Patrick Ropert

Background

About Patrick Ropert

Patrick ROPERT is Co-Founder and CEO of Orson the first global strategy and communication advisory firm to leverage artificial intelligence for executive success. Patrick is a seasoned strategy professional, having held senior executive positions at the crossroads of corporate affairs and strategy over the last 20 years. He is a recognized expert in leadership advisory, the personalized counseling of CEOs and their executive teams on strategic consistency, the impact of actions, and building a favorable ecosystem of influence. Patrick held numerous executive positions at SNCF, the French railways company. He was successively Chief of staff to the Chairman, Louis Gallois, and the CEO, Guillaume Pepy (2003-2006), then, he was responsible for designing the high-speed rail line linking London to Kent (2006-2008), and, finally, he was Head of Communications for the group (2008-2014). Between 2014 and 2019, he served as CEO of the SNCF subsidiary in charge of the train stations in France representing a €1.5 billion turnover. He developed a transformational strategy to combine multimodal transport solutions and densify passenger traffic flows. Convinced that stations are a vital driver of urban dynamics, he worked closely with city planners to make them an integral part of urban life and landscapes. Patrick has focused on accelerating in-station retail and services. This strategy, called “City Booster”, was the subject of a book he authored which was published in French, English, and Chinese. An engineer by training, Patrick started his career at the Direction des Constructions Navales, working on designing nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. He is a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées, Imperial College and INSEAD. He speaks French and English. Patrick is the former Chairman of the Boards of AREP (2014-2019), a prominent French architecture and urban planning firm, and Orient-Express (2014-2016), the legendary luxury long-distance train company. He has been a committed supporter of digital innovation in France, contributing to the creation of the first French incubator, later known as NUMA. Patrick was made an Officer of the National Order of Merit.