A new Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at École Polytechnique

École Polytechnique is pursuing its ambitious strategy of supporting innovation and entrepreneurship for the common good.

A graduate of HEC Paris and AgroParis Tech, Marc Gillmann is a water and forestry engineer and has been Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at École Polytechnique since July 21, 2025. 

In his new role, Marc Gillmann aims to consolidate the success of the X-Novation Center, École Polytechnique's innovation center, while also connecting this exceptional facility more closely with the School's 4,000 students and researchers and, more broadly, with the rich ecosystem of École Polytechnique. 

"École Polytechnique has a truly exceptional support system for the creation of deep tech start-ups, based on three pillars: the excellence of its incubator, recognized as the best incubator in France in 2024; a unique prototyping system, supported by a highly operationally and user-oriented team; and, of course, an ecosystem where it is easy to source cutting-edge skills," emphasizes Marc Gillmann.

For the new Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at X, the X-Novation Center must become a magnet for talent and a benchmark at the European level. 

Since its creation in 2015, the X Novation Center has supported more than 200 start-ups, and since 2010, more than 800 start-ups have been created or are run by former École Polytechnique graduates. A quarter of the Next 40 start-ups have emerged from École Polytechnique's entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. 

Marc Gillmann headed the Technology Transfer Acceleration Company (SATT) Conectus in Alsace from 2023 to 2024.