Coworking with François Candelon

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

As someone who both spends time thinking critically about tech and is a practitioner, I help leaders understand the impact the tech revolution will have on their companies and on society at large.

I work with them to tackle questions such as: What happens when you adopt technologies at scale? How does that shape the professional identity of your employees, and how does it change the competitive advantage of your company and the countries in which you operate?

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

My work on synthetic biology enables us, for instance, to rethink the entire process of how factories are built—making them smaller and cheaper and dependent on fewer resources. As a result, companies can build more plants in emerging markets. And basic consumer products that are often seen as luxury goods—because they have to be produced elsewhere and then transported, adding logistics to the cost—can be made closer to the customer and thus more accessible. The impact will be profound.

What’s the best piece of tech-related media you’ve read/watched/listened to?

I really enjoy Azeem Azhar’s newsletter, Exponential View. It’s entertaining, but it also looks around the corner. He’s skilled at identifying weak signals and expanding them to make you think about what’s possible at scale.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

I consider myself an amateur specialist when it comes to Persian rugs, which is a passion that comes from my grandfather. I enjoy looking for designs, such as the cardboard of a tree of life, the color of an Isfahan rose, and the border of a Farahan.