Le Wagon on New Rails!

I’m honoured to share that I’ll be stepping into the role of Executive Chairman for Le Wagon, and that Virginie Vinson is becoming our new CEO. Below is the email I shared with all wagoners earlier today, in a spirit of transparency with our community, partners & investors!

Hi everyone,

As you heard during the last all-hands, Virginie is becoming Le Wagon’s new CEO! She’ll start this role on July 15th, and I’ll transition to Executive Chairman from then on.

With Virginie now CEO, Munique will take over as COO, and Jérôme will lead our Marketing strategy as CMO. Virginie, Munique, and Jérôme are strong leaders, passionate about our mission. They know Le Wagon inside out and understand how to scale an education company while maintaining high student experience standards. With this new team, I’ll focus on long-term strategic projects and advising Virginie on product and brand strategy. Romain and Seb’s roles remain the same as GM B2B and CTO.

Over the past two years, we’ve transformed Le Wagon from a niche software and data bootcamp provider to a global education leader capable of delivering high-quality tech courses on new topics and new verticals. This was essential with the fast-evolving tech industry and the rise of AI. This journey included the acquisition of Emil in June 2022, numerous re-orgs, product roadmaps, pilot launches, and iterations on our operating model. Virginie played a critical role in these efforts, proving her ability to align teams and set up the right model. She confirmed the unique skill set that made us hire her as COO back in 2020: an entrepreneur at heart who is pragmatic, rigorous, people-oriented, great at coaching teams with empathy and ambition, and an education expert who values teachers and human interactions.

As she became more knowledgeable about our industry and product, I progressively realized Virginie would be the perfect CEO: close to our teams, grounded, and capable of driving our product strategy.

I’ve been CEO of Le Wagon for 10 years. I’ve designed our teaching platform, taught over 100 cohorts, opened campuses in 20 cities, met hundreds of inspiring alumni, and bootstrapped the business for the first six years with Romain and Seb, always obsessed with student experience. My passion for education remains unchanged, and I deeply love this company. That’s why I feel very confident with Virginie taking over.

While she builds the next phase of the company, I will focus on what I do best:

• I’ll bring value to students through new models and verticals by exploring higher education programs, reinforcing our partnerships with leading schools and universities, or licensing our product with local partners who know their markets best.
• I’ll sit on the board and advise Virginie leveraging my 10 years of experience running this company.
• I’ll develop our relationships with the tech and education ecosystem, acting as a passionate ambassador for the company I’ve created and love, promoting Le Wagon’s life-changing work and the positive impact we’re making on learners.

A Few Words to All Wagoners

I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together and the impact we’re having on people’s lives. We’ve helped more than 26,000 people change their lives, opening doors that were previously locked. Many of my friends and family members have successfully switched careers thanks to Le Wagon. We’ve proven that we can maintain high pedagogical standards without being elitist. Le Wagon has become a natural choice for those who want to reinvent themselves, find meaning, learn again, and connect with like-minded peers. We’ve trained hundreds of entrepreneurs who have built amazing startups and created significant impact. I’m grateful to all of you for your passion and countless efforts to make such an impact possible.

I know this new team is the right one to continue delivering on our mission for the next few years! I know Le Wagon is on solid new Rails!

Boris