our culture to win together. Our scientific and R&D ecosystem is grown to nurture best-in-class partnerships, and continuously accelerate the pace of innovation, embracing the opportunities of the mega trends. My activity as co-chair of the European Aluminium Innovation Hub helps promoting the cooperation at the level of the Aluminum industry, and beyond, to take up successfully the environmental challenges ahead of us. Health and Safety remains in the center of my radar screen, and I am very proud of the ongoing excellent results of my teams worldwide.

Recruited to build Technology in Aleris, I have organized the teams worldwide around decentralized Innovation Centers to be at the same time close to major operations and to key customers. I was responsible for global R&D, Product Process Technology, Quality and Intellectual Property. Member of the Global Leadership Team and of the European and Global Market Leadership Team, I have brought my leadership, passion and expertise to transform Aleris into an even more performing Company. I have engaged my teams to play a key role, enabling the profitable growth of the Company via Customer Intimacy, Innovation and Operational Excellence. The product portfolio has been continuously upgraded, major investments have been designed and successfully started. As examples, Aleris has been the first Company to offer the manufacturing of the most demanding Aircraft material in Europe and Asia Pacific, and Automotive Body Sheet capacity has been more than tripled in Europe and North America. This resulted in excellent feedback from customers, positioning Aleris with highest suppliers´ ranking and awards. Safety has been always key and having passed early 2018 more than 3 million hours with Injury Illness Rate and Days Away From Work both at zero for the 320+ people reporting to me has been an immense satisfaction. I have been one of the founders of the European Aluminium Association Innovation Task Force, which I have chaired, to add momentum to the Aluminium cooperative research, and contribute to the definition of an R&D vision in Europe.

At the helm of R&D and Technology, I was part of the team which transformed this small but very competent French foundry, making parts to customer's design, into the global technology leader of cylinder head manufacturing and design, present on 3 continents, and innovation partner of the major Automotive OEMs. Growing the R&D from 2 engineers to more than 120 people, innovating in material, process, equipment, and plant design has differentiated Montupet from competition. The solutions developed have enabled unprecedented progress in engine downsizing, fuel consumption and emission, but also operational performance at Montupet, on base of highly flexible and standard equipment. As I believe that an industry needs a healthy environment to win, I was one of the founders of the Regional Research Agency and of IndustriLAB an organization bringing Schools, Universities and Industry together, both in Picardie - France. I was also honored to be member and for some time chairman of the Advanced Casting Research Center at the Metal Processing Institute - University of Worcester MA USA.

This position as production manager in the Aircraft forge shop of Forgeal was short but intense and effective, fulfilling my mandate to stabilize operations. I was in charge of Aluminum hand and precision forging, heat treatment and machining. The scrap rate was cut by 10 for precision forgings, making them production capable, restoring the OTIF. From a human point of view it was a great learning, motivating my teams and finding ways to cooperate with tough union leaders. From a technical point of view, making on the 67 000 metric ton press some of biggest and most difficult precision forgings of that time was a source of pride for the team.

I am very thankful to Pechiney who recruited me after my military service to lead the development of Aluminium Lithium alloys, a new generation of Aircraft material, which turned out to be their biggest material R&D project ever. In a very limited amount of time, making best use of the remarkable resources of the CRV, of intense modelling and of quick loops of physical iterations in the plants, a new family of material (8090, 2091...) was developed for hot and cold rolled, forged , extruded, cold drawn products, contributing to secure the Aluminium solutions for the next generations of aircraft. This project positioned Pechiney - Constellium in a leading role for this type of material, a position the Company has kept and reinforced since. Outstanding scientific progress was made at the same time, evidencing in particular that quasi-crystals are a stable state of metallic material. In parallel I led the central fatigue testing, heat treatment and creep testing laboratories. Being in charge of the R&D for SMG (Societe Metallurgique de Gerzat), I developed the alloy 7060 for very high pressure aluminum bottles, opening new markets to them.

Doing my military service as Officer in the French Navy was a great experience, not only for navigation but also for teaching nuclear physics to the crews serving on the nuclear submarines.Teaching also nuclear physics to future engineers in the CNAM, Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers added more experience with completely different classes.