Full Name: Raoul Jacquand
Position: Dassault Systèmes Geovia CEO, since April 2015
Main Activity of the Company: Three-dimensional design/modelling/simulation software
Date and Place of Birth: 1971, Guérande, Brittany, France
Education: Engineering, École Polytechnique; bachelor’s degree in material sciences and MSc (digital communications), École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications
First Job: Wireless network engineer
Size of First Pay Packet: I cannot remember
Number of People under Your Leadership: About 300
Management Style: Open-door
Personal Best Achievement: My back-to-back Comrades races, with the downhill run in 2012 and the uphill run in 2013
Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life and Career: The same person had the biggest influence on my life and my career. She is not a celebrity, but a very humble person. It was her behaviour in the midst of adversity and her attention to others that had a true impact on me and on many others
Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Roger Federer
Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Bill Gates
Philosophy of Life: Respect for people, talent, values, effort (and fun!)
Hope for the Future: Technology at the service of true human wellbeing
Favourite Reading: Biographies of inspiring characters, known or unknown
Favourite TV Programme: I do not watch TV. Netflix is my best answer to this question; the world is going platform, both in business and in individual choices – platforms give you a variety of options and broaden the definition of ‘favourite’
Favourite Food/Drink: None
Favourite Music: Here again, my response is a platform (Spotify) as a means of discovering and enjoying the best of all musical worlds
Favourite Sport: Long-distance running
Hobbies: Anything outdoors (travel, photography, and so on)
Car: Uber – another platform; why restrict yourself?
Pets: None
Miscellaneous Dislikes: Ego
Married: Yes, with three teenage children
Clubs: Running clubs – when I lived in South Africa, I was a member of the Morningside Road Runners Club