Angélique Gérard: Equipping the Next Generation for Tomorrow
Technology continues to redefine the way industries operate, economies grow, and societies evolve. Yet behind every technological breakthrough lies a more important question: who gets the opportunity to shape that future? Despite remarkable progress, women remain underrepresented across many areas of science, engineering, and technology, leaving untapped talent that could drive the next wave of innovation. Closing this gap is not simply about fairness.
Few leaders understand this challenge as deeply as Angélique Gérard, Co-founder of STEM Academy and Women in STEM Europe, and an INSEAD graduate. A founding executive of Iliad, she spent more than 22 years shaping one of Europe’s leading telecommunications companies, overseeing customer relations, serving on the executive committee, and leading nine subsidiaries. While her corporate achievements reflect an extraordinary leadership journey, her current work represents an even broader ambition.
Today, Angélique Gérard is committed to ensuring that women do more than participate in the future of technology. She believes they must help create it, influence important decisions, and lead innovation across every stage of the scientific and technological landscape. Through STEM Academy and her leadership at Women in STEM Europe, she works to remove barriers that have limited opportunities for women, strengthen access to STEM education, accelerate professional growth, and inspire young girls to see science and technology as fields where they belong and can excel. Her mission is not only to advance individual careers but also to help Europe build a more diverse, innovative, and future-ready technology ecosystem.
Turning Purpose into Progress
After building an accomplished career in executive leadership within one of Europe’s leading telecommunications companies, Angélique, chose to dedicate her experience to a mission that reaches far beyond corporate success. She believes the real challenge is not technology itself but ensuring people have the knowledge, opportunities, and encouragement to grow alongside it.
Through Women in STEM Europe, she is helping create stronger pathways for women to enter, thrive, and lead in science and technology, while contributing to Europe’s long-term innovation and competitiveness. Guided by a people-first philosophy, she continues to champion leadership that develops talent, encourages collaboration, and creates opportunities that extend well beyond the present generation.
On a Mission That Matters
Following years of executive leadership, Angélique reached an important realization that reshaped the direction of her career. While technology continues to advance at a remarkable speed, she believes the greater responsibility lies in preparing people to succeed within that changing landscape.
This conviction led her to co-found Women in STEM Europe with Léna Touchard. Her work is centered on creating lasting opportunities for women in science and technology by providing education, guidance, encouragement, and greater visibility. In her view, supporting female talent is not only about creating equal opportunities.
It is also essential for strengthening Europe’s capacity to innovate, remain competitive, and secure its technological future. Helping more women build successful careers in STEM ultimately strengthens the broader innovation ecosystem.
Lifting Others Higher
Experience has gradually transformed Angélique’s understanding of leadership. Early in her career, success was often measured by delivering results and making timely decisions. Over time, she discovered that meaningful leadership is defined by the ability to help others succeed.
One experience, in particular, left a lasting impression. Throughout her professional journey, she met countless highly accomplished women who continued to question their own capabilities despite their achievements. Seeing this pattern repeatedly reinforced her belief that confidence can sometimes become as significant a barrier as opportunity itself.
That insight reshaped her leadership philosophy. Today, she sees leadership as creating opportunities that allow others to grow, develop, and move forward. Opening doors for future generations has become just as important as achieving personal success.
Preparing Talent for an AI-Driven World
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries, workplaces, and the skills organizations expect from their workforce. Angélique believes preparing people for this new environment requires more than teaching emerging technologies alone.
Through STEM Academy and Women in STEM Europe, learning is built on two equally important foundations. The first focuses on technological capabilities, including generative artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and digital literacy. The second develops the qualities that remain uniquely human, such as leadership, creativity, communication, and emotional intelligence.
She believes future professionals will succeed by combining these two strengths. Technical knowledge creates opportunities, while human judgment, collaboration, and creativity ensure technology is applied in ways that generate lasting value.
A New Perspective on Modern Leadership
Years of serving in senior executive positions, advising boards, and supporting entrepreneurs have broadened Angélique’s understanding of what makes organizations successful.
Earlier in her career, she viewed leadership primarily through the lens of making sound decisions quickly. Experience has since shown her that sustainable success depends on much more than individual decision-making.
She now believes effective leadership is rooted in building a shared vision, earning trust, and helping people reach their full potential. Organizations that will lead tomorrow are those capable of attracting diverse talent, welcoming different perspectives, and transforming those perspectives into innovation. Collective intelligence, she believes, remains the strongest foundation for long-term business performance.
Moving Beyond Commitments to Meaningful Action
Creating more inclusive workplaces requires action that reaches every stage of the talent journey. Angélique trusts organizations have moved beyond the point where statements of support alone are enough.
Real progress begins by encouraging more girls to pursue STEM education, strengthening recruitment practices, supporting career development, and increasing the visibility of women already making significant contributions to science and technology.
This vision is reflected in the European Women in STEM Awards, an initiative that will recognize six outstanding women from across Europe. Applications remain open until 21 August, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 22 October in Paris.
She is particularly encouraged by the support of Visa France for the inaugural edition of the awards. In her view, when a global organization actively invests in highlighting women’s achievements in science and technology, it inspires future generations while strengthening the entire innovation community.
Keeping Innovation Grounded in Human Values
Rapid technological progress offers enormous possibilities, but Angélique believes every innovation should begin with a simple consideration: whose lives will genuinely improve because of it.
She views ethics as an essential guide rather than an obstacle to innovation. Responsible technology should expand opportunities, reduce inequalities, and help individuals realize their full potential.
This people-centered approach continues to shape her work across education, leadership, and technology. While innovation will continue to transform industries, she believes its greatest success will always be measured by the positive difference it creates in people’s lives.
One Mission, Many Leadership Roles
Angélique’s professional journey spans boardrooms, entrepreneurial ventures, keynote stages, and international advocacy. While these responsibilities appear diverse, she views them as different expressions of a single purpose rather than separate commitments.
Whether she is serving on a corporate board, addressing global audiences, or leading Women in STEM Europe, her focus remains unchanged: contributing to a future where innovation and inclusion progress together. Having one clear mission allows her to prioritize effectively, ensuring every role supports the same long-term objective. Instead of dividing her energy across multiple ambitions, she channels it into one vision that takes shape in different ways.
The Mindset Behind Enduring Entrepreneurship
After mentoring entrepreneurs and emerging leaders over many years, Angélique has observed a common quality among those who build businesses that stand the test of time. Their passion is directed not toward the products they create, but toward the problems they are determined to solve.
She believes successful entrepreneurs remain deeply connected to the needs of their customers. They continue listening, questioning long-held assumptions, and adapting as circumstances evolve. Curiosity becomes one of their greatest strengths, while surrounding themselves with people whose expertise complements their own enables stronger decision-making. In her view, genuine ambition is most effective when it is balanced by humility and a willingness to keep learning.
Governance That Prepares Organizations for Tomorrow
Corporate governance is entering a new era, one that demands greater adaptability as businesses respond to rapid technological, economic, and social change. Angélique believes governance frameworks must evolve alongside the world they are designed to guide.
She advocates for greater diversity within boardrooms, extending beyond gender to include varied professional backgrounds, generations, experiences, and perspectives. Such diversity strengthens discussions and leads to more thoughtful decisions. Modern boards, she believes, have responsibilities that extend well beyond oversight and risk management. They must also help organizations anticipate future challenges, recognize emerging opportunities, and remain prepared for long-term transformation.
Choosing Purpose Over Comfort
Among the many decisions Angélique has made throughout her career, one stands above the rest in terms of personal challenge. Leaving a highly successful corporate leadership position to begin an entrepreneurial journey required stepping away from certainty in pursuit of a larger purpose.
Building Women in STEM Europe meant starting almost from the beginning, with no guarantees of success. Yet she believed creating broader opportunities for others carried greater significance than continuing along an already established path.
This experience reinforced her understanding of courage. Rather than being free from uncertainty, courage is the determination to move forward despite it. Sometimes the greatest leadership decisions involve choosing meaningful impact over personal comfort.
Creating Visibility That Inspires Generations
Among the milestones she has achieved, Angélique considers the launch of the European Women in STEM Awards one of the most meaningful.
She views STEM disciplines as central to Europe’s future, driving progress in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, healthcare, climate innovation, advanced engineering, and technological independence. Despite their importance, women continue to be underrepresented across many of these critical fields.
The awards were created with a purpose that extends well beyond recognition. They celebrate women already shaping innovation, entrepreneurship, and scientific excellence while giving greater visibility to role models who can inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM.
This year’s program will honor six outstanding women from across Europe. Applications remain open until 21 August, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 22 October in Paris.
Angélique also acknowledges the support of Visa, the founding partner of the inaugural edition. She believes that when global organizations actively champion women’s achievements in science and technology, they help unlock opportunities not only for individuals but also for the future strength of Europe’s innovation economy.
A Vision for 2030 Built on Opportunity
Looking toward 2030, Angélique imagines a future where conversations about shortages of STEM talent become increasingly unnecessary because more young people, especially girls, feel empowered to pursue scientific careers with confidence.
She hopes organizations will come to see diversity not as an obligation driven by policy, but as a genuine source of innovation, resilience, and competitive advantage. Businesses that embrace different perspectives will be better positioned to respond to the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world.
Her aspiration for Women in STEM Europe is equally ambitious. If the organization succeeds in accelerating this transformation, even in a modest way, she believes it will have fulfilled its purpose.
Perhaps her greatest hope is that one day the European Women in STEM Awards will no longer exist to address a lack of visibility. Instead, they will simply celebrate scientific excellence without distinction. To her, that moment would represent the strongest evidence that equality has moved beyond aspiration and become an accepted reality.