NATO DIALOGUES #5

Jean-François Morizur est PDG et cofondateur de Cailabs, deeptech industrielle française à rayonnement international, spécialisée dans la mise en forme de la lumière pour des applications dans le spatial, la défense, l'énergie et les télécoms. Avant de créer l'entreprise en 2013, il était Senior Associate au Boston Consulting Group. Diplômé de l'ENS Paris, il est titulaire de deux doctorats en optique quantique de la Sorbonne Université UPMC et de l'Australian National University. C'est dans le cadre de ses travaux de thèse qu'il coinvente la technologie MPLC, à l'origine des produits développés par

Dr. Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer was the inaugural CIO and CISO of NATO. He realized the Allies' vision for IT in support of NATO's purpose to safeguard freedom and security for one billion people. He drove forward digital transformation and cybersecurity for 57 entities and 30,000 users with a €1B investment budget. Prior to NATO, Manfred led IT for Sierra Wireless and spent time at HP and Compaq Computers in various leadership roles. He has an MBA from Duke University, USA. He holds an MSc in Business and Management Research and a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Reading, UK.

Damien is CEO and co-founder of KatalX, the next-gen visibility and collaboration supply chain platform, empowered by trusted analytics and AI. He is on a mission to “Catalyze Trust in Supply Chains”, starting with Life Sciences. He was formerly head of Blockchain and B2B platforms at Capgemini, with recognized leadership on emerging technologies and supply chain. Sustainability and Resilience has been central for him since he joint the Zermatt Summit foundation advisory network (2014), with a mission to “Humanize Globalization”. Damien started his career as a banker in NY, where he spent ten years. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, and Sciences Po.

Damien Arnaud is an international civil servant who has served at NATO HQ in Brussels under six Secretaries Generals over the past 26 years. Head of media operations and special events for the Spokesperson for more than 12 years, he became senior public relations officer leading programs to France, North America and the Middle East. In December 2025, he joined the NATO Science & Technology Organization as Senior Officer - Outreach focusing on defence planning. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Georgetown University, the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and the Royal Conservatory of Toronto.

Hadrien brings operational background in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, notably Ukraine. Fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian, Hadrien pairs geopolitical expertise with a high-level network across France and Ukraine. Following the 2022 invasion, Hadrien identified a critical capacity gap in air defense, recognizing a fundamental truth of modern attrition warfare: quantity is a quality. Alta Ares won the 2025 NATO Innovation Challenge, accelerating the company's pivot into Al-enabled drone interception. Today, Alta Ares systems are actively neutralizing Shahed drones on the front lines and are being deployed across the Middle East and other NATO-nations. By leveraging battlefield data to train its proprietary Al, Alta Ares has become the first French startup to establish a direct operational footprint in modern

Cyril Heckel est Directeur du programme Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) en phase de conception/développement à la NSPA. Avec 20 ans d'expérience internationale en gestion de programmes de défense, à CCAR et à la NSPA, il incarne l'excellence opérationnelle. Ancien officier naval, il a servi sur des unités opérationnelles avant de se tourner vers la gestion de programmes navals puis multi-domaines. visionnaire. Diplômé de l'École navale, de SUPELEC et de l'eMBA Kellogg-WHU, il allie expertise technique et leadership Son engagement pour la satisfaction client et la performance des équipes en fait un acteur clé des projets stratégiques.