Portrait of Fabrice Wilthien (Ensae 98)

• What has been your career path since graduating from ENSAE?

My career path was initially fairly conventional. When I left ENSAE, I started out as a Credit Risk Manager at BNP, following on from the GT we had done in our final year at ENSAE with two other classmates.

Even though I loved the experience and did a lot of things there (mathematical models, training, setting up software in the branches...), I quickly felt that I wouldn't flourish in a big bank like BNP, which had now become BNP Paribas. Above all, I was very curious about working on the Internet, which was just beginning to develop. So I resigned after two years, after being contacted by a start-up that had just raised Series A funding.

I worked on Internet profiling for six months, but there again, I realized that I needed to create on my own. At the same time, I had been developing the alumni association's website and database on a voluntary basis, which are still in use today.

In 2000, the three of us founded Optimind, an actuarial consulting firm, which I developed until 2008 (50 employees). The company was acquired last year by Accenture. In 2003, I created Netanswer, a community management solution, which I managed until its sale in 2022 to the Eudonet group (market leader in CRM for associations in France). Netanswer now equips over 300 associations in more than 15 countries.

At the same time, from 2005 to 2010, I founded and managed Manageurs.com, now Wats4u, a job market platform used by nearly 20 alumni associations.

So my background is as a digital entrepreneur, with a strong focus on data management and innovation.

• What do you remember most about your time at ENSAE?

My years at ENSAE were fascinating, but two memories stand out for me.

When I arrived at Malakoff, I wanted to get involved in community life and, quite naturally, I became treasurer and then president of the BDE. In my first year, I was in 1A Maths and I heard that the 1A Economics students were going skiing. As I was passionate about skiing, I wanted the 1A Maths to be able to go too, but the administration didn't agree. Sylviane Gastaldo, the school principal, imposed three conditions:

• Let the whole promotion take part in the trip.

• The trip must be self-financed, including for scholarship holders (no assistance from the school).

• That I convince three teachers to come and give morning classes and that I find a room in the station.

A month later, I came back with a grant from the Conseil Général, a partnership with Sogé, a questionnaire in which the whole class had answered "yes", and the list of the three teachers who were accompanying us, all expenses paid. I think Sylviane couldn't believe it... I had created my first association, but above all, I had proved that, when you're determined and young, nothing can stop you.

But the big break came six months later. I wasn't as passionate about music as I was about skiing, but three friends - Arnaud Malapert, Christophe Jaeck and Khoi Le Binh- were. We wanted to mark the occasion with the school Gala, as it was the last year (1996) that our ENSAI classmates were with us in Paris before they left for Rennes. So we organized the ENSAE-ENSAI 96 Gala at the Palace, with 1,000 people in attendance, featuring Daft Punk and Laurent Garnier, as well as over 12 artists from the Trans Musicales de Rennes.

At the time, Daft Punk weren't wearing headphones yet, so not only were we bold enough to organize such an event, we were also a bit visionary in our choice! Daft Punk for less than €1,000 at a gala, that can't have happened very often.

In short, my years at ENSAE were marked by a beautiful carefree spirit, and they taught me to be enterprising and self-confident. An invaluable learning experience!

• What advice would you give to young graduates who want to follow a similar path to yours?

I think entrepreneurship rests on three pillars: a good idea, a good team and good timing.

ENSAE didn't teach me any of the three. I think I had them in me, but ENSAE enabled me to acquire an analytical vision of events, to understand situations and to be able to pass on my knowledge.

My advice to young graduates would be to realize that with their ENSAE diploma, they have a prestigious calling card that will open many doors and give them the confidence to force open those that would otherwise be closed.

ENSAE's areas of expertise have regularly evolved (statistics, econometrics, finance, Big Data, AI...), but these are still fields where they will be able to flourish and fulfill themselves.