François Jackow
| François Jackow | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 June 1969 Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | École normale supérieure; Harvard University; Collège des ingénieurs |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Employer | Air Liquide |
| Title | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Air Liquide (since 2022) |
| Known for | Succeeding Benoît Potier as chairman and chief executive officer of Air Liquide |
François Jackow (born 12 June 1969 in Paris) is a French business executive. Jackow has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Air Liquide, a French supplier of industrial gases, since 1 June 2022.
Jackow spent almost the whole of his career at Air Liquide, joining the company in 1993 and rising through research, an overseas chief executive posting in Japan and senior group management roles in Paris before being appointed to lead the group itself, succeeding Benoît Potier.
Early life and education
Jackow was born on 12 June 1969 in Paris. Jackow attended the Lycée Henri IV and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, including preparatory classes for the grandes écoles. He was admitted to the École normale supérieure in 1989 and graduated in 1992 with a degree in chemistry. In the same year, through a university exchange programme, he obtained a Master of Arts in chemistry from Harvard University. In 1993 he completed a Master of Business Administration at the Collège des ingénieurs.
Career
Early career (1990 to 1993)
Jackow began his career in 1990 as an associate researcher at L'Oréal. From 1991 to 1992 he worked for the oil company Shell as an industrial risk consultant.
Rise through the ranks (1993 to 2022)
Jackow joined Air Liquide in 1993. In 2002 he became vice president for research and development. In 2007 he was appointed chief executive of the company's Japanese subsidiary, and he returned to Paris in 2011. Jackow became a member of the group's Executive Committee in 2015, and in 2019 he was named executive vice president, or directeur général adjoint, of the group.
Chairman and chief executive (since 2022)
On 1 June 2022, Jackow was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Air Liquide, succeeding Benoît Potier.
Assessment
Jackow's career is notable for its continuity: over nearly three decades he moved from a research post to an operational posting running a national subsidiary in Japan and then to the group's most senior executive roles in Paris, culminating in his appointment as chairman and chief executive in 2022. This trajectory suggests a leader promoted primarily on the strength of long internal experience, including direct operating responsibility abroad, rather than one recruited from outside the company. The available sources describe his appointment and career path in detail but say little about his record since taking the top job, so a fuller assessment of his tenure as chairman and chief executive is not yet supported by the material at hand.