Following a PhD in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Dr. Eric Pilaud continued his studies to graduate from Harvard Business School: Advanced Management Program.
Eric Pilaud began his career in 1982 as a research professor at the University of Grenoble and then at the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble in the field of «embedded systems for applications with high operational safety». In 1986, he joined Merlin Gerin, a subsidiary of Schneider Electric, in a division producing automation systems for the nuclear industry. He held various management positions there. From 1991 to 1999, he held various management positions within the Schneider Electric Group (Plant Manager, Subsidiary Manager, Country Manager) in France and England.
In 2000, he moved to Boston (Massachusetts USA) where he was appointed head of the new eB@se Inc., responsible for bringing Schneider Electric into the world of the Internet and eBusiness. He was promoted to the Executive Committee of Schneider Electric in November 2000. From 2001 to 2009, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Schneider Electric. In this role he is in charge of the strategic transformation of the company, and supervises the functions Strategy, Marketing, Research and Development, Major Account Trade and e-Business and the «new business», i.e. newly acquired companies and the new Services division.
During this period, the results obtained by his team include:
- 120 acquisitions of companies and joint ventures
- Transformation of the group from an electromechanical equipment supplier into a provider of intelligent and connected systems and services
- Creation and Development of the Services division up to a turnover of 3 Billion Euros
- Growth of Large Accounts turnover double those of other activities.
In July 2009, at his request, he moved to California where he became “President and CEO” of CST, Custom Sensors & Technologies, then a division of Schneider Electric. In October 2014, he backed two funds from Private Equity, Carlyle Group and PAI Partners to buy CST from Schneider Electric; the company changed its name to InnoVista Sensors. Eric is named “President, CEO and Chairman of the Board”. In February 2019, he finalised the sale of the various InnoVista Sensors subsidiaries to different companies.Since then, he has been consulting with executives of various companies in the USA, the UK and France.
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, Eric is also very involved in the economic development of Grenoble, the city where he grew up. From 2005 to 2009 he was President of the Minalogic Competitiveness Cluster, which brings together companies and research laboratories in the field of Micro and Nano-technologies. From 2008 to 2012, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble.
