Denis Ranque, born 1952, is a graduate of France’s Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines ParisTech.
He began his career at the French Ministry for Industry, in the energy sector, before joining Thomson-CSF in 1983.
After having held various operational positions in this Group, in electron tubes and sonar systems, he had been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of this group, renamed THALES, from 1998 to 2009.
He has been Chairman of the Board at TECHNICOLOR (2009-2012) and AIRBUS (2013-2020) and a director in Saint Gobain and CGG VERITAS, and now in CMA CGM.
He has also been Chairman of the board of Mines ParisTech, and Fondation de l’Ecole Polytechnique and Chairman of the Cercle de l’Industrie, an association which unites France’s biggest industrial companies.
He has been Chairman of the National Academy of Technologies of France since January 2022, and President of the CAETS Board of Directors (2022).
Gérard Creuzet has a scientific background as a solid state physicist. After graduating at Ecole Normale Supérieure, he obtained a PhD thesis and a “Doctorat d’Etat” thesis at Orsay University. As a researcher in French CNRS, Gerard Creuzet is the author or co-author of 80 publications.
Among other subjects, Gérard Creuzet is one of the co-author of the discovery of giant magnetoresistance in 1988, leading to the Nobel Prize of Albert Fert in 2007.
In 1987, he moved to industry, beginning with various positions in R&D in Thales (professional electronics) and Valeo (automotive equipments) where he was Chief Technical Officer in 1996, and in 1999 General Manager of the Motors & Actuators Branch. In 2001, he moved to EDF as Senior VP for strategy and development, reaching the position of Chief Operating Officer in 2003.
Since 2006, Gérard Creuzet is an independent consultant on strategy and management. He is currently working essentially as General Delegate of the “Groupe des Ecoles Centrale” regrouping 5 engineering schools in France (Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Lille and Marseille) and 3 international locations (Beijing, Hyderabad, Casablanca).
He is also Chairman of IPVF, a research Institute for photovoltaic compounds. Gérard Creuzet is a fellow of the French “Académie des Technologies”, Delegate for foreign affairs.