Wing Vice-Admiral (2S) Arnaud Coustillière, former General manager of digital defence directorate, DGNUM, the body responsible for the information and communication systems implemented within the French Ministry of Armed Forces will join the investment bank Klecha & Co. specialized in mergers & acquisitions in the technology sector. Prior to DGNUM Mr. Coustillière was the General Officer in charge of Cyber defence, then the first COMCYBER, the French military cyber forces.
Paris, 1 October 2020 - Klecha & Co, an independent European investment bank specialized in mergers and acquisitions in the technology, software, IT services, hardware and IoT markets has appointed Arnaud Coustillière as Senior Advisor for its consulting activities in France. He is also a member of several defence and technology committees in the French market.
Arnaud Coustillière, 59, had been head of the French Army's ISD since 2017, which he had transformed into a digital directorate, DGNUM. His mission was to orchestrate the digital transformation of defence. In this position, he reported directly to Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces. During his career, Arnaud Coustillière has held several positions, including Director of Information Systems for the French Navy from 2006 to 2008, in charge of joint coherence of networks and cyber, then was appointed first General Officer at Cyber Defense in 2011, where he was in charge of its ramp-up until 2017. In this position, he was also the first COMCYBER (Cyber Defense Command) and was in command of the armies' cyber defence capabilities from 2011 to 2017.
Arnaud Coustillière is a graduate of the Ecole Navale and a graduate of the Collège interarmées de défense and the Ecole de guerre.
Link to the full press release