Meet The EMBA Class Of Entrepreneurs: Executives Today, Founders Tomorrow 

Eric Houdet
INSEAD 

Venture name: EkologgIA
Date of founding: 2023
Program: INSEAD Global EMBA  

Tell us about your career background : My path runs from big corporate to entrepreneurship. I spent years in large groups, working in cybersecurity and as chief of staff to the CEO of Sogeti, the company at the origin of the global Capgemini group. He also sat on the group’s executive committee. I then joined a startup that I helped scale up, before founding my own company, EkologgIA. Today I also mentor founders on INSEAD’s Launchpad. 

What is your business/venture?  EkologgIA builds sovereign AI infrastructure for document governance. Our engine, Doc Engine, was selected among the French government’s Top 100 AI solutions. We focus on highly regulated sectors (real estate, banking, notarial services), where data sovereignty, auditability and compliance aren’t optional. We also offer “Instant,” a free 48-hour proof of value so prospects can see results on their own documents before committing. 

What inspired you to found this business?  Two experiences converged. In real estate, I saw how documents pile up, scattered everywhere and impossible to govern. In cybersecurity, I saw the flip side: a large share of threats arrive through documents carrying malware. The document is at once where the value is trapped and where the risk hides. EkologgIA exists to master both sides, turning documents from a liability into governed, intelligent, sovereign assets. 

Why did you enrol on the EMBA?  At the time I was running a fast-growing scale-up and planning a management buy-out. We had just opened a joint venture with a multi-billion-dollar Japanese company, and I was about to set up our headquarters in Singapore. I needed to sharpen my strategy and operate on a truly international stage, and INSEAD, with its global reach and its Singapore campus, was the perfect place for that. 

How has the EMBA helped you/your business?  It gave me the confidence to change course. Rather than going through with the buy-out, I chose to build my own company instead, and that conviction is the single biggest thing I took from INSEAD. The network and the credibility came on top, and both matter enormously when you sell to large, regulated accounts. 

What’s the one thing about the EMBA that you think is undervalued?  The cohort itself. People come for the brand and the curriculum, but the lasting asset is a group of senior peers who challenge your thinking honestly and stay in your corner for years. 

What’s next for your business?  We’re doubling down on something most AI vendors can’t offer: trustable AI that organisations can run on-premise, inside their own walls. In regulated and security-sensitive environments, data can’t leave the building, so we bring the AI to the data, not the other way around. That’s where we’re scaling Doc Engine and Instant next, and deepening our edge on data sovereignty as AI regulation tightens worldwide. 

Would you recommend the EMBA to other entrepreneurs? If yes, why?  Yes, especially for mid-career founders. It compresses the strategic learning curve, surrounds you with people who have operated at scale, and gives you an international network you simply can’t build from the outside. For anyone weighing whether to take the entrepreneurial leap, that environment is invaluable. 

 NEXT PAGE: Ailbhe Keane, Trinity Business School 

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