Antoine Rostand

Education

Rostand is a graduate of French engineering school Ecole Polytechnique and holds an MBA from INSEAD.

Military service

In 1982, Rostand became one of the first graduates of Ecole Polytechnique to join the French Commandos Marine, where he served as a lieutenant for one year.

In the oil and gas industry

Rostand started his career with Schlumberger in 1986 as a wireline field engineer. He then went to INSEAD for one year, earning an MBA in 1989. He is the global managing director of Schlumberger Business Consulting (SBC) and has led SBC since its formation in 2004.

In the consulting industry

In 1990, Rostand joined ICME, a Switzerland-based strategy consulting firm with operations in Germany and France, where he advised companies such as Total, France Telecom, Alcatel, Thomson and insurer CNP on their post-merger integration. In 1996, he joined management consulting firm AT Kearney, which at the time belonged to Electronic Data Systems (EDS). As an AT Kearney Partner, he advised EDS France as it refocused its strategy in a context of increasing computerization of French companies. This role subsequently led to his appointment as CEO of EDS France.

In the technology industry

From 1999 to 2002, Rostand was President and Chief Executive Officer of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) France, which is now known as HP Enterprise Services. His role notably included helping clients to address the Year 2000 Problem, and supporting the growth of the Internet and mobile markets in France. Despite a period of lower IT investments, Rostand succeeded in doubling the revenue of EDS France between 1999 and 2002. and in making strategic acquisitions, such as Answare.

Back in the oil and gas industry

Rostand returned to Schlumberger in 2002 to oversee the integration of Schlumberger’s acquisition of IT services company SEMA Group. He founded Schlumberger Business Consulting in 2004 as a dedicated consulting division within Schlumberger, with the idea that energy clients’ specific needs could be better met through an approach combining management consulting with the understanding of engineering and technical issues.

Thought leadership and engagement

A former member of think tanks such as the Institute for Strategic Dialogue or the Institut Montaigne, Rostand regularly speaks at conferences, including those hosted by the OECD, OPEC, International Energy Agency, Harvard University and London Business School.

In 2004, he contributed to the book, “CEO: Chief European Officer — Business Leadership in Europe,” edited by Robert Gogel.

In 2011, Rostand led the launch of the SBC Energy Institute, a research group to generate and promote understanding of the technologies needed to provide a safe, secure and reliable energy mix in the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources. A nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, SBC-EI leverages its expertise in energy technology and economic fundamentals to provide academia, investors, regulators, media, customers, employees, and the general public with access to facts and data, to promote understanding of technology maturity, development priorities and deployment rationales. Rostand chairs the Institute; Claude Mandil and Adnan Shihab-Eldin are among the board members.