Stéphane Le Diraison, an engineer from Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Division, is one of 29 entrants for this year’s Vendée Globe, the round-the-world yacht race.
Le Diraison set sail on the eighth Vendée Globe aboard his boat, the IMOCA 92 Compagnie du Lit – Boulogne-Billancourt, on November 6. After 5 weeks into the race, he is currently on the way to the Pacific Ocean, and in tenth place..
Le Diraison graduated from the French engineering school ENSAM and he joined Bureau Veritas in 2008 as a structural engineer for shipbuilding. He currently works as a commercial engineer for renewable marine energy sources.
His greatest success in ocean racing to date has been the 2014 Route du Rhum, in which he finished fourth in Class 40.
“Bureau Veritas develops the professional talents of its employees, to make them champions of their disciplines. When some of them tackle major sporting challenges, we bend over backwards to reconcile their jobs with their passions. The whole company is now cheering Stéphane on and admiring his exploits. He is a special inspiration to us at a time when we are seeking to diversify our staff profiles and encouraging genuine inclusion. This will make our business more flexible and innovative” commented Xavier Savigny, Executive Vice President Human Resources at Bureau Veritas.
