Corinne Vigreux

Corinne Danièle Goddijn-Vigreux,[1] commonly known as Corinne Vigreux, (born 9 December 1964) is a French business executive and entrepreneur. She is a co-founder of the Dutch consumer electronics company TomTom where she has been Managing Director of the Consumer Business Unit since 2008.[2][3]

Early life and education

Born in Lyon, France in 1964, Vigreux was brought up in the working-class suburb of Vaulx-en-Velin where her father was a commercial buyer for a chemical company and her mother, a pharmacy dispenser.[4] After specializing in physics and maths at school (Lycée du Parc), she studied at the ESSEC Business School in Paris where she graduated in international business in 1987.[2]

Career

In 1987, Vigreux started working in London for the Psion consumer electronics company where she managed exports, travelling to North Africa, Israel and around Europe.[3] While working at Psion, she met Harold Goddijn who was interested in distributing the company's products in the Netherlands. They married in 1991 and moved to the Netherlands where for a few months she worked for a dairy cooperative while her husband worked for Psion. Attracted back to technology, Vigreux teamed up with two of Goddijn's friends, Peter-Frans Pauwels and Pieter Geelen, and founded Palmtop Software which later became TomTom.[5]

Initially Palmtop produced products for popular handheld devices but by the early 2000s, Vigreux and her colleagues realized there were opportunities for producing dedicated mapping devices after Bill Clinton opened up the military GPS system for generalized access. The TomTom, the first stand-alone navigating device, with its own touchscreen facility, was released in March 2004. The market exploded over the next four years with revenues increasing from €42 million to €1.8 billion. In 2008, Vigreux was appointed managing director, sales director and chief commercial officer for TomTom, positions she still holds.[3]

In recent years, the satnav sector has suffered from Google's development of mapping systems for smartphones. Vigreux subsequently led TomTom's entry into the sport watches for everyday athletes and in April 2015 launched TomTom Bandit a highly innovative action camera. Nevertheless, Vigreux sees new opportunities for mapping systems in applications for self-driving vehicles.[3]

Boards and honors

Vigreux is on the Board of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Netherlands (CFCI) and a member of the Conseil de Coopération Franco-Néerlandais (CCFN).[6][7] She is also on the advisory board of the Amsterdam Grachtenfestival and the Dutch National Opera & Ballet.[8]

Vigreux also plays an active role in support of women in leadership, co-chairing the Dutch chapter of Women Corporate Directors. In 2012, she was decorated as a Knight of the Legion of Honour for her business success and social commitment.[9][10]

Personal life

Vigreux, who now lives in Amsterdam, is married to Harold Goddijn who is chairman and managing director of TomTom. The couple have two children studying at universities.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2013" (PDF). Sofronie Foundation. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Corinne Vigreux". Global Female Leaders. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Arthur, Charles (21 July 2015). "Navigating decline: what happened to TomTom?". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Aeberhardt, Chloé (14 August 2009). "La nana du Tomtom". Liberation. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Armitstead, Louise (12 May 2014). "TomTom, still trailblazing after a decade". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.cfci.nl/qui-sommes-nous/notre-conseil-dadministration/ CFCI Conseil d'Administration
  7. ↑ http://ambpayba.p5alias.domicile.fr/membres-francais.phtml CFCN Membres
  8. ↑ http://www.operaballet.nl/en/institute/organisation/organisation-and-employees Dutch National Opera & Ballet board members
  9. ↑ "Corinne Vigreux". Inspiring fifty. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Décret du 6 avril 2012 portant promotion et nomination" (in French). République Française. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
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