Catherine Lagneau a été renouvelée en tant que présidente-directrice générale du BRGM le 19 mars 2025.
© BRGM
Since her appointment as BRGM Chair and CEO in September 2023, Catherine Lagneau has been implementing the 2023-2027 Contract of Objectives, Resources and Performance (COMP).
She was responsible for updating the 10-year science strategy, which redefines BRGM's scientific priorities for the next ten years in response to changes in socio-economic, economic, geopolitical and climate-related issues. It will be implemented in 2025 through the six programmes defined in the strategy.
Simplifying the organisation to support BRGM's increased activity
The revision of the scientific strategy has led BRGM to adapt its internal organisation at the same time. Better aligned with the challenges it is facing and the ambitious goals it is pursuing, the new structure is designed to support the increased workload and simplify the way the company operates.
Focused on science, this adaptation of BRGM's organisation improves the link between the establishment's priorities, its scientific teams and the corresponding technical resources (analytical capacities, experimental platforms, IT resources). It is also making its specialised expertise easier to understand, which should encourage partnerships.
This adaptation will also involve simplifying the way the institution operates, to facilitate the management of scientific projects and optimise production capacity. These are also being developed through the creation of two new quasi-autonomous subsidiaries:
- BRGM Explore for technical operations to acquire data in the field, and
- BRGM Num to develop digital solutions with a high level of technological maturity, to meet the needs of public authorities and private companies.
The reappointment of Catherine Lagneau as Chair and CEO will ensure the continuity and smooth development of the initiatives underway.
It is a great joy, and a profound honour, to continue to work with BRGM teams. They are passionate, committed men and women who carry out an essential mission every day, that of understanding the Earth to better prepare for the future. Faced with the climate emergency and the imperative need to rebuild our sovereignty, the French geological survey has a decisive role to play. I am driven by the desire to further strengthen this dynamic, so that our institution can continue, with rigour, openness and boldness, to use science to inform decisions, protect regions and contribute to building a sustainable future.
Catherine Lagneau's career
A graduate of the École normale supérieure in Paris, where she obtained a degree in mathematics applied to finance, then of the École des mines in Business and Public Administration, Catherine Lagneau joined the Lorraine Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and the Environment (DRIRE) in 2007 as Head of the Industrial development division reporting to the Regional Prefect.
In 2010, she added to her experience of the business world in Lorraine by joining the Regional Directorate for companies, competition, consumer affairs, labour and employment (DIRECCTE), which she left in 2012 to become Deputy Director of the École des Mines d’Alès.
Since 2017, Catherine Lagneau has been Deputy Director of the École des Mines de Paris. She has also joined the General Economic Council at the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance. She is responsible for managing the mining engineer corps and career management, while also acting as ambassador for France's strategy for mid-sized companies (ETI) to the Minister for Industry.
Catherine Lagneau also took part in drafting the report on the Haute Fonction Publique (High-ranking French Civil Service), which was submitted in 2020. She was also a director of Bpifrance until 2023.
She was appointed Chair of BRGM in September 2023.
