Board of Directors

Laurent Collet-Billon was the Chief of the French defense procurement agency DGA from 2008 through 2017. In this capacity, he was responsible for equipping the French armed forces, defense R&D, international defense cooperation, and defense industrial policy. He started his career at the DGA in 1977, leading many communications programs through 1987. He then became an advisor on strategic and defense matters to the former Minister of Defense, André Giraud. After returning to the DGA, Mr. Collet-Billon led the joint program “Horus”, the airborne nuclear deterrence component,   and then the intelligence and surveillance  satellites programs, before assuming different leadership positions in the DGA’s activities in space, land systems, defense electronics and IT. From 1997 to 2001, he led the DGA’s Department for observation, IT and telecommunications projects (SPOTI). In May 2001, he became deputy to the Chief of the DGA, and number two of the DGA. He has served as an advisor to Alcatel-Lucent and was a member of the Thales board of directors from 2014 to 2017. Today he is engaged in consulting activities.