Pierre-Franck CHEVET, Chairman and CEO
Pierre-Franck Chevet, a former student of the École Polytechnique and ENSAE, is a general mining engineer.
He began his career in 1986 at the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), where he held various positions. From 1995 to 1999, he was Director of the Regional Directorate for Industry, Research and the Environment (DRIRE) and the National Agency for the Promotion of Research (ANVAR) of the Alsace region. He then joined the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, as Director of the DRIRE and Director of the École des Mines de Douai.
In 2005, Pierre-Franck Chevet was appointed to the Prime Minister's cabinet as head of the Industry, Energy, Environment and Innovation cluster. From 2007 to 2012, he was Director General at the General Directorate for Energy and Climate in the French Ministry for Energy.
From 2012 to 2018, he was Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN).
Since 2019, Pierre-Franck Chevet has been a member of the General Council for the Economy, Industry, Energy and Technology and has been in charge of several interministerial missions.
Catherine RIVIERE, Executive Vice-President Research and Innovation
Catherine Rivière is an engineer who graduated from ENSIMAG (École nationale supérieure d’informatique et de mathématiques appliquées de Grenoble - Grenoble School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics).
She joined IFPEN in 1983 as a research engineer based in the Reservoir Engineering Division where she worked on the development of numerical simulation models.
In 1992, she moved to the Research and Development Division as special assistant. In 1994, she was appointed associate director of Exploration Reservoir, and subsequently deputy director in 1996. In 2001, she left IFPEN to take over as CEO of the subsidiary TECH’advantage.
From 2007 to 2017 she was CEO of GENCI, the company responsible for implementing national policy in France relative to the provision of high-performance computing tools for public research.
In 2017, Catherine Rivière was appointed Director of the Energy Resources Business Unit.
She was appointed Executive Vice-President Research and Innovation in 2019.
Éric LAFARGUE, Executive Vice-President Administration and Management of Subsidiaries
Éric Lafargue is a graduate of ENSG Nancy (French National School of Geology in Nancy) and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (ENSPM, now IFP School).
In 1986, he joined IFPEN’s Geology-Geochemistry Division where he led various R&D projects relating to oil formation and its accumulation in fields.
From 1998 to 2002, he was seconded to the French Ministry of Industry (Oil and Gas Department) where he was specifically responsible for monitoring companies in the French oil-related sector. He also managed the French Oil and Gas Sector Support Fund.
In 2002, he joined IFPEN’s Industrial Development Business Unit, where he was responsible for managing the portfolio of subsidiaries and stakeholdings. He was made Deputy Director in 2007, then Director in 2009.
Since 2017, Éric Lafargue has been Executive Vice-President responsible for industrial development, subsidiary management and legal, economic and financial affairs.
Benjamin HERZHAFT, Director of the Energy Systems Business Unit
Benjamin Herzhaft is a graduate of the ESPCI Engineering School in Paris, has a PhD in physics from Pierre et Marie Curie University (Paris VI) and holds a national accreditation to direct research obtained from the University of Western Brittany.
He joined IFPEN’s Chemistry and Applied Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Division in 1997 where he managed a range of project portfolios.
In 2007, he took over at the helm of the Physical Chemistry of Complex Fluids Department, followed, in 2010, by the Physical Chemistry of Complex Materials and Fluids Department.
In 2015, he was appointed special assistant to the Vice-President for Research and Innovation, responsible for overseeing changes to the organization of IFPEN’s fundamental research, and in 2016, he was made manager of the Scientific Division’s fundamental research program.
In 2020, Benjamin Herzhaft was appointed director of the Earth Sciences and Environmental Technologies Division.
Florence DELPRAT-JANNAUD, Director of the Energy Products Business Unit
Florence Delprat-Jannaud is a physicist who graduated from the Ecole normale supérieure de Cachan. She also holds a PhD in earth sciences from Paris Sud University (Paris XI).
She joined IFPEN in 1989 to pursue a career in geophysics, developing expertise in the field of seismic imaging. She has also coordinated a variety of research projects, covering cross-cutting geoscientific fields, such as the geological storage of CO2.
Florence Delprat-Jannaud won the 2014 Etoiles de l’Europe award for the coordination of the European SiteChar project dedicated to the characterization of CO2 storage sites.
In 2016, she led the Ile-de-France Geosciences Scientific Interest Group, an earth sciences and digital sciences research network dedicated to the fields of energy, resources and the environment.
In 2017, Florence moved to the Energy Resources Business Unit to manage the CO2 capture and storage program.
In 2021, she was appointed CO2 coordinator, responsible for the cross-functionality of IFPEN’s activities in the field, as well as representing IFPEN on these issues.
Cécile BARRERE-TRICCA, Director of the Chemistry for Industry Business Unit
Cécile Barrère-Tricca is an engineer who graduated from the Ecole nationale supérieure de Chimie de Toulouse. She holds a graduate research degree in materials sciences from the Institut national Polytechnique de Toulouse and a PhD in the chemistry and physical chemistry of polymers from Pierre et Marie Curie University (Paris VI).
She joined IFPEN in 1998 as a research engineer in the Catalysis, Biocatalysis and Separation Division.
In 2001, she became project manager in the field of gas treatment before taking on a similar role in the field of advanced biofuels in 2006 within the Process Design and Modeling Division.
In 2008, Cécile Barrère-Tricca was appointed head of the Process Design Department and then, in 2010, head of the Chemical Engineering and Technology Department.
In 2014, she was appointed Director of the Physics and Analysis Division.
Cécile Barrère-Tricca had been IFPEN-Lyon site director since 2017. She chaired Axelera, a competitiveness cluster dedicated to the chemicals and eco-industries sectors, from 2019 to 2021.
Gaëtan MONNIER, Director of the Mobility Business Unit
Gaëtan Monnier, a graduate of the École centrale de Lyon and ENSPM (Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs, now IFP School), joined IFPEN in 1989 as a research engineer and contributed to engine development projects, working in close partnership with motor vehicle and equipment manufacturers.
He took over at the helm of the Engine Technologies Department in 1997, and became Director of the Energy Applications Techniques Division in 2002.
In September 2008, he was appointed Executive Vice-President of the company D2T and Head of Industrial Operations.
He came back to IFPEN in 2012 as Director of the Mobility Business Unit.
Pascal Longuemare, IFP School Dean and Director of the Training Business Unit
Pascal Longuemare is an engineer from Polytech Lille, with a doctorate in materials and structural mechanics from the University of Lille. He is a scientific associate at the Polytechnic Faculty of Mons in Belgium.
He joined IFPEN in 1996 as a research engineer in the Applied Mechanics Division. From 1998, he was in charge of industrial projects and then seconded to Total. In 2001, Pascal Longuemare became head of the Geomechanics Department, and then in 2004, head of the Mechanical Engineering Department focusing on the development of technologies for energy resources, transport and processes. During this period, he was also project manager and took charge of two IFPEN cross-functional assignments dedicated to the optimization of production processes.
In 2013, he was appointed head of the Experimentation Department, focusing primarily on the design of technological equipment and the characterization and qualification of materials, fluids and processes on a laboratory scale.
In early 2021, he became Director of the Sustainable Powertrains and Sustainable Mobility Centre at IFP School.
In September 2023, Pascal Longuemare was appointed IFP School Dean and Director of the Training Business Unit
Nathalie ALAZARD-TOUX, Director of the Industrial Development Business Unit
Nathalie Alazard-Toux is a graduate of ENSG Nancy (French National School of Geology in Nancy) and ENSPM (Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs, now IFP School), where she specialized in Economics and Business Administration.
She joined IFPEN’s Economics Department in 1990, where she conducted a number of studies in the field of exploration-production.
In 1993, she moved to the Strategy, Economics and Program Division where she contributed to strategic studies and the monitoring of upstream oil and gas R&D programs.
In 2000, Nathalie Alazard-Toux was appointed Head of the Growth Division’s Marketing and Market Monitoring Department.
In 2002, she was appointed Director of the Economic Studies Division, then Director of the Economics and Information Watch Division in 2008.
In 2017, she joined the Industrial Development Business Unit as Deputy Director before being made Director in 2018.
Véronique RUFFIER-MERAY, Human Resources Director
Véronique Ruffier-Meray graduated in industrial chemical engineering from CNAM (Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers).
In 1982, she joined IFPEN’s Thermodynamics Department.
Following a 2-year secondment to Elf from 1990, she returned to IFPEN as a research engineer in the Thermodynamics and Molecular Modeling Department; she led the same department from 2001 to 2010.
In 2010, she moved to the Strategy Division as Special Assistant.
In 2012 she was appointed Director of the Applied Chemistry and Physical Chemistry Division.
Véronique Ruffier-Meray has been Human Resources Director since 2018.
Dominique HUMEAU, Director of the Digital science and technology, Digital Office and Information Systems
After Dominique Humeau obtained a PhD in automatic systems from the University of Rennes I, he began his career in the field of industrial procedure control and optimization with Yokogawa France, before joining IFPEN in 1996 as a research engineer.
In 2000 he was appointed head of the Measurement Processing, Automation and Control department within the Technology, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics division, where he remained until 2008, when he was named Director of the Process Experimentation Research division.
In 2016 he became Director of the Mechatronics and Digital division, which later expanded to become the Digital Science and Technology division.
In 2021, as Director of the Digital Office, he assumed responsibility for managing the cross-functional digital transformation; he was then appointed to head the Information System division in 2022.