Reflets Magazine #149 | Éric Bucquet (E99), From Military Commander to Company Manager

Reflets Magazine #149 devotes a feature to Éric Bucquet (E99), recently appointed Security Director of the Sanofi Group after a 40-year career in the army which took him from the trenches to the highest echelons of the State. Here is a free online translation of the article… subscribe to get the next issues (in French)!

Éric Bucquet ‘broke ranks’ on joining ESSEC. He originally came from Saint-Cyr, another major school (Class of Lieutenant-Colonel Gaucher). On graduating from this military academy, he chose the armoured division of the French Navy, and joined the reconnaissance units which are the first to engage in warfare. ‘You begin as lieutenant of a platoon or section, so in charge of 30 to 40 people. After 4 years, you become captain of a company or squadron, which represents 140 to 160 people.’ The tasks remain the same, but on a different level, with induction of new recruits, warfare training, equipment management, skills building, career development and family support, etc. ‘In fact, a lot of what we do is human resources. We have to do this very well, because not only do we need to maintain loyalty among the troops - 80% of whom are recruits on 5-year contracts - we also have to provide them with the means to face war, the most arduous task of all.’  

Preparation was not the only aspect of his responsibilities. Éric Bucquet also went to the frontline with his soldiers. ‘In 1991, we were mobilised to prevent the invasion of Djibouti by an Ethiopian division. In 1992 and 1993, we went to Sarajevo with the UN Peacekeeping forces to reopen the airport and organise a humanitarian airlift which circumvented the blockade. In 1994, we were sent to the Central African Republic and Rwanda to put an end to the massacres and assist local populations. At night, our task was to protect the humanitarian zone from attacks by the Rwandan Patriotic Front. During the day, we maintained minimum public services in a country where administrations, police and justice no longer existed. The unit also had to deal with a cholera epidemic among refugees!’. 

A new direction

Following 8 years in direct command, Éric Bucquet left the regiment and entered the Ecole de Guerre officers’ academy to begin a career in military staff management. He extended this transition by taking a course at ESSEC. ‘I’ve always seen a similarity between military chief and business manager. Both are required to mobilise financial and human resources to implement a strategy and reach a target. There’s an offensive aspect to business, when we talk of conquering a market...’

Management also plays a key role in both positions. ‘Nobody joins the army for the money; a new recruit is paid the minimum wage! Superiors have to find another way to motivate their troops. For some people, we evoke the idea of adventure, for others we offer structure and grounding. And we rally the troops around republican values, of course.’ 

Among these values, fraternity, the eternal third component of France’s national triptych, takes centre stage. ‘You have to create fraternal relationships between soldiers to ensure they never abandon their comrades on the battlefield.’ This decisive factor takes on even greater importance given the diversity of profiles within corps. ‘We work enormously on the group aspect. The uniform, the rules, equal pay for each rank (and a transparent remuneration policy) all help to create unity…and united we stand.’ 

Leading the troops

On leaving ESSEC, Éric Bucquet spent several more years alternating between regimental and staff posts.

On the regimental side, he was initially head of the operations and training office of the 1st RIMa, a corps of more than 1,000 soldiers. ‘In particular, I returned to Bosnia, on a peacekeeping mission with NATO this time. Our task was to prevent localised uprisings and arms trafficking, to assist NGOs and rebuilding, stabilise the region and reassure the population. I was then promoted to the head of the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment, based in Djibouti, which specifically houses all weapons, i.e. infantry, armoured, ground-to-ground artillery, ground-to-air artillery and helicopters, in collaboration with Naval and Air Force units, and with operations on an international level. We worked on a daily basis with the local army and provided training to Yemeni, Burundian and Ethiopian troops, among others. We trained the first Ugandan troops to be sent to Somalia. A source of great pride!’ 

On the staff management side, Éric was involved in drafting military programming laws. ‘Here I was able to put the theory learnt in my finance course into practice. Defence accounts for the French State’s largest investment budget, with €15 billion in resources to allocate annually for the acquisition of tools and technologies to help us defend the country in the future. To steer this budget, the needs of armed forces must be coordinated in liaison with the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the Government, to define the budget guidelines for initiating orders and adjust the budget on a daily basis according to changes in costs and context.’ 

Entering the higher echelons of the French Republic

This experience marked a turning point and qualified Colonel Éric Bucquet for a post among the French President’s personal staff. ‘I was responsible for overseeing all operations for the president, preparing both defence and restricted councils, organising hearings with foreign dignitaries, liaising between the presidential palace and the armed forces, and monitoring the implementation of decisions, etc. I thus had a privileged window onto the political world, during an eventful period with numerous challenges such as the civil war in the Ivory Coast, the retreat from Afghanistan, or the terrorist crisis in the Sahel.’ 

Appointed during Nicolas Sarkozy’s term, he maintained his role under President François Hollande, a sign of the trust he had gained in the highest places, which was rewarded after three years by his appointment as Director of Operations for the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE). ‘Here I discovered the fascinating world of intelligence. I obviously cannot disclose anything, but I’d like to commend the teams that were under my orders. These men and women succeed in identifying future threats and anticipating our adversaries’ future moves by taking extraordinary risks which, given the imperative secrecy of their actions, go entirely unacknowledged’ 

His service record continues to impress. Emmanuel Macron offered him a second term and handed him the reins of the Ministry of the Armed Forces Security Agency (DRSD), which protects the 200,000 employees of the Ministry and the industrial and technological base ensuring French national security. ‘This role put me in contact with companies of all sizes, from major groups such as Airbus, Dassault, MBDA, Naval Group, Nexter, Safran and Thalès, to start-ups working for our sovereignty. They all face serious threats such as espionage, hacking and influence, but unfortunately most do not possess the in-house skills to prevent such risks. We provide them with practical assistance through a cooperative approach. For example, we created a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which ultimately enables companies to seek advice at any time from a specialist in cybersecurity. During trade events such as the Bourget Air Show, we explain how to present equipment without falling prey to industrial espionage or the theft of models and materials.’ 

There are also economic shields. ‘French companies are highly vulnerable to foreign acquisitions. We thus initiated the recruitment of economic counter-interference agents, who are backed by security and defence inspectors. One of their tasks is to find out who has approached company leaders and, with the help of the Ministries for Finance and the Armed Forces, to prevent transactions which may harm national interest.’ 

A change in tactics

Éric Bucquet bid farewell to arms in 2022. ‘I’d reached the age limit. It was time for a younger person to take over. I spent a total of 39 years serving under the flag!’ There was no soldier’s rest for him, however. Two days after his departure ceremony, he was appointed Security Director of the Sanofi Group. His role is to protect employees (in difficult countries), products (from trafficking and counterfeit), digital facilities (from cyberattacks) and the company’s reputation (from false information or brand hijacking). ‘In other words, I apply the advice I gave to DRSD partners. I’ve come full circle.’ 

 Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni 
Translation of an article published in Reflets Magazine #149. Read a preview  (in French). Get the next issues (in French).