Nicolas Hengy has been appointed Chief Financial Officer with a seat on CNES’s Executive Committee, effective 15 June 2022. A former adviser to the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, in charge of the budget, the government’s stimulus plan and France 2030, Nicolas Hengy is a graduate of the ENSAE Paris statistics and economic administration school and the Paris School of Economics (PSE). After spending his early career at the Treasury Directorate, he moved to the Budget Directorate where he notably headed the research and higher education office. In this role, he exercised financial oversight for numerous operators including the national scientific research centre CNRS, the national research agency ANR, the national student affairs centre CNOUS and the EPA Paris-Saclay land planning agency. Nicolas Hengy was subsequently Head of Budget and Financial Affairs at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique engineering school.

He also lectures at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA) and the IEP political studies institute in Paris (Sciences Po), and is an external expert for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nicolas Hengy’s appointment follows the decision of Antoine Seillan, CNES’s current CFO and acting Secretary-General, to pursue his career abroad.

Commenting on this appointment, CNES Chairman & CEO Philippe Baptiste said: “CNES extends a warm welcome to Nicolas Hengy as the agency’s new Chief Financial Officer, effective 15 June. His background and dedication will strengthen our ability to meet the challenges of a fast-changing sector. I would also like to wish Antoine Seillan all the best for his new career aspirations.”