Speaker: Opening General Session - What's the (Next) Big Idea?

Jean-Luc is a recognized expert in the fields of strategy, engineering, development, and deployment of networks.
With his broad international experience in the telecommunications industry and a passion for emerging technologies, he has been recently appointed as a special executive advisor on advanced telecommunication technologies to the Orange CEO and to the Orange Chairman.

With over 30 years at Orange, Jean-Luc has held numerous leadership positions involving the management of French and international technical teams.
He has notably served as the CEO of two national mobile operators: Cyrtel in Congo-Brazzaville and Mobilecom in Jordan. Jean-Luc has also been the CTO of Optimus in Portugal.

Subsequently, Jean-Luc has held several high-ranking positions in France, including Deputy Regional Director of France Telecom in Paris, Regional Director of France Telecom for the Aquitaine region, Technical Director of Networks and Services at Orange France, and most recently, Director of International Networks and Services for the Orange Group.

In his last role, Jean-Luc, along with his teams, was responsible with his 2500 network and service experts worldwide team , of the deployment, operation, and protection of all international networks within the Orange Group.

He has also chaired during nearly 10 years, Orange Marine, a 100% Orange subsidiary specialized in the laying and maintenance of submarine cables, with a fleet of seven cable-laying ships.
Jean-Luc has also been a board member of several Orange group subsidiaries in France and internationally, including Europe, Russia, Africa, and Oceania.

In his roles, he has been a pioneer in introducing new technologies such as artificial intelligence, network function virtualization, and service cloudification into the group's networks.
Currently, in addition to his ongoing advisory role with Orange's top management, Jean-Luc is responsible for defining and coordinating the group's policy in several cutting-edge technology areas, such as quantum transmission networks and advanced communication systems for the new space.

Born in 1959, he earned a bachelor's degree in science from the University of Toulouse in 1981, followed by a master's degree in computer science from the University of Lyon 3 in 1986, and a military engineering diploma in 1988. He also holds an MBA from HEC Paris.
Deeply committed to national sovereignty issues, Jean-Luc is a former Auditor and President of the 2nd IHEDN (Institute of Advanced Studies in National Defense) national session on maritime issues and strategy. He is also a former Auditor of the 1st IHEDN/INHESJ national session on national digital sovereignty and cybersecurity.

Lastly, he holds the rank of Captain of the Reserve of Security and Defense of the French National Navy and is a Knight of the Order of Maritime Merit.