Eight Alumni at the Helm of France’s Leading Engineering Schools
A panorama published in early September by the Headway Blog (Olivier Rollot) provides a profile of the directors of the 40 leading French engineering schools. Behind the diversity of their career paths, one constant stands out: several of these institutions are today headed by alumni of the Écoles normales supérieures (normaliens and normaliennes) — including three former students of ENS Paris-Saclay (formerly ENS Cachan). A strong signal for our community, at a time when the Réseau normalien is working to better promote the career paths of its graduates.
Three directors from ENS Paris-Saclay
Laurent Champaney, at the head of Arts et Métiers since 2017 and reappointed in 2022, is an agrégé in industrial engineering sciences and holds a PhD from ENS Paris-Saclay (1996), where he subsequently taught as a university professor before joining the school’s deputy general management in 2012. He chaired the Conférence des grandes écoles from 2021 to 2025.
Pascal Ray, a former student of ENS Cachan and an agrégé in mechanical engineering, has headed Centrale Lyon since December 2021, after successively leading IFMA (2007–2014) and then Mines Saint-Étienne (2014–2021) — a career path that illustrates the ability of normaliens to lead several institutions over the course of the same career.
Joël Cuny, a graduate of ENS Paris-Saclay, has headed ESTP since October 2020. After working at Bouygues Construction and then in higher education in civil engineering and construction, he has also chaired UGEI since 2024.
Other normaliens at the head of leading schools
The article also mentions several leaders who attended other Écoles normales supérieures:
Nicolas Sennequier, a former student of ENS – PSL and an engineer from the Corps des Mines, took over the leadership of Chimie ParisTech – PSL in April 2026.
Emmanuelle Gouillart, a former student of ENS – PSL and a PhD in physics, has headed ESPCI Paris – PSL since June 2026, after a career divided between academic research and industrial research at Saint-Gobain.
François Alter, a former student of ENS Paris and a general engineer of the Corps des Mines, took over the leadership of Mines Nancy on September 1, 2026, after a career combining work at CNES and ministerial positions.
Romain Soubeyran, a former student of ENS – Ulm and a general engineer of the Corps des Mines, has headed CentraleSupélec since September 2018, after notably leading Mines Paris (2012–2016) and INPI (2016–2018).
Christophe Lerouge, a former student of ENS – Ulm and a graduate of Télécom Paris, has headed IMT Atlantique since May 2022, after a career in economic administration and innovation.
What this says about our networks
Of the 40 leaders identified, around half have built most of their careers in higher education and research before taking on the leadership of their institution — a profile for which the normalienne education, with its culture of research and teaching, naturally prepares them. The presence of three former students of ENS Paris-Saclay among the directors of the 40 leading French engineering schools confirms the influence of our school within the ecosystem of scientific and technical higher education — a valuable point of support for our fundraising campaign and for mobilizing our alumni networks.
Source: “‘Mercato’ of engineering schools: who leads the 40 leading French engineering schools?”, Headway Blog, Olivier Rollot, September 8, 2026.
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