François Dellacherie, New Director of Telecom SudParis

PRESS RELEASE - 20 November 2020

 

François Dellacherie has been appointed Director of Telecom SudParis by Bruno Lemaire, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery (the ministry with supervisory authority over Institut Mines-Télécom), Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery and Cédric O, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery and to the Minister for Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Government through a decree dated 19 November 2020. He will take over as head of the engineering graduate school on 1 December 2020. He will be succeeding Christophe Digne, who has joined the French National Frequency Agency (ANFR).

 

Up to now, he has been serving as Deputy Director of Technology for the French Ministry for the Armed Forces, where he managed centers of excellence in big data, cybersecurity, software development, telecommunications and artificial intelligence. François Dellacherie was responsible in particular for developing the innovation policy, recruiting young talent, collaborations with innovative companies in the digital sector and researchers from the academic world, and international cooperation in his field.

 

As the Director of Telecom SudParis, François Dellacherie's responsibilities will include continuing the school's development based on its fields of excellence (cybersecurity, data science and artificial intelligence, networks and Internet of Things, multimedia), developing and implementing the overall strategy of Institut Mines-Telecom (IMT), of which the school is a member, and helping build Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris).

 

François Dellacherie is a graduate of École Polytechnique. In 1991, he joined the Corps of Telecommunications Engineers. He continued his engineering training at Télécom Paris with a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DEA) in Applied Mathematics for Image Processing, before joining the French Ministry for Defense.  From 1996 to 2014, he held management positions in a number of fields: as head of the R&D Office (information system security), then as department head  (information system security and cryptology), where he managed all of the R&D activities in the fields of electronics and computer science, industry relations and  international partnerships. In 2006 he led the department responsible for telecommunications, image processing and digital mobility laboratories. Since 2014, as Deputy Director he has actively contributed to the development and operational implementation of the Ministry's digital strategy for defense and national security activities.

 

Upon being appointed Director, François Dellacherie declared, "I am particular proud to take over as Director of Telecom SudParis! I've long been aware of the school's many strengths, and I look forward to working with the existing teams to continue its development – and to strengthen its role as an academic and economic player in the various digital ecosystems in France and internationally."

 

Hervé Debar, Director of Research and Doctoral Programs at Telecom SudParis, is serving as interim director of the school until François Dellacherie's arrival.