Full Name: Raoul Jacquand

Position: Dassault Systèmes Geovia CEO, since April 2015

Main Activity of the Company: Three-dimensional design/modelling/simulation software

Date and Place of Birth: 1971, Guérande, Brittany, France

Education: Engineering, École Polytechnique; bachelor’s degree in material sciences and MSc (digital communications), École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications

First Job: Wireless network engineer

Size of First Pay Packet: I cannot remember

Number of People under Your Leadership: About 300

Management Style: Open-door

Personal Best Achievement: My back-to-back Comrades races, with the downhill run in 2012 and the uphill run in 2013

Person Who Has Had the Biggest Influence on Your Life and Career: The same person had the biggest influence on my life and my career. She is not a celebrity, but a very humble person. It was her behaviour in the midst of adversity and her attention to others that had a true impact on me and on many others

Person You Would Most Like to Meet: Roger Federer

Businessperson Who Has Impressed You Most: Bill Gates

Philosophy of Life: Respect for people, talent, values, effort (and fun!)

Hope for the Future: Technology at the service of true human wellbeing

Favourite Reading: Biographies of inspiring characters, known or unknown

Favourite TV Programme: I do not watch TV. Netflix is my best answer to this question; the world is going platform, both in business and in individual choices – platforms give you a variety of options and broaden the definition of ‘favourite’

Favourite Food/Drink: None

Favourite Music: Here again, my response is a platform (Spotify) as a means of discovering and enjoying the best of all musical worlds

Favourite Sport: Long-distance running

Hobbies: Anything outdoors (travel, photography, and so on)

Car: Uber – another platform; why restrict yourself?

Pets: None

Miscellaneous Dislikes: Ego

Married: Yes, with three teenage children

Clubs: Running clubs – when I lived in South Africa, I was a member of the Morningside Road Runners Club