Portraits of Télécom SudParis - Portrait of Antoine Trannoy (TSP 1989), Managing Partner Jolt Capital

Hello, my name is Antoine Trannoy, and I'm a member of the Télécom SudParis class of 1989. During my years at TSP, I was president of SPRINT (Junior Entreprise). Some twenty years ago I also got involved in the alumni association, where I was president for some time. Most of my career has been spent in the telecoms and high tech/deep tech sectors. I currently work for Jolt Capital, a private equity firm.

What do you remember about your time at Télécom SudParis?

The three years I spent at TSP were fantastic. I'm particularly grateful to the French education system because I benefited from a very valuable training both during my preparatory classes and in engineering school.

Could you describe your professional experience?

I did my final year internship at IBM in the USA with a classmate in an applied research center. At the time, IBM was as big a company as GAFA is today, both in terms of image and impact on society. Although Thierry and I arrived in NY full of misgivings about our ability to carry out the missions we would be entrusted with, we quickly realized that our skills were real. In fact, I was invited to return for a year as a post-doc after graduation.

Then, in 1991, I was lucky enough to do my military service as a volunteer at CERN, where I took part in an exciting project that was awarded the prize for the best scientific application of the decade by Oracle and ComputerWorld in 2000. At the end of this period, I followed my bosses at IBM and CERN, both Italian, to Sardinia, where I set up a research center and spent for 4 years on collaborative projects with industrialists on cutting-edge subjects at the time (first part of the 90s) such as the Internet and television over ADSL.

I returned to France for family reasons and joined the fast-moving telecoms sector. As CTO or VP Operations, I worked in satellites to support the transition from analog to digital, in the massive deployment of consumer Internet, in the planning of GSM networks... I also set up a virtual operator in 2001 with former colleagues. GSM network planning... In 2001, I also set up a virtual operator with former colleagues, which we grew exclusively on our own funds, then sold after 10 years. This period, which was plagued by crises, particularly that of 2001, taught me what it means to scale up, to restructure and also to be resilient. Finally, I took part in my first M&A operations, which I found particularly rewarding.

During this fifteen-year period, which was almost entirely devoted to telecoms, I spent some time in the banking/insurance sector (Dresdner & Allianz) as head of IT and organization. My main missions, apart from the operational side, involved restructuring and post-merger integration. I was also involved in the disposal of assets considered non-strategic.

Before joining Jolt Capital, the management company of which I am one of the Managing Partners, I took over a company with over 200 employees under LBO whose banker went bankrupt 15 days after my arrival in 2008. I stayed on for almost 8 years, and through restructuring, pivoting and acquisitions, the company became profitable again, and we were able to sell it to a Swedish player.

Could you describe your job?

I've worked in a number of different professions. Focusing on the present, Jolt Capital is an independent management company that invests in European B2B deeptech companies with annual sales in excess of15m a year, to help them become global leaders of sufficient size to interest large corporations. We have a predilection for companies offering the market hardware solutions with a substantial patent portfolio, which differentiates us from most of our peers who prefer digital platforms.

What's your typical day like?

I don't have a typical day, but my time is divided between fund-raising (with institutional investors or family offices, for example) and investment activity.investment activity, which breaks down into researching companies that meet our criteria, negotiating dealsgociation of deals, knowing that only around 1% of them will succeed, monitoring our portfolio, notably through active participation on the boards of directors of the companies in the portfolio and, finally, selling the lines in order to return the money entrusted to us, if possible with a comfortable multiple and a high IRR.

When you were a student, did you have an established plan for your future?

No, I didn't have a set career plan. I went to prep school because I was good at maths and I was fascinated by networks and telecoms. I then accepted adventures that seemed potentially exciting, and I have no regrets whatsoever!

It's worth noting that at the time of my studies, my current profession didn't exist (or hardly existed) in Europe. Unlike today, engineering students wishing to create a company/start-up received no support from either the schools or the banks. The only money available was from customer contracts...

What advice would you give to young people just starting out in their careers?

Do things with passion and see them through to the end, never give up. Resilience is probably the most important quality to develop. It's during storms that you'll learn the most, as long as you don't give up or move on.

Also, have a real group of friends, and give back when you can without expecting anything in return (it will come unexpectedly the day you need it). Beyond community life, the most loyal friendships I have are the ones I've made at TSP.