A Montpellier CEO in the spotlight! Aline Bsaibes, CEO of ITK, was recently designated as one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Software of Europe for 2021. The ranking was published on January 26, 2021 by The Software Report.
"These exceptional women have not only helped boost their companies, but also the entire software industry,” highlights the New York based agency.
With a PhD in Applied Mathematics in Agriculture, Aline Bsaibes, age 42, began her career at ITK in 2009. S
pecialized in decision-making services in agriculture and agri-food, the company had recently graduated from the Montpellier BIC startup incubator. “I was their eighth employee,” remembers Aline Bsaibes.
Of Franco-Lebanese descent, she had finished her post-doc in Avignon, after her thesis in applied mathematics for agriculture, which she did after completing her Master of Science degree in engineering and agriculture at the American University of Beirut.
Having moved to France at the age of 25, fluent in French, English, and Arabic, Aline Bsaibes has extremely strong character. Upon her arrival at ITK, the young woman who had grown up in a war zone in Beirut rapidly revealed her precious qualities, deploying her technical expertise as well as a taste and keen sense for business development and an ability to establish international partnerships.
That led her to spend two farming seasons (2014 and 2015) in the United States, bringing her husband and two children with her. There, she managed a partnership project signed with
Land O’Lakes Inc, a major agricultural player in North America uniting nearly 1,000 cooperatives. This operation, which she actively helped launch, offered ITK greater visibility on the American continent.
As the project moved forward, two other strategic agreements were established with other American giants: IBM - to connect ITK’s artificial intelligence platform to Watson; and Verizon Communications Inc. for connected objects. Additionally, Land O’Lakes owns a 10% share in ITK.
Other major projects followed, notably the acquisition of Médria Technologies based in Brittany, France, specialized in connected services for breeding. That was in 2016.
“That acquisition represented a strategic change in direction,” she says. At the time, Aline Bsaibes was in charge of business development.
Then, she chose to pursue an Executive MBA at the EM Lyon Business School. It was the one thing missing from her portfolio.
Appointed in 2019 by Éric Jallas, the president and founder of ITK, Aline Bsaibes is now the CEO of a company that expects to double its staff within three years. Those plans may be delayed by a few months because of the Covid crisis [MI1] and its impact.
The company now has 125 employees, 47 of whom have been hired since September 2019.
The company is booming. With its offices currently at the Cap Alpha startup incubator, ITK is now seeking a better adapted site.
“Until now, Montpellier BIC has allowed us to expand without any stress. Today, they are helping us look for new facilities,” explains Aline Bsaibes, who is involved with every aspect of the business.
Even though she is fully dedicated to her company, she also works hard to preserve her family life. Her secret?
“Always showing attention and good intentions,” she adds. Achieving buy-in rather than imposing; showing that success is a group effort rather than something that belongs to any individual. By applying these principles, Aline Bsaibes has become a true woman of influence. The Software Report took notice.
