Experienced, agile and multicultural

An entrepreneur at heart, Benoit was behind the creation of Waga Energy in 2015 and Aniah in 2019. He also served as CEO of OSER ENER from 2015 to 2019. Prior to that role, Benoit was a Senior Consultant at Carbone 4 where his passion for energy and climate initiatives was ignited. From his time at Airbus, Benoit takes away a strong appetite for innovation and team work.

From 2009 to 2011, Christophe set up then managed the battery cell pilot line at the CEA.
In 2011, he was hired by Tesla to head up the prototype line of all the first cells by the California-based manufacturer. He actively contributed to bringing the production lines of the modules for the Model S and Model X vehicles into operation. Christophe also worked on a range of mechanical cell designs, developed innovative manufacturing processes, and led the phase 1 design of the first gigafactory in Reno, Nevada.
He subsequently moved to Apple, then BMW, still working in cell and module engineering and development, before co-founding Verkor and becoming its Chief Technology Officer.

A corporate strategy expert, Sylvain has over 30 years of working in industry, with solid experience in starting new companies. From January 2018, he was the Director of the global initiative EMEA OI & Business Incubation at Schneider Electric for over two years. He is also member of the Supervisory Board of EIT InnoEnergy.

Philippe spent 20 years working for Renault, the last two years of which he was Chief Electric Vehicle Strategist. He was then the first Vice-President in charge of Quality at Tesla for the launch of the Model S. He was also the lead engineer of Audi’s first battery electric vehicles (the Audi e-tron SUV and the Audi e-tron Sportback) for three years.

An electrochemistry expert and a seasoned entrepreneur, Gilles has a solid background in stationary energy storage. Well versed in building start-ups, he was Co-Founder and Battery Lead at Lancey Energy Storage. During his time as Project Manager at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Gilles worked on various French and European lithium-ion battery projects. He is also an expert in fuel cells thanks to his experience at 3M and Renault.

He is co-founder of Verkor,  today he is Chief Sustainability Officer, and at the instigation of the Ecole de la batterie project.

Olivier has over 22 years’ experience working in industry, and has built up a solid network of key contacts in the energy and raw materials sectors. For 10 years he was the Director of External Affairs at Rio Tinto where he engaged in a range of areas, and in particular energy and climate change.

Anna has acquired solid experience in managing the technical and commercial requirements of OEMs in automotive battery products. She brings to Verkor her formidable technical training (a PhD in solid-state chemistry, 13 years in battery engineering and strategic sourcing for Renault), coupled with entrepreneurial experience in company development for Alliance Ventures VC.

Before joining Verkor, Sam managed the process engineering technological centre at SVOLT Energy Tech in China. He led the expansion of the factory while lowering costs and increasing efficiency. His extensive international experience will help Verkor to become one of the leaders in the sector.

Charline was a financial controller at InnoEnergy and an auditor at Deloitte specialised in start-ups. Her global view of innovation and entrepreneurial strategy, as well as her expertise in internal processes, are invaluable to Verkor.

Drawing on his valuable experience at BRENNTAG and THALES & TRIXELL, Julien is in charge of Verkor’s environmental management systems, HSE, and is our expert in regulatory matters (ICPE, SEVESO, ISO14001 and ISO45001).

Formerly an engineer at the Samsung SDI research centre in South Korea, Christober has over 15 years’ experience in onboard systems and data analysis. He is part of the implementation of Verkor’s Industry 4.0.

Enzo’s extensive experience has given him a solid background in finance and political science. He first worked with Verkor as a consultant for a few months to help the company on capital fundraising. He is now Chief of Staff & Head of Financing.

Mario has been Verkor’s Head of Legal since 2022. He oversees and directs the company’s legal and compliance activities with the support of a dynamic and talented team. Before joining Verkor, Mario was responsible for legal and regulatory affairs at Nissan Motor Corporation’s Nissan Energy and Battery services division. Mario began his career at a law firm with a strong international reputation.

An expert in human resources, she has acquired solid experience in complex, international and fast-changing environments. Competent in all areas of the HR function, she has led a number of key organisational projects and acquired solid expertise in the entire employee lifecycle. She is integrating Verkor’s strategy to define an innovative HR policy in support of diversity, multiculturalism and intergeneration.

Originally from Nevada, USA where I spent the last 6 years in battery facility expansion and operations. Prior to this, I worked in project management on various construction projects and volunteered in Search and Rescue dive operations. Recently I completed my EMBA, and moved to France with my family.

As the Head of PMO, Vijay leads a team of Project and Program managers delivering the key projects & programs of Verkor including the Verkor Innovation Centre (VIC) in Grenoble and the Gigafactory in Dunkirk.

Vijay worked at Jaguar Land Rover for 1.5 years followed by a 6 year stint at Kraft Heinz. At Kraft Heinz, he worked in multiple functions across Operations and most recently as PMO & Execution Lead in the International Operations team before joining Verkor.

Laurent is Verkor’s Chief Operating Officer. With over 22 years’ experience in production, engineering and management in the battery industry, Laurent plays a key role in the development of Verkor and the realisation of its ambitions. He previously worked at EnerSys as Vice-President of operations, overseeing several regions.

From the Verkor Innovation Centre to gigafactories, he will overview Verkor’s ramp-up in this new phase of industrialisation of low-carbon, high-performance batteries.