Executives/Thales CEO
Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales

Who is the CEO of Thales in 2026?

Patrice Caine is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Thales. Patrice has held the CEO seat since December 2014, and was previously French Ministery for the Economy, Technical Advisor with special responsability for energy at Gouvernement.

Updated September 24, 2026
Time in seat
11 years
CEO since December 2014
Years at company
16 years
Joined Thales January 2010
Career span
26 years
First recorded role January 2000
Summary
  • Patrice Caine rose through Thales: Vice President, Defense & Security C4I Systems Division, Radio Communications Products Business Line from January 2010, then Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Performance Officer from February 2013, before taking the CEO seat in December 2014.
  • Alongside Thales, Patrice Caine serves as Membre du Comité de surveillance des investissements d’avenir at COMMISSARIAT GENERAL A L'INVESTISSEMENT since January 2021, Vice President at France Industrie since November 2020, and President at ANRT - Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie since December 2019.
  • Patrice Caine studied at École Polytechnique and Mines Paris - PSL.

Current company

Thales

Thales is a French multinational aerospace and defence corporation.

weapons industryHeadquartered in PuteauxFounded 2000

Source: Wikidata

Career and education

Patrice Caine joined Thales in January 2010 and has been CEO since December 2014. Before Thales, Patrice was French Ministery for the Economy, Technical Advisor with special responsability for energy at Gouvernement from January 2000 until January 2002.

Career

  1. Thales2010 to present
    • Chairman and CEODecember 2014 to present
    • Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Performance OfficerFebruary 2013 to December 2014
    • Senior Vice President, Network & Infrastructure Systems Business Line, Protection Systems BusinessJanuary 2012 to February 2013
    • Vice President, Defense & Security C4I Systems Division, Radio Communications Products Business LineJanuary 2010 to January 2012
  2. COMMISSARIAT GENERAL A L'INVESTISSEMENT2021 to present
    • Membre du Comité de surveillance des investissements d’avenir
  3. France Industrie2020 to present
    • Vice President
  4. ANRT - Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie2019 to present
    • President
  5. Gouvernement2000 to 2002
    • French Ministery for the Economy, Technical Advisor with special responsability for energy

Sources: LinkedIn profile

Education

École PolytechniqueMines Paris - PSL, Corps des MinesSource

Decision makers by function

1,100+ decision makers at Thales in Unify, vice president level and above. Choose a function to see who leads it.

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Top decision makers at Thales

Vice president level and above, most senior first
Jon-Rav G ShendeChief Technology Officer · USA@thalesgroup.com
Alina GhermanChief Financial Officer · ROU@thalesgroup.com
Lyndon UrquhartDeputy Chief Security Officer · AUS@thalesgroup.com
Frank van den HurkChief Product Security Officer (CPSO) NL · NLD@thalesgroup.com
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Leadership team at Thales

Patrice Caine leads a leadership team of 11 published executives.

Most senior 5 of 11

NameTitleIn seat since
Patrice CaineChairman and Chief Executive OfficerDecember 2014
Isabelle SimonSenior Executive Vice-President, Group Secretary and General CounselNot stated
Philippe KnocheSenior Executive Vice-President, Operations and PerformanceNot stated
Philippe KeryerSenior Executive Vice-President, Strategy, Research and TechnologyNot stated
Clément de VillepinSenior Executive Vice-President, Human ResourcesNot stated

Sources: Thales governance page

Frequently asked questions

Who is the CEO of Thales?

Patrice Caine is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Thales. Patrice has held the CEO seat since December 2014, and was previously French Ministery for the Economy, Technical Advisor with special responsability for energy at Gouvernement.

When did Patrice Caine become CEO of Thales?

Patrice Caine has been CEO of Thales since December 2014, according to LinkedIn profile.

What did Patrice Caine do before Thales?

Patrice Caine was French Ministery for the Economy, Technical Advisor with special responsability for energy at Gouvernement from January 2000 until January 2002, according to LinkedIn profile.

How long has Patrice Caine been CEO of Thales?

Patrice Caine has been CEO of Thales for 11 years, since December 2014.

Who else leads Thales?

Isabelle Simon (Senior Executive Vice-President, Group Secretary and General Counsel), Philippe Knoche (Senior Executive Vice-President, Operations and Performance), Philippe Keryer (Senior Executive Vice-President, Strategy, Research and Technology), Clément de Villepin (Senior Executive Vice-President, Human Resources), and 6 more. Source: Thales governance page.

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1,100+ leaders at vice president level and above, with verified work emails and phone numbers in Unify.

Methodology

The seat holder is identified in Unify's professional profile dataset, then confirmed against the company's published leadership page, its SEC filings, and Wikipedia before publication. Career and education rows carry the public document they were taken from. Leadership team membership follows the company's own leadership page; in-seat dates come from filings where available and otherwise from the profile record. Company figures are read from the Unify headcount page for the same company and are profile coverage measures, never company-reported workforce totals. The employee preview lists vice president and senior vice president level profiles by department. No personal contact details are published.

Identity confirmed against Wikipedia, Thales. Last verified: September 24, 2026.