Carmen

Why write a book when you can express yourself on a page?

Hello and welcome. In this introduction to Carmen’s learning experiences, you will find two chapters :

  • The icon “Carmen” presents her education, internships and professional activities,
  • The icon “Guintrand” features her artistic practices, published articles and videos.


WORK EXPERIENCE

VC Associate at LvlUp Ventures

LvlUp is value-add early-stage fund, investing in and accelerating teams with strong initial market validation. Originally based in New York City, the VC firm expanded to Los Angeles, Austin and Miami. 

Portfolio teams focus in AI, SAAS, Entertainment Tech, FinTech, HealthTech, Gaming/Esports, Web3.0. They have raised $150M+ since the launch of Quake Capital in 2016, by LvlUp’s General Partner Brandon Maier. The VC was ranked as a top-10 seed investor by Forbes in 2018.

Aaron Golbin, Managing Partner & Head of Accelerators/Incubators tutored my collaboration, working from the phases of startup selection, to initial research, due-diligence and acquisition within LvlUp’s portfolio companies. The venture scout team selects about 30 promising startups out of 5,000 applications per year.

 

Internship at HawkEye360

At the George Washington University, classes of Air Power, History of Spaceflight and Space Policy developed my strong interest in the aerospace industry. 

Joining HawkEye360 in the Spring of 2024 completed the knowledge I acquired with practical experience. I worked for General Counsel Dennis J. Burnett, performing legal research on a variety of areas including space law and policy. 

Dr. Scott Pace was my academic supervisor. He introduced me to the knowledge of aerospace in the Fall of 2023 and still teaches me insightful skills from his high-level experiences, such as leading the U.S. space program as Executive Secretary of the National Space Council (2017-2021). Humbled to benefit from his wise guidance.

The privilege of being so well surrounded fuels my determination to deliver quality work.

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Start-up Pitch

An unexpected and fun experience was to pitch a start-up idea to the executives of Israel Aerospace Industries – America, from Israel’s major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, and executives of Starburst Aerospace, leading innovation catalyst in the A&D industry.

Space Solar seems to be a high-potential gateway to sustainable, reliable energy. Stay tuned ☀️

IHEDN Contribution on U.S. Export Control 

The U.S. branch of Jeunes-IHEDN, French association related to the Institute for advanced studies in national defense, contributes to informing French officials and officers about matters related to the United States and our cross-Atlantic relationship. As an illustration, here is an article they received about the recently reformed American export control regime.

Successful Stock Pitch

Safran is the world’s most expensive spice, retailing up to $20/gram. Safran is also a top aerospace and defence company.

In December 2023, I convinced 100% of GW Phillips portfolio analysts and portfolio managers to trade our shares in Nintendo to invest $12,000 in Safran. 

This proposition for the GW Investment Institute results from quantitative and qualitative analyses of companies performing in the IT sector, driven by my interest in the aerospace and defence industry.

📈 Safran outperformed the industry’s biggest players in 2023, shows strong growth potential, is a niche actor recognised by a network of strong partners, and has 2023 financial features which demonstrate a promising future. Longing to be convinced? Feel free to watch my 10-minute pitch.

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Internship at the National Institute for Public service, former ENA

In the summer of 2023, I worked with Director of continuous training Mathieu Fretté at the French National Institute for Public service. INSP – formerly ENA,  has trained 4 presidents, 9 prime ministers of the French Republic, and major players engaged to improve our society, from health to defence, in France and around the world.

I coordinated and executed seminars and conferences in collaboration with the French National Defence Institute, the National Assembly and the Senate ; organised a training seminar for foreign auditors coming to learn about French parliamentary working methods ; engaged in a training program on negotiation at the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), aimed at enhancing negotiation skills of AMF professionals ; joined future public managers around a Serious Game on the Military Programming Law for a day at the National Institute for Defence Studies (IHEDN) ; learnt from McKinsey Director Olivier Sibony about cognitive biases; discussed with Soha Alharbi and Maxime Bos from the Global Diwan on potential collaborations between France and Saudi Arabia ; etc…and shared great times with my INSP colleagues.

Internship at Global Climate Initiatives, key to reduce Carbon emissions

From October 2022 to May 2023, founder and CEO Philippe-Henri Mangeard introduced me to Global Climate Initiatives. GCI is a private international initiative  based in Paris and Nice, pioneer in intelligent management of corporate carbon strategy. 

I promoted GCI’s greenhouse gas inventory calculation software, which provides tools for measuring GHG emissions, to top-level executives from public and private corporations to enhance their decarbonisation strategy. My interest in law was also spurred by the publication of legal regulations updates on carbon management, at French, European and international levels, ensuring clients remained informed and compliant. 

Internship at Nona, engaged in food transition 

In the summer of 2022, I collaborated with Nona’s wonderful team, as part of my Sciences Po civic capstone project. 

Nona is a Social and Solidarity Economy start-up designed to “reconnecting the plate to the earth”. Located in Smart Food, start-up incubator in Paris, Nona was founded in 2020 by Louis Sibille and Arthur Dion to address three objectives of the EGalim law :

  1. QUALITY – “producing <50% of local/under quality sign products, including 20% of organic products”,
  2. QUANTITY – reducing food waste and paying attention to its origin, as “food production is responsible for 28% of carbon emissions”,
  3. NUTRITION – rethinking how to vary protein sources while respecting sustainable environmental practices.

Nona’s team developed a computerised management tool to help public catering professionals enforce this bill, who serve +50% of the 7.3 billion meals in France each year.

Internship at Christian Dior headquarters, LVMH

In the winter of 2017, I discovered the demanding but close-at-hand management of an innovative, fast-growing company, : Christian Dior. 

Dior is a French multinational luxury fashion house controlled, chaired by Bernard Arnault and holding 59% of voting rights within LVMH.

This internship taught me about the management processes within both the Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter ateliers. I worked at facilitating interactions with a diverse array of executives and staff members, from the skilled artisans known as ‘petites mains’ to the Artistic Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

STUDIES

. Juris doctor - Master in Law & Finance : Sciences Po

The integrated Law & Finance Master selects a cohort of 15 to 20 students to follow the curriculum of two Sciences Po schools : the Law School and the School of Management and Impact. 

The three-year programme taking place in Paris includes the Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) certification, and graduates are eligible to take the French Bar Exam. 

The first year is designed to teach students :

  • contract law, property law and civil liability,
  • business and competition law,
  • private international and European law.
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. Exchange year : George Washington University
& Georgetown University

Washington DC is a city full of opportunities and bright minds to meet. At the heart of political and cultural America, I am learning a lot about my endeavours, and have found the goal I want to pursue : doing business in space.

Having joined the Consortium between GWU and the Georgetown University, I had the opportunity to learn from memorable professors of practice about : 

  • Space Policy / Air Power / Spaceflight,
  • Business Law,
  • Portfolio Management for the GW Investment Institute.

. Bachelor of Arts : Sciences Po, Menton campus

Founded in 1871, Sciences Po Paris is the 2nd grande école in the world in political science and international relations (2021), behind Harvard and ahead of Princeton.

Having joined the english track in the Menton campus, I was privileged to meet students from nearly fifty countries (USA, China, Canada, India, Norway, Lithuania, Afghanistan, Japan, Australia…). I also had the chance to learn from insightful classes, majoring in Economics :

  • Law & anti-corruption / Public Policy,
  • International Security / Arms industries,
  • Calculus III / Statistics / Econometrics,
  • Microeconomics / Macroeconomics,
  • Hebrew.

Having received Summa cum laude honors awarded to top 2% Sciences Po students, I flew to Washington DC to discover that the journey was only starting ! 

. Philosophy degree : Paris 10 University

I started this degree for fun because I love philosophy.

Jean-Paul Sartre first introduced me to those people who chase wisdom. This discipline clears my view of life in three dimensions :

  1. Physically : philosophy encourages me to lead an active life, to remain optimistic, aware of my free will and to make the most of every moment.
  2. Intellectually : philosophy requires to develop a rigorous understanding of concepts, and a clear-sighted mind to articulate arguments,
  3. Emotionally : philosophy triggers my creativity and deepens my affection for our flawed human world. 
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. 6th-12th grade : Legion d'honneur School

Founded by Napoleon I, the Maison d’Education de la Légion d’Honneur is a boarding school for daughters, granddaughters or great-granddaughters of recipients of the Legion of Honor, the Military Medal or the National Order of Merit.

Taught in a setting of excellence combining tradition and modernity, I developed a sense of effort and solidarity. The 7 years I spent there gave me invaluable training for a future career and precious life lessons.

Major in mathematics & philosophy, enrolled in the European class.

General baccalaureate : Highest honors.