Marion Guillou (born 17 September 1954 in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

scientist specialized in global food security. Guillou wrote proposals for the French government on the agro-ecological transition (June 2013) and on the organization of the French food safety public services (June 2014). She is a member of the French High Council for Climate.

Early life and education

Guillou completed her engineering training at

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

(promotion X1973), and then specialized in water engineering at École nationale du génie rural, des eaux et des forêts (ENGREF, now known as AgroParisTech). She completed a PhD in physico-chemistry of biological processes at Nantes University (UA CNRS).

Career

Food sciences

Guillou worked on food processes and invented a technique to monitor continuously the bio transformations of food products using physical chemistry sensors such as Nuclear Magnetic low resolution Resonance (NMR).

Food safety

She was in charge of the food safety directorate in France from 1996 to 2000. She had to manage the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, also known as the mad-cow disease, and to propose the new French food safety organization (1999 law on food safety).

Research management

From 1986 to 1989, Guillou was Regional Delegate for Research and Technology in the Region Pays de la Loire. From 2000 to 2012, she was first CEO, then President and CEO of the French National Institute for Agronomic Research (

Institut national de la recherche agronomique The Institut national de la recherche agronomique (; ; abbr. INRA ) was a French public research institute dedicated to agricultural science. It was founded in 1946 and is a Public Scientific and Technical Research Establishment under the join ...

) where she prioritized research on agriculture, food and environment. She widened the scope of research topics towards global matters. She put in place interdisciplinary meta-programs, for instance on integrated plant protection and consumer practices. From 2008 to 2013, Guillou was the chair of the Board of the

(l'X) and during her mandate, Ecole Polytechnique put a greater emphasis on the scientific and technological training, as well as the innovative management and the cooperation with industry. The creation of a new research center on interfaces between biology and engineering sciences was decided and financed and the organization of the Ecole Polytechnique was reformed.

Global involvement

Guillou founded the Joint Programming Initiative on agriculture and climate change with British colleagues and chaired it during the first three years(2010-2013). This initiative, FACCEJPI, now gathers 21 European countries and links at international level with AGMIP and CCAFS. From 2013 to 2016, she was a member of the High-Level Panel Expert reporting to the

Committee on World Food Security The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations System. History The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) was established in 1974 as an intergovernmental body to serve as a forum in the United ...

and a board member of the

CGIAR CGIAR (formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food ...

. Starting in 2016, she became a member of the Bioversity board, and starting in 2019, she became a member of the CIAT board. She promoted th
Alliance
an alliance between those two agricultural research centers.

Other activities

Corporate boards

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (; sometimes referred to as BNPP or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial instituti ...

, Member of the Board of Directors *

Veolia Environnement Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. In 2 ...

, Member of the Board of Directors

Non-profit organizations

* French Academy of Technology, Member * French Academy of Agriculture, Chairperson *

French Institute of International Relations French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), a ...

(IFRI), Member of the Board of Directors *

Bioversity International Bioversity International is a global research-for-development organization that delivers scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural biodiversity to attain global food security, food- and nutritio ...

, Member of the Board, Chair of the Program Committee * CIAT, Member of the Board, Chair of the Program Committee *French High Council for Climate, Member *Boardchair of the Collections and Biodiversity Fund

Publications

* Grenelle Committee on Research and Innovation (2008) * The World's Challenge (Quae 2012) (English version) or 9 Milliards d'hommes à nourrir (French version) * The role for scientists in tackling food insecurity and climate change (BioMed Central, 2011) * What next after Durban to active a secure food world ? (Science, January 2012-Vol335 no.6066) * Achieving food security in the face of climate change: Summary for policy makers from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change * Report to the French government on the Agro-ecological transition (June 2013) * Report to the French government on the policy of food safety (June 2014) *Food systems for sustainable development: proposals for a profound four-part transformation *Accelerating the climate transition with a low-carbon, resilient and fair food system, Haut conseil pour le climat (Jan 2024)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillou, Marion 1954 births Living people École Polytechnique alumni Commanders of the Legion of Honour Scientists from Marseille French agronomists