Philippe Dewost appointed CEO of EPITA
Philippe Dewost appointed CEO of EPITA
Philippe Dewost has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of EPITA, one of the most valued French Grande Ecole in Computer Sciences and software development. Philippe brings his 25 years experience in the Tech sector, ranging across online and mobile ecosystems, management, and startup financing.
Co-founder of Wanadoo (Europe’s #1 Internet Service Provider), Philippe Dewost has been successfully launching consumer services, software startups, technology ecosystems, and corporate transformation programs, with a deep experience in deploying in volume, through both scaling and empowering. He built and ran product management for Wanadoo across its first 4 years and first million subscribers. As CEO of imSense in Cambridge, he turned proprietary, patent protected dynamic range processing into eye-fidelity™ technology, that was used half a billion times a day to enhance pictures taken with iPhones after acquisition by Apple.
While deploying Leonard, VINCI Group’s Corporate Innovation and Transformation Program, he combined a series of exploration groups across 7 key future topics (Autonomous Vehicle, Climatic Resilience, AI, …) with an Intrapreneurship Program currently considered as a reference by other large Corporates.
He had previously led a €4,25 Bn digital package for the French Government – the Investments for The Future Program, where he submitted for the Prime Minister a report on how to make France a more attractive destination for innovators, Tech Entrepreneurs, and foreign Venture Capital Firms: his report sparked “La French Tech”. He also initiated a joint Blockchain R&D effort with 27 institutions and partners around Caisse des Dépôts.
A graduate in Physics at Normale Sup (Ulm), former Navigation Officer in the French Navy, Philippe holds a Master in Telecommunications from Telecom ParisTech and a MBA from Collège des Ingénieurs. He lives in Paris with his wife and 4 children.
Fabrice Bardèche, Executive Vice President of the IONIS Education Group (EPITA’s holding company), notes that, “Philippe Dewost’s broad professional experience and his big-picture view of the Tech sector are key assets for accelerating EPITA’s growth across its five campuses, as well as internationally.”
Dewost himself says, “I am thrilled to take the helm at EPITA. I’ve worked with many of its graduates in my previous roles, and I know how exceptionally they are trained: their skillset is just legendary. EPITA’s graduates are operational from Day 1 in any company they join and leverage very robust scientific skills beyond coding. I won’t thank enough my predecessor, Joël Courtois, for such an achievement. During his 25 years running the School, he worked tirelessly to turn it into one of the most renowned Grandes Écoles, graduating the most sought-after computer science, information technology and software development engineers. I now take responsibility for EPITA’s future, including our staff, our external stakeholders, and above all each one of our students. In choosing EPITA as their university, they are entrusting us with a significant component of their future careers.”
Philippe Dewost responsibilities spread across EPITA’s five campuses in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Rennes, and Strasbourg, as well as its international programs. He will be assisted by Claire Lecocq, EPITA Deputy CEO and Director of its Paris Campus. Joël Courtois will serve as advisor to the CEO during this transition. Courtois steered EPITA’s growth from 1996 to 2021, during which time EPITA became a top-tier school for computer science engineers and expanded internationally. He will now oversee EPITA’s expansion to France’s Cyber Campus, while pursuing his work to make EPITA a leader in cybersecurity.