About

Born in Paris’s banlieue in the 90s, I moved to different corners of France during my childhood, carrying around an urge to change things and tell a better story. I learned how to sew and make things with my hands from my mom, how to think holistically and explain ideas clearly through diagrams with my dad, then came back to Paris on my own to study Economics and finally understand the world.

I could explain the behavioural logic of risk aversion on the back of a napkin, or discuss why growth and the industrial revolution emerged in England and not anywhere else for hours, but I missed something ⏤ solving the problems I could now describe so well. I realised changing things, as I used to say, or innovation, as we call it now with sparkles in our eyes, is not a science but a practice.

It bridges disciplines, spanning all areas of science, combining their expertise in unprecedented manners to solve problems that require to see way beyond silos. The word practice here I cherish particularly, because it points out how much all that comes with making and experimenting rather than with a know-it-all attitude. And so I moved to the UK and went to Design school. The kind of school where there are “just Google-it” signs on professors’ doors, in case you expected not to experiment, learn your own lessons and develop your unique intuition of good design.

While the media landscape seemed to obsess over the exponential pace of 21st century innovation, the only thing I’ve ever really cared about is its direction. Public-minded and mission-driven at my heart, I’ve decided to carry on with an M.P.A., looking to turn purpose-driven organisations into innovation forces, addressing our grand societal challenges and driving systems change.

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So, now, I am very good at dissecting complex socio-economic problems and examining the public policy puzzle, at constantly starting from scratch in new domains and working simultaneously with people from 6 different cultures, at sewing clothes thrice looking for the perfect fit, at scribbling dad-like diagrams on the back of napkins, at just Googling-it… I thrive in complexity, I see patterns, connect the dots. I am very good at dealing with disorientation and leading exploration… at doing systems innovation.