Alumni portrait : Frederic Petitpont (2008 IIM), CTO and co-founder of Newsbridge

Frederic Petitpont is a graduate of the IIM class of 2008, and currently CTO and Co-founder of Newsbridge, a fast-growing start-up. With nearly fifty employees, and several fund-raisers, the company is headquartered in Paris and New York, marking its presence on the international scene.

When asked about his alumni status and commitment to his school, Frederic shares his experience. He emphasizes the importance of support, and remembers the special role played by Song HE, a professor of scientific computing, who gave him the confidence he needed at a crucial time. A confidence that has helped build his career.

Newsbridge, an entrepreneurial adventure

Frederic looks back at the creation of Newsbridge, a business founded in partnership with his twin brother. The company's aim is to help any media rights-holder, whether a TV channel, a sports federation, or even large corporations such as Fox or NBC, to find specific video moments in vast amounts of media archives. This is made possible by cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data. For example, it might be about finding an election promise in a presidential interview, or the very first moments of an athlete's rise to fame. This expertise is deployed through 100 petabytes of content and 100 live streams. The team currently totals some 50 members, divided between Europe and the United States.

Transition to entrepreneurship

Frederic Petitpont began his agency career in London, where he says he learned a million things, before moving to Havas as Creative Technologies. He followed an original path, moving from prototyping for well-known companies to creating his own product with Newsbridge. He insists on the importance of becoming your own manager, defining your goals and vision to realize your entrepreneurial dreams.