[Director's portrait] Jean-Pierre Tachet (1974)
Head of Lyon delegation

Portrait of Jean-Pierre Tachet

We invite you to discover the portrait of Jean-Pierre Tachet, head of the Lyon delegation for the ECAM Alumni Association.

Jean-Pierre joined us 6 months ago and has learned a lot about the association's workings and missions, so now it's our turn to learn more about him.

A portrait by Juliette Tauvel, Communications Officer at ECAM Alumni

Jean-Pierre, thank you for granting us this interview. Could you introduce yourself in a few lines?

To start with, I was born in 1951, so I'm one of the "baby boomers". I grew up in Valence with my parents, but no brothers or sisters: my mother was a maths teacher and my father a career soldier, so I was immersed in science from an early age...

I was lucky enough to meet my future wife, Catherine, when I was a student at ECAM. She was a member of the school's drama group (in need of female members at the time!). We married straight out of school in 1974 and had 3 children.

Today, I enjoy hiking in summer and skiing in winter, and we travel whenever the opportunity arises: so when I can combine these two hobbies, I'm happy! I'm also the proud grandfather of 8 grandchildren, with whom I ski, hike and try to keep up with their musical progress, particularly on the piano - a real challenge!

How did you get to ECAM?

Honestly, by chance! I didn't know about ECAM before I started thinking about my career direction: I looked at the prep schools that existed and when I saw the one at ECAM, I found the spirit of the school original and even particularly interesting, with a 5-year apprenticeship cycle. I entered Lazos, ECAM's integrated preparatory program, after my baccalaureate and I have to admit that it had quite a trigger effect: it gave me the opportunity to project myself over 5 years, which gave me great prospects and, it has to be said, a certain comfort.

These years were a rich learning experience: as well as deepening my knowledge of scientific subjects, I discovered what constitutes the very essence of the "Art et Métiers" appellation: workshop work, machining, forging, assembly... and, above all, the beginnings of computer science!

What stood out for you during your training?

I'd say that, beyond the material aspects, it's also, and perhaps above all, people. I'm thinking in particular of Jean Bouisset, who was Director of Studies at the time, Brother René Bonnetain, Director of the school, and others... They were personalities who had a special presence and aura, they were strongly imbued with their functions and so passed on to us much more than an academic education.

What advice would you give to outgoing graduates?

I wouldn't presume to give advice to generations who are evolving in a very different context from the one I experienced in the past. Things have changed a lot since I left school and even since my professional career, so I'd say I'd rather give them a testimonial.

Today's school-leavers are perfectly capable of building their own future, so I'd simply like to encourage them to ask themselves questions about their future, and especially the right ones! It's up to each of them to find their own answers, but sometimes with the help of their elders, like those who are part of our association!

A word about your career?

My career has taken place in a number of different structures, and I'd like to think that I've seen quite a range: private group, public authority, semi-public company, professional association. I've also worked as a freelancer! When I left school (we were at the end of the "thirty glorious years"), job offers were still plentiful. We were very much in demand, so we could afford to take our pick without asking too many questions before taking the plunge.

So I began my professional career deep in the Creuse region, in an industrial field where I twisted tungsten wire to make filaments for incandescent lamps, before quickly being lured to Grenoble (ah! the mountains...), to work for the town council, dealing with traffic and travel plans (good application of the hydraulics courses at ECAM). I stayed there for 7 years, and then I got a chance to work, still in Grenoble, for the company operating the district heating network.

In 1993, I moved to Dijon to join a private group operating in the same field on a national scale, to manage its activities in the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region. It was within this framework that I was able to develop, first in the region and then elsewhere in France, projects for the production of heat and electricity, notably from biomass, and to contribute to the construction of power plants and their associated networks.

In 2008, I had a disagreement with my company: I was asked to join the Paris head office, a situation in which, I confess, I had absolutely no plans. So we stopped working together. However, as I was then representing my "ex" company in a professional association - the Comité Interprofessionnel du Bois Energie (CIBE) - I took on the role of General Delegate, this time moving back to Lyon.

We were there to promote all the trades that make up the industry, with a strong environmental focus, bringing together the wood industry and the energy sector (two very different fields) under the slogan "from nursery to ash"! And by bringing together all companies and types of structure, we've set aside for the time being questions of relationships between customers and suppliers, or between competitors.

And it was in 2013 that I received a letter about age and quarters... The bell had rung and so I "liquidated" my pension, but I continued to work as a self-employed consultant, notably for CIBE, until 2018.

What's next?

Today, I have more time to take care of my family! But that's not all...

Throughout my professional career, I've had other activities. Early on, Catherine and I were very busy with Marriage Preparation (a national Catholic organization for young people wishing to give meaning to religious marriage). When we moved to Lyon, we joined the Mouvement Chrétien des Cadres et dirigeants (MCC), of which we were regional leaders for several years: a place to build and develop exchanges on a variety of subjects, and to take another look at professional life. As for our ECAM association, I was responsible for its Dauphiné-Savoie group for several years when I was in Grenoble. And finally, to get to today, I'm back on the job, accepting the position of head of the Lyon delegation.

There's more to life than a professional career!

What does the network mean to you?

First of all, the team, which is an indispensable tool! Before responding to the request from the ECAM Alumni Association, I told Pierre Damnon, our President, of my desire to work as part of a team: being surrounded by people who trust you helps you to progress and enrich yourself, avoiding uncertainties and mistakes. This is the team I'm currently building.

As for my network, I'm constantly working on it: staying in touch with professionals is essential for me. In fact, I'm still a member of the regional office of ATEE (Association Technique Energie Environnement).

As far as I'm concerned, ECAM Alumni is a multi-faceted network: there are the "alumni" by virtue of their status, but also all the people with whom they are in contact, in all fields, and who may themselves have a life rich in meaning and experience. There are many opportunities to be seized: you can enrich each other by taking the time to seek out and meet the members of these networks.

Tell us about your role within the association?

It all started when I accepted the offer to take charge of the Lyon Delegation, just before the last AGM. I see 3 main aspects in this delegation: relations with the school, running the alumni network and relations with other organizations such as the IESF, or InterAlumni with the representation of our association with celles-ci.

At present, I'm looking to make my role my own and to form a leadership team by calling on directors living in the Lyon region and certain others who have expressed their wish to contribute to the life of the association. Around twenty of them, young and old, responded to this call. A very encouraging start for me, enabling me to look to the future with confidence, to ensure the delegation's dynamism and adapt to the needs of as many people as possible.

The final word?

Wouldn't it be better to call it "the next word"? If so, let me insist: we need to ask ourselves questions about the future and, above all, find the right answers. We're in a world that's in a state of upheaval, so as engineers, men and women, young and old, we need to act, and act fast: it's everyone's duty. My career in the energy sector has made me particularly sensitive to some of today's issues.

Today's engineers need to look beyond immediate profitability, so I'd like to raise the awareness of the readers, particularly the younger ones, who will peruse these pages: how do we put all this into practice? It's up to us in the association to contribute in our activities - however modestly - to answering these questions.

Did you like this portrait? Would you like to talk to him?

You can!

The General Secretariat invites you to its face-to-face and videoconference event:

December 5, 2022, at 5:30 p.m.

"Meeting with the new team of the Lyon RA Delegation".

During this meeting, a number of important points will be discussed, and it's an opportunity to meet the new Lyon delegation team and to take stock of the General Secretariat's news and programming!