France’s machinery and industrial engineering sector underpins critical manufacturing, logistics, energy, and infrastructure operations across Europe and beyond. As these environments become increasingly automated and digitally interconnected, cybersecurity leaders in this space are tasked with protecting complex IT–OT ecosystems while supporting international growth, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience. The CISOs and security leaders featured below are shaping how cybersecurity is governed, deployed, and sustained across France’s machinery industry.
Kelig Dugue — Chief Information Security Officer & Data Privacy Officer, Fives
Kelig Dugue serves as CISO and Data Protection Officer at Fives, where she leads the group’s information systems security strategy across international industrial operations. Her responsibilities include defining and deploying cybersecurity policies throughout Fives’ subsidiaries, ensuring alignment between business needs, users, and IT teams, and overseeing the group’s compliance with GDPR. Known for her ability to manage multiple concurrent projects, Dugue emphasizes operational efficiency, cross-functional collaboration, and international coordination, bringing together security governance, risk management, and data protection within a global industrial context.
Grégoire Sandré — Group Chief Information Security Officer, Trescal Group
As Group CISO at Trescal Group, Grégoire Sandré leads global cybersecurity governance across a multinational industrial services organization operating in more than 30 countries. He has driven large-scale security awareness initiatives, including multilingual e-learning and phishing simulations reaching over 5,000 employees worldwide. Sandré has also overseen the rapid deployment of endpoint detection and response across most of the group’s perimeter, established business continuity plans covering the majority of group revenue, and implemented centralized security dashboards integrated into country-level executive reviews. His profile reflects a strong focus on governance, ISO 27001-aligned ISMS management, operational security oversight, and workforce training.
Eric Hervé — Chief Information Security Officer, Alstef Group
Eric Hervé is CISO at Alstef Group, a French leader in automated handling systems for logistics, warehouse automation, and airport baggage handling. He has played a key role in implementing ISO 27001 for Alstef’s core business activities, integrating the ISMS into a broader management system aligned with ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 standards. Hervé’s remit spans both IT and OT cybersecurity, including the development of OT security services for warehouse automation, parcel sorting, and baggage handling systems—covering asset inventory, risk mapping, and vulnerability management to maintain systems in secure operating conditions.
Frédéric Mergel — Chief Technology Officer & Chief Information Security Officer, Groupe Delachaux
Frédéric Mergel holds the dual role of CTO and CISO at Groupe Delachaux, overseeing technology and cybersecurity across an international industrial group operating in EMEA, the Americas, and APAC. His scope includes IT architecture and infrastructure management, SOC implementation, cloud and data center strategy, modern workplace security, network architecture, and factory edge computing. With a background in large-scale IT transformation, Mergel focuses on building sustainable, fit-for-purpose technology capabilities that support both operational performance and cyber resilience in critical industrial environments.
Sébastien Archeny — RSSI / Chief Information Security Officer, Poclain Hydraulics
Sébastien Archeny is RSSI and CISO at Poclain Hydraulics, where he has led cybersecurity activities since 2018. His experience spans security governance, audit management, incident handling, business continuity, and data center security, with prior roles at T-Systems France and other organizations. At Poclain, Archeny brings a structured, ISO-aligned approach to managing security across industrial operations, combining internal audits, remediation planning, training programs, and operational oversight to support a globally active hydraulics manufacturer.
Why Cybersecurity Leadership Matters in France’s Machinery Industry
Machinery and industrial engineering organizations operate at the intersection of production systems, automation, global supply chains, and critical infrastructure. The leaders highlighted here demonstrate how effective cybersecurity in this sector depends on strong governance, OT–IT integration, international coordination, and the ability to translate risk into operationally meaningful action—ensuring resilience across some of France’s most essential industrial ecosystems.