“The transition is not a constraint; it is the greatest field of opportunity of our time”
I had the pleasure of welcoming Isabelle Kocher, a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, an engineer in the Corps des Mines, the first woman to lead a CAC 40 company, and co-founder of Blunomy.
She has always viewed that historic distinction with detachment, refusing to be defined by her gender rather than by her convictions, her strategic decisions and her ability to transform organisations.
At the helm of Engie, she set a radical transformation in motion early on: decarbonisation, a move away from coal and a reshaping of the global energy model. She championed this vision well before the energy transition became a political or financial imperative, challenging the established order until her departure in 2020.
Since then, she has chosen another path: entrepreneurship. By co-founding Blunomy, she helps companies and financial institutions adapt their business models to climate realities. For Isabelle, business is far more a solution than a problem, provided energy and action are redirected towards what matters. The transition is not a constraint; it is the greatest field of opportunity of our time.
An episode about power, systemic transformation, courage in leadership and the strength of women who forge paths where none existed before.
In this episode, Isabelle reflects on:
- Her education and the intellectual foundations of her social and environmental commitment
- Her career at Engie: a pioneer and visionary of the transition
- Market valuation and the art of persuasion when reinventing everything
- What it really means to lead a CAC 40 company
- The founding of Blunomy and its mission: reconciling the economy and the climate
- The difference between leading a large company and being an entrepreneur
- Her understated role as a model for others, and what she says to women who doubt themselves
- Her dictionary of boldness: listen to the inner voice that urges you forward, do not set your own limits, and give whatever you do your all.