Gregory Blokkeel joins Kepler’s Innovation practice as a director

Operations consulting firm Kepler has appointed Gregory Blokkeel as a director in its Innovation practice.

Based in Paris, Blokkeel strengthens Kepler’s innovation capabilities, bringing extensive experience in innovation management, concept building, and open innovation, as well as in related adjacent fields such as data, digital transformation, governance and process excellence, to the firm.

“We are delighted to welcome Gregory. He will complement our expertise and bring his long operational experience in innovation management to the benefit of our customers in the automotive and mobility sector and well beyond,” said Julien Besse, co-leader of the Innovation practice.

Blokkeel’s 23-year career started in 1998 at automotive group PSA, where he initially was part of technical functions, working on the development of new engines and vehicle accessories. From 2006 onwards, he focused on innovation-related topics, both in line management roles (including serving as Open Innovation Leader) as well as in projects.

In 2014, Blokkeel relocated to Singapore to setup and lead PSA’s Business Lab@Singapore. This subsidiary leads new business and product innovation, with some of the most notable projects realised to date including developments in the space of autonomous urban mobility, electrical driving and micro-mobility.

The past two years he worked for Stellantis, the group above PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (the two automotive giants merged in January 2021). Blokkeel was part of a team that led the IT integration between the two groups.

Founded in 2007, Kepler has nearly 90 consultants working from offices in Paris, Chicago, Chennai and Shanghai.