< back to articles
Tribute to Gilles Guillon, 1st Chairman of the Friends Of ISAE
Published on
We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Gilles Guillon (S 1997), the first Chairman and Founder of the Friends Of ISAE.
The ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation’s counterpart in North America, Gilles Guillon co-founded the Friends of ISAE in 2011, a non-profit organization dedicated to federating the ISAE-SUPAERO alumni network in North America and supporting the Institute’s students.
Thanks to his energy and vision, he was able to get his team on board and bring his vision to life. Under Gilles’ leadership, Friends of ISAE was a huge success.
His enthusiasm and drive were contagious, inspiring others to join the cause. He has been instrumental in forging strong links with leading American universities, strengthening ISAE-SUPAERO’s presence and influence.
Since its creation, the Friends of ISAE have had a significant impact on the lives of many ISAE-SUPAERO students. Thanks to Gilles, dozens of students have benefited from the organization’s support, and nearly 100 donors have joined the cause.
Testimonials
Agnès Trincal, Foundation Director :
” Committed and mobilizing, Gilles Guillon embodied the spirit of solidarity. Co-founder of Friends of ISAE, in his dealings with the Foundation he was keen to ensure the complementarity and impact of our respective actions, always ready to help, guide and give the best chances to students on mobility programs in the United States. A great promoter of “give back”, he gave the example of an alumnus totally committed to giving back to his school, and inspired scholarship recipients to become donors. The Foundation pays tribute to his vision and exemplary commitment. “
Didier Delorme, Director of Development and Innovation at ISAE-SUPAERO:
“Gilles Guillon has always been an invaluable support for ISAE-SUPAERO students wishing to go to the USA. He was always ready to give of his time to the International Relations department, and his exchanges with these teams were very fruitful. In particular, I remember telephone discussions at the end of the day with the ISAE IR managers when students were applying to US universities.”
Robin Guers (S 2013), 1st recipient of a Friends Of scholarship in 2011:
“Hello, it’s Gilles, do you have 5 minutes?” What struck me most when I first met Gilles was the amount of communicative energy he put into helping students. He was 100% dedicated, 1000% generous with his time to complete strangers asking rookie questions. Not only did the Friends of ISAE negotiate a partnership with UIUC, but the association also provided me with financial support.
Later, Gilles spent hours advising me on how to start my career here in the States. Interestingly, I first met him in person 4 years later in San Francisco, where he had flown in for the weekend just to attend an ISAE alumni reunion, where he recalled with great pleasure the enjoyable times he had spent with us, flying in French Air Force planes from Toulouse to Paris.
This profound impact he had on me inspired me to join the Friends Of ISAE board to try to help other students as he did for me. Deeply saddened by his untimely departure, I want to keep his memory alive through the Friends Of ISAE”.