Vincent has joined the EXPERING team as Business Partner Grand Ouest.
The EXPERING team expanded in October 2023 with the arrival of Vincent DURAND as Business Partner Grand Ouest. He tells us about his career…
I enlisted as a volunteer in October 1979 and chose to serve in the naval aviation service. After passing the elementary and technical aptitude exams for the naval aviation radar specialist speciality, I joined the Nîmes Garons naval air station in June 1981, where I worked as an aeronautical electronics technician in the radar workshop. In 1983, I expressed my desire to take on greater responsibilities and decided to prepare for a career as an officer. Upon successful completion of this training, I embarked on the aircraft carrier CLEMENCEAU as an Aviation Installations Officer, where I took part in the catapulting of over 400 aircraft. It was during this period that I prepared for the Ecole Militaire de la Flotte and passed the entrance exam in 1985.
In 1987, I was assigned to the Frégate Anti Sous-Marine Jean de Vienne as an energy assistant: I took part in the Prométhée mission in the Persian Gulf and was awarded the “Combatant Cross”… I then continued my training to join the submarine forces: I embarked on the 800-ton submarine DORIS and then on the missile-launching cruiser COLBERT… On completion of my training, I embarked as propulsion officer on the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Indomptable, where I logged over 7,000 hours of diving.
I join the Direction des Constructions Navales d’Indret, where I lead a detachment of eight sailors in charge of monitoring the assembly and testing of the powerplant for the new-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine TEMERAIRE. The fitting-out of this vessel brought me to Cherbourg in January 1996, where I helped assemble the TEMERAIRE’s crew as second-in-command of the Cherbourg submarine group, while retaining my position as propulsion officer. Promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in June 1998, I was appointed head of the support group of the Bâtiment de Soutien Mobile Rhin, assigned to the Antilles-Guyane maritime zone. My mission was to maintain in operational condition all the vessels of the French Navy, the Maritime Gendarmerie, the Foreign Legion and Maritime Affairs in the Antilles-Guyane zone. In August 2000, I took command of the Atelier Militaire de la Flotte in Cherbourg for a year, where my main mission was to maintain the French Navy’s vessels in operational condition in the Channel-North Sea zone.
And to round off this enriching twenty-five-year period in the French Navy, I was assigned to the Ecole des Applications Militaires à l’Energie Atomique as second-in-command, in charge of the running of this joint institution dedicated to nuclear technology training for military personnel from all four services. I left the navy in October 2004.
I then embarked on a second career, joining DCI NAVFCO on behalf of DCNS as Technical Customer Relations for the Malaysian Navy, which was in the process of acquiring a Scorpene submarine. I then pursued this activity on behalf of DCNS directly, to which I added that of being responsible for organizing the trials of the Tunku Abdul Raman submarine and its acceptance by the Malaysian Navy.
In 2009, I joined AREVA La Défense in the Testing department. For 18 months, my job was to gather the knowledge of the “old hands” and start thinking about future test procedures for the EPRs. I then returned to the Cotentin region of France to join Mécachimie, where I was in charge of the engineering department for almost five years. When Mécachimie, Mécagest and Sogefibre merged, I was appointed Performance Manager of the new company, TEMIS.
In 2015, I joined the Assystem group for the position of Branch Manager, I found myself Technical Expert and was put on a two-year service on the EPR as a team leader on a project … IT! I joined the ECP teams in an operational and business engineering role, mainly on the Barracuda projects at Naval Group Cherbourg.
On September 30, 2023, I retire after 44 years of – I believe – loyal service. In October 2023, I decided to accept EXPERING’s invitation to take on the role of Business Partner for the Greater West region – Cherbourg, Nantes, Brest – covering Naval Group and Orano. A new adventure awaits!
His experience and network are very valuable assets for EXPERING in the Greater North West, and welcome Vincent to the team.