BiograPHY

Christian Guellerin began his career in the United States as an assistant to the senior vice president of the FGS Group in New York, a venture capital firm, in charge of mergers and acquisitions.

He joined the Nantes Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1987 as Director of IPAC, the future bachelor of Audencia. During this period, he chaired the EGC (Ecoles de Gestion et de Commerce) network from 1993 to 1994. In 1994, he became Director of Development and Organization in charge of professional training for the Nantes St-Nazaire Chamber of Commerce.

He has been a regular lecturer and has given numerous academic conferences. He taught public accounting from 1987 to 1994 at the University of Paris VIII, and financial analysis from 1995 to 1998 at the University of Paris Dauphine for the 3rd cycle of the MIAGE. More recently, he lectures on management, motivation and creativity in several French and international institutions. He is regularly invited as a keynote speaker in international events on creation, design and innovation.

He is a consultant for various institutions. He has worked as an expert for the European Union to create a design centre in Gaziantep (Turkey), expert for CREPUQ (Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities) to set up a master’s program in design for Laval University (Montreal, Canada). He was also a member of the jury of the Design Eleven competition, launched in 2010 by the (EESC) to prepare the “European Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity”. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of DIID, Disegno Industriale Industrial Design.

He was President of Cumulus, the International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media from 2007 to 2013. This global association gathers 340 members from 61 countries. Created more than 20 years ago, Cumulus is now the largest international network dedicated solely to issues of design education, with 3,100,000 students and nearly 30,000 teachers. The objective of this association is to exchange best practices concerning design education, creation and innovation. Under the presidency of M.Guellerin, Cumulus has known significant growth, going from 80 to 178 members, particularly in countries outside Europe. During his mandate, Christian Guellerin signed in 2008 in Japan the “Kyoto Design Declaration” which reflects the new responsibilities of designers towards the challenges of sustainable development. He was re-elected in 2010 for a second term, which ended in 2013. He is now Honorary President.

Since 1998, he has been the Executive Director of L’École de design Nantes Atlantique, a private institution for higher education in design which was founded in 1988.

Some of the most significant milestones in the development of L’École de design Nantes Atlantique:

2000 Hypermedia
2002 Industrial Creation, International Class & Certification
2003 Conférence des Grandes Ecoles
2005 Université de Nantes & Space Design
2006 Industrial Innovation & Wood Constructions
2007 Space Design & President
2008 Virtual Reality & China Studio
2009 Graphic Design & Theme Specializations
2010 Inda Studio, READi Design Lab & Shangai
2011 Design and Innovation Management
2012 Design Lab(s)
2013 Île de Nantes
2014 Delhi, CFAI, D.U. DESSiiN, Care Design Lab & Connected environments
2015 Digital communication, media & Transport design
2016 MANAA & Digital design Factory
2017 Motion design, Game design, Brazil Studio & Design & Innovative Public Action Chair
2018 Montreal Studio & Digital Innovation & Transformation D.I.U
2019 30th Anniversary, ADS, DN MADE, IDN2022, France Studio & Media Design
2020 Bienvenue en France, Apprenticeship & Designer Manager
2021 Renewal of certification & Master's degree
2022 #IDN2022