New Managing Director at TWB

TWB announced the appointment of Olivier Rolland, 38, as Managing Director on January 1, 2019, succeeding founder Pierre Monsan. His experience in major industry groups (Boeing, Total, Michelin) and his international experience, particularly in biotechnology and product development in San Francisco, are key assets for TWB development.

Olivier Rolland, PhD in chemistry (Executive certificates from MIT, USA), has more than 10 year-experience in the bio-economy.

Prior to TWB, Olivier was Director, Sustainable Fuel Strategy at Boeing where he was leading the global strategy to enable innovative regional biofuel value chains. In particular, he led partnerships to set up such value chains in different regions of the world (Middle East, China, Brazil, Europe).

Previously, Olivier spent 5 years in San Francisco with the French energy major, Total. He managed the alliance with Amyris, a start-up leader in synthetic biology. In this context, he led the development of the first aviation biofuel produced on a sugar basis by fermentation. More than 100 researchers have been involved and several tens of millions of dollars invested per year.

Before joining this endeavour in San Francisco, he had been involved in getting Total New Energies Business Unit biotechnology activities off the ground. In particular, he focused on projects to produce bio-sourced molecules in replacement of existing fossil derivatives. As part of this, he was deeply involved in the negotiation of contracts with numerous partners (start-ups, universities, etc.), including R&D collaboration, intellectual property rights and licensing conditions, and equity investments.

To complete this overview, Olivier Rolland began his career at the Michelin Technology Center in 2010. He notably initiated the evaluation of industrial biotechnology processes to produce chemicals used in the manufacture of rubber.

More information: Press release