Tribute to Jean-Luc Fourneau (S 1966)

After a professional career at IBM, where he was one of the pioneers of the computer revolution with the exponential deployment of "mainframes", Jean-Luc, to fill his early retirement, gave our Amicale the benefit of his time and good ideas as Délégué Général from spring 1997.

His dedication to the cause of our Association proved essential in bringing the Amicale closer to the School at a time when virtual meetings didn't exist, or even e-mails... Living in Toulouse at the weekend with his wife in Balma, he regularly visited the campus on Mondays and Fridays to meet students, teachers and the SupAéro administration.
This investment was a break with the norm, but his actions helped to smooth relations and establish virtuous practices at a time when the "Chapitre Toulousain" had never really taken off.

And during the week, he didn't count his time in the Rue Le Marois offices, where in the early days he used a sofa bed to sleep on... In those days, many of our meetings were held on Tuesday evenings, and he was an unfailing participant in all our Councils and Commissions. I was in charge of CREOP, the school relations committee, and I remember how we maneuvered, with the complicity of Yves Veret, then President, to establish the tradition of class "godparents".

He also encouraged us to broaden the Amicale's audience by highlighting career paths outside the aeronautical and space worlds, such as that of Jean Laurent (S 1967), then a major Crédit Agricole boss, who then agreed to become the first President of the ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation.

He remained committed to his role as General Delegate until 2005, and it was under his leadership that we set up the Centenary Commission, to organize the discussions and actions that led to the gathering of numerous alumni in Toulouse in 2009 to celebrate the centenary of the School's birth.

Jean-Luc will be remembered as one of the valiant architects of our community.

Pierre Larroque (S 1978)