Diane Frachon cut her teeth as an entrepreneur before her career at Schlumberger, the oilfield services company, setting up a service and retail-related startup.
“It was tough and brilliant,” she says, adding that the experience gave her an understanding of what is required in building a business from scratch.
“Finding the capital and the right people to work with, making sure you keep the customer at the centre of everything you do,” were among the learnings she still finds valuable today.
Although Frachon later took a role with SLB, her passion for the startup community did not diminish. Everywhere she was posted during her 10-year career with SLB, from Scotland to Egypt, she would volunteer as a pro-bono mentor at local incubators, advising startups on setting up their businesses and raising money. Now based in London, she gets involved in local pitching events and mentors at startups at Imperial College, among others.
“SLB has a strong history of tech development and we are so global that we can take anything to scale quickly.”
After working in several roles across SLB’s core business, Frachon moved to SLB New Energy Ventures in 2022, a role that allowed her to revisit her interest in startups. The New Energy Ventures team focuses on technology related to the energy transition, particularly areas such as CCUS, hydrogen, geothermal
and geoenergy, as well as critical minerals such as lithium and stationary energy storage.
Frachon is optimistic about technology being able to mitigate climate impacts. “The technologies to do this, absolutely exist, there are options. The challenge is to bring those to scale,” she says.
This is where she sees companies such as SLB being able to play a crucial role. “SLB has a strong history of tech development and we are so global that we can take anything to scale quickly.”
Frachon holds master’s degrees in industrial management from HEC Paris and agro-science engineering from UniLasalle.
See the full list of GCV Rising Stars for 2024 here.