Adrien Henry was tasked with setting up France-based water and waste management company Suez Environnement’s corporate venturing fund Blue Orange two years ago.
Henry, managing director of Blue Orange, said: “We are a dedicated entity and subsidiary of Suez Environnement, which also makes us small, flexible and quick, allowing us to be a bridge between the corporate world and entrepreneurs.”
Henry previously worked as an assistant to the group’s managing director and has worked for Suez Environnement for six years. He said: “I studied management and economics of natural resources in France 10 years ago and at the time was one of the few guys interested in the environment as a business challenge. I started working at Ernst & Young sustainability services here in Paris with French and European scale jobs. In the usual way I thought I could change from analysing and advising and thought I could try to enforce what I was writing.”
Lessons from the top: Henry said: “The thing that strikes me most is the best deals will come from partnering, co-investing and sharing with small and big companies doing good deals finding nice and profitable solutions to the markets.”