OUR TEAM

AFAM Governance

AFAM is a 501 (c) (3) non profit organization whose Tax ID # is 26-2274822 registered in the State of California
AFAM is governed by a volunteer board of directors elected by AFAM contributors in good standing
By policy, AFAM is committed to preserving the confidentiality of all personal information it keeps about its members
Since June 2020 AFAM Operation Committee has been created to help the organization successfully achieve all set goals.

Notable Alumni, Board Members, Members of Operations Committee 2020

	Xavier Wartelle CEO since June 2020, Board Member and Co-Founder since 2007, Operations Committee Member (Entrepreneurship) Hi I am Xavier! I came to Silicon Valley 25 years ago. I became impassioned by tech start-ups and I launched 6 startups myself resulting in 4 acquisitions. I also co-founded the French Tech Hub and big bang factory, two startup accelerators. I love new ventures and entrepreneurs. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
	Marc Amblard Board Member since 2017 and CFO since June 2018, Operations Committee Member (Fundraising) Hi, I am Marc! A Cluny ’84 alumn, I first came to work in the US in 1988 and received my MBA from U. of Michigan in 1992. I spent 25+ years in the auto and rail industries between France and the US, working at PSA, Valeo, Renault and Alstom before becoming CEO at EFQM. I moved to Silicon Valley in Feb 2017 where I manage Orsay Consulting, a firm focused on electric, autonomous, connected and shared mobility. I advise corporate clients as well as startups on matters related to the future of mobility. More on my LinkedIn profile
	Yarith Phay Secretary and Board Member since June 2020, Operations Committee Member (AFAM Collaboration Tools) Hi, my name is Yarith! I am a Bo191 alum and live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I came here from London in 2001 and somehow could not leave this beautiful place. After Arts et Metiers, I worked in France, the United Kingdom and in the US. I currently lead engineering teams at WhiteHat Security. In my spare time, I like to give back to my community and have been involved with a number of non-profits. For instance, my wife and I had, a few years ago, the opportunity to help and co-found EFBA, a local non-profit association providing French after school programs. I’d like now to put that experience and my motivation to help AFAM build a strong Gadz’Arts brand and community here in the USA.
	Eric Benhamou Board member, Co-founder, President 2007-2020, President Emeritus Hi, I’m Eric! I am an Aix 72 alum. I arrived in the US in 1976. I graduated in 1977 from Stanford's School of Engineering and pursued a career in the IT industry in Silicon Valley. I was fortunate to create, grow and lead several successful IT companies such as Bridge Communications, 3Com and Palm. I now serve on several public company boards and allocate the rest of my time between my Venture Capital Fund Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC, the INSEAD global business school in Fontainebleau and the IDC in Herzeliya where I am a visiting professor, and of course AFAM.
	Thomas Ferré Secretary 2007-2020, Co-founder, Board Member, Operations Committee Member (Entrepreneurship) Hi, I’m Thomas! I am a Bo 200 alum, living in Washington DC, born in NYC and raised in France who came back to the USA to graduate from University of Michigan for a MSc in Civil engineering. I currently head the Private Equity portfolio at Microvest Fund, and invest in companies dedicated to social impact and financial inclusion for the poor around the world. I spent most of my career in Private equity investing across the globe. I also founded TOMI OTEE a 100% sustainable apparel company and winner of the 2011 NY FAE Award, and am an investor in and advisor to a diverse portfolio of startups from tech to farming.
	Jean Luc Nauleau Board Member since 2007 Hi I’m Jean-Luc! I have lived in the U.S for over twenty years; I graduated from Santa Clara in 1987 and started my career as a software engineer for Plessey Semi-conductor. I founded Integration Associates in 1991, a semi-conductor startup, acquired by Silicon Labs in July 2008.
	Audrey Stewart Board Member & Arts et Métiers Representative since 2010 Hi, I’m Audrey. I am Director for International and European Development at Arts et Métiers. I graduated from the University of Strathclyde Business School in 1991 and joined Arts et Métiers ParisTech in 2007, first in the Lille campus, and then in 2010, in the head office. I am also a representative of the CDEFI (Conference of Directors of Engineering Schools) in Americas group in charge of defining the international strategy for research, innovation and higher education for the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research; and I am an elected member of the academic committee of INSA Val de Loire. You may connect with me via LinkedIn.
	Nicolas Horde Board Member since 2018, Atlanta City representative, Operations Committee Member (Students) Hi, I'm Nicolas, an Ai 214 alumnus. I am AFAM representative in Atlanta. Do not hesitate to connect with me on LinkedIn.
	Mattia Pelissou Board Member since 2020, West Coast Group President Hi all, I’m Mattia, Lille 2016 alumnus. I moved to the San Francisco Bay area in 2018 to study at UC Berkeley. Now working as a robotics engineer in San Francisco, I am a strong advocate of AFAM’s mission and West Coast Group president. Shoot me a message if you are ever in San Francisco. You can contact me via LinkedIn
	Jean Pommier Board Member since 2017, Operations Committee Member (Shasta internship program) I am an An 183 alum and have lived in Silicon Valley since 1998. In addition to Paris Tech's Mechanical Engineering degree, I got a second MSc in Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence and worked in this field since 1987 when I joined ILOG upon its creation in France and until its acquisition by IBM 22 years later. I led ILOG's Services organization for many years and, at IBM, I'm a Distinguished Engineer and CTO for our Digital Business Automation services business. Beyond work I call running my second job, focusing mostly on ultra marathon trail running nowadays and actively blogging about it. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
	Philippe Claret Board Member, SOCE Representative since 2018 Hi I am Philippe, Ai 178! I just joined the AFAM board through my election as VP of international for SOCE. I just retired after having spent 33 years at EDF, the French energy company. There I was an engineer and traveled the work, especially Latin America, the Middle East, Western and Eastern Europe. Board Member since 2013.
	Louis Renaux Board Member since 2018 Hi, I am Louis, Cluny 216. I just moved to California for the Master of Engineering at UC Berkeley in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. I am currently building up a seminar to foster tighter links between French and US companies. I also am the president of the West Coast Alumni Group so please contact me if you want to create events in the Bay Area. Don't hesitate to connect with me on LinkedIn.
	Eric Tran Board Member since 2015, Central Group President Hi, I'm Eric, Chalons 94. I have been in the oil & gas business for almost 20 years. At first in the field of quality services, I spent some time in Scotland then quickly move to Houston, Texas for a couple of years. I then switched to UK to join an exciting subsea project for Total for 4 years. I am now back to Houston at Shell as Sr Quality Management Engineer, providing quality assurance expertise, especially on capping equipments for subsea-well emergency response in case of an event similar to the BP Macondo accident.
	Charles Dehelly Board Member since June 2020 Charles Dehelly (Ch170), Arts et Métiers Foundation President since 2020. Charles managed international companies. In 1998 he became the CEO of Thomson. At the end of 2008 he joined as a Deputy Director-General, Atos Origin, a European leader in the processing of high volume electronic transactions. Charles Dehelly is also a vice president of International Esports Federation (IESF) and leads of one of Arts et Metiers’ Think Tank working groups.
	Louis Castex Board Member since 2016 Hi, I'm Louis, an INSA Toulouse alum. I received my PhD in Physics in 1987 from the University of Bordeaux. I was nominated director of the Arts et Métiers Campus of Aix-en-Provence in 1991 for 5 years, then I took the direction of the campus of Paris for the following 5 years. Next I became the director of INSA Toulouse until 2009. Since 2012, I'm the scientifique advisor of the Arts et Métiers Foundation, the academic advisor of the president of the Société des Ingénieurs Arts et Métiers and task manager for the General Director of Arts et Métiers Paristech. You may contact me on LinkedIn!
	Aurore Prevot Board Member since 2018, former US Representative 2014-2017 I joined AFAM in 2014 as representative, after coming to the US, with my family. As an alumnus from Arts et Métiers ParisTech, I have always sought to play an integral role in the community, and was thrilled to contribute over the years in building the Arts et Métiers in the US. Seeing the students and alumni succeed and thrive in the US has been an incredible source of motivation and accomplishment.
	Jean-Baptiste Commans Board Member since 2017 Hi, I am Jean-Baptiste! A , Li 203 alumnus, I moved to New York in 2015 as a strategy consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, specializing in Investment Banking Strategy and Risk Management. I have spent my career working with financial institutions. I started as a financial mathematician, for Aon and Credit Foncier de France, where I headed the pricing department. I worked for 5 years in Paris, 3 years in London and now New-York. Do not hesitate to contact me via email or LinkedIn.
	Sacha Ghebali Board Member since 2020, East Coast Group President, Operations Committee Member (Events) Hello, I’m Sacha! A Bo211 alumnus, I came to NYC in 2019 to build a FinTech start-up in financial inclusion. Prior to this, I moved to Boston to study Finance at MIT and received a PhD in Aeronautics from Imperial College in London where I spent 4 years, two of which leading the UK Alumni Chapter. I started my entrepreneurial journey building AI software for aerospace and automotive industries and am now working in crypto finance at a seed-stage startup. Today I am East Coast Group Zident, taking over after my predecessor J.-B. Commans. Do not hesitate to connect with me via email or LinkedIn, and please shoot me a message should you come to NYC.
	Kevin Kok Heang Since June 2020 Member of Operations Committee (Events) Hi, I graduated from Arts et Métiers in 2016 (class of Me 212) and moved to Washington, DC in Sept. 2019 and currently work as deputy-attaché for science and technology at the Embassy of France in charge of emerging technologies and cybersecurity. Before I worked at the OECD's Observatory of Public Sector Innovation and co-authored a working paper on Artificial Intelligence and its use in the public sector. You can contact me via email or Linkedin.
	Corentin Lazarus (Me 209) Member of the Shasta Committee since 2019 Hello, I'm Corentin, I moved to the US in 2011 to earn a MSc in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech. I worked for 6+ years in the Oil & Gas industry and transitioned in 2019 to the Aerospace industry, taking on new challenges with Blue Origin on the launch system of the New Glenn rocket. Having been a mentor for AFAM and helped Arts et Metiers students looking for internships, I decided to be further involved and have joined the Shasta program committee, whose mission is to promote internships for Arts et Metiers students in the US. I am always happy to connect with fellow alum on LinkedIn, so don't hesitate to reach out!
	Albina Patou-Chebykina US Community Manager since 2018, Operations Committee Member Hello, I am Albina Patou-Chebykina. Born and raised in Russia, I fell in love with French culture and French language when I was a teenager. This led me to study in France, first at the Sorbonne Nouvelle and then at the business school ISEE where I graduated in International Affairs. I worked in Paris and in Moscow doing marketing and public relations prior to arriving to the United States in 2011. Today I am excited to join the AFAM team. You can contact me via email or Linkedin.

Login

OUR TEAM

AFAM Governance

Notable Alumni, Board Members, Members of Operations Committee 2020

AFAM Newsletter

Pages