Francois Pichot

Background

About Francois Pichot

Result-driven leader and doer in early-stage high-technology innovation with excellent interpersonal and analytical skills, international/multi-cultural experience and a strong track record of successful delivery in fund-raising, new business strategy and development, commercial and academic R&D, Quality Assurance, Intellectual Property (IP) management and exploitation. I am a strong believer in relationship-building, open communication, and pragmatism to achieve goals and deliver sustainable value to stakeholders. Key highlights and achievements: • Supported and helped resolve contract negotiations worth $100+M between a public Saudi RDI organization and international R&D partners. • Designed and rolled out improved R&D management policies, processes and tools to increase operational efficiency and transparency of a public Saudi RDI organization. • Strategically guided the business planning and played a material role in raising in excess of €1M in R&D funding from Irish and US agencies to support applied research and three pre-incorporation university start-up projects. • Secured a $1M personal donation from a high net-worth individual to his alma mater. • Drove and managed the technology roadmap of a VC-backed start-up company in the field of electronic ebook displays based on smart nanomaterials. • Built, rolled out and enforced a company-wide quality system for the above start-up company spanning the Irish R&D center and Tawainese manufacturing plant. • Managed a broad portfolio of IP assets (patents, Software, Know-How) across physical science and engineering disciplines in a university setting. • Negotiated 30+ commercial IP licences with SMEs and MNCs based in Europe and the USA. • Made a strong fundamental and practical contribution to the development of DSSC photovoltaic device technology.