1 September 2023.
Catherine Lagneau took up her post as Chair and CEO of BRGM on 1 September 2023.
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A graduate of the École normale supérieure in Paris, where she obtained a degree in mathematics applied to finance and then trained at 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 under the aegis of the Prefecture.
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 also joined the General Economic Council at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, where she is responsible for managing the careers of all graduates of the École des Mines, while also acting as ETI ambassador (to intermediate-sized companies) for 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 has, moreover, been in charge of administering Bpifrance since 2020.
On 13 July, on the recommendation of the Board of Governors, she was appointed Chair and CEO of BRGM by ministerial decree, replacing Michèle Rousseau, who had retired on April 1, after Christophe Poinssot had taken over as interim Managing Director. Her mandate officially begins on 1 September 2023.
As an external observer I have seen the extent to which BRGM is recognised for its research, its expertise, its support for public authorities and its presence both in France and abroad. The government’s expectations of BRGM are high, to meet the challenges of adapting to and mitigating climate change and rebuilding our sovereignty. As Chair of BRGM, I will devote my energy to maintaining and developing this crucial position, so that BRGM continues to occupy its role as the French geological survey and leader in the management of subsurface resources and related risks, with ambitious goals and in a spirit of openness.
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