Chairman and CEO

Born 28 October 1965, François Jacq is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique engineering school and the Paris School of Mines (Mines-ParisTech), where he obtained a PhD. He began his career as a researcher at the Centre of Innovation Sociology (Mines ParisTech), where he worked from 1993 to 1996. He subsequently joined the Ministry of Research. He was a junior civil servant at the Directorate General for Research and Technology from 1996 to 1997, before being appointed to head the energy, transport, environment and natural resources department.

In 2000, François Jacq was made chief executive of ANDRA, the national radioactive waste management agency. In 2005, he was appointed as head of energy demand and markets at the Directorate General for Energy and Raw Materials at the Ministry for Industry.

In May 2007, he was appointed special adviser for industry, research and energy in the office of Prime Minister François Fillon, and in August 2008, special adviser for sustainable development, research and industry.

In April 2009, he was made Chairman & CEO of the national weather service Meteo-France, and served from 2010 to 2013 as President of the Council of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In 2013, he took over the helm at Ifremer, the French institute of marine research and exploration.

In 2018, he was appointed Administrator General of CEA, the French atomic energy and alternative energies commission. On 16 March 2022, he was confirmed for a further term in this post, remaining there until his appointment to lead CNES.

François Jacq is also a past President of the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO).