ParisTech Review

BIO

Alan Bryden is currently a member, with the title of Ingénieur Général, of the High Council for Economy, Industry, Energy and Technologies, an advisory body to the French government on policy issues in these areas, based in Paris. He also advises various international organizations and national governments on sustainable development and quality policies.

From 2003 to 2008 included, he was the Secretary General of ISO, the International Organization for Standardization. During his tenure, ISO significantly consolidated its position and scope as the world leader for the production of consensus based, multi-stakeholders international standards. He brought to this position his extensive experience acquired previously, i.a. as Director General of AFNOR, the French national standardization body, as Director General of LNE, the French national metrology and testing laboratory and as Head of the Department for industry and agriculture in the French agency for energy conservation of which he was a founder member, now ADEME.

Amongst the numerous international positions held, M. Bryden was the first Vice President of the GATT Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, Vice President (policy) of CEN, the European Standardization Committee, and the founder President of EUROLAB, the European federation of measurement and testing laboratories.

He is a graduate from the Ecole Polytechnique and the Paris School of Mines, now Mines ParisTech, and holds a degree in nuclear physics from the Université d’Orsay. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur and of the Ordre National du Mérite. He holds both French and British nationalities, is bilingual in French and English and is fluent in Spanish.