# Eugénie Fontugne

> Eugénie Fontugne is a Swiss-French operator who runs Strategy & Operations inside the Office of the CEO at Inkitt, the reader-powered, AI-driven publishing startup behind the Galatea app. She built a career that jumped from selling chocolate and flavor at Firmenich to leading community at Global Shapers Geneva, writing about French food and culture for MerciSF in the Bay Area, advising the AI firm VCG.AI, and pulling together a 90-person Lovable x Project Europe hackathon in Stockholm on little more than a walk-around-London hunch. She works where storytelling, product, and operations overlap.

- **Role:** Manager, Strategy & Operations, Office of the CEO at Inkitt
- **Organizations:** Inkitt, VCG.AI, Project Europe, MerciSF, Global Shapers Geneva
- **Nationality:** Swiss-French
- **Education:** MSc, Media and Communications (with Fudan University, Shanghai), London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Media and Communications (dual/exchange with LSE), Fudan University, Shanghai
- **Known for:** Runs Strategy & Operations inside the Office of the CEO at Inkitt, a venture-backed publishing startup that has raised roughly $117M total (Series C) and is behind the Galatea app, Conceived and organized the Lovable x Project Europe hackathon in Stockholm, drawing thousands of applications within hours and awarding a €20,000 prize, Served as Curator of the Global Shapers Geneva Hub (2021-2022), setting governance and representing the hub at official events

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Postgraduate student in Media and Communications at LSE and Fudan University, based in Shanghai; part-time food blogger passionate about new technologies and social media
- **circa 2018-2020** — Business Development Manager Europe, Confectionery and Chocolate, at flavor and fragrance company Firmenich
- **2021-2022** — Curator (Leadership Lead) of the Global Shapers Geneva Hub, a World Economic Forum community; also mentored entrepreneurs at the SINGA incubator
- **2022-2023** — Outgoing Hub Curator, Global Shapers Geneva; earlier volunteered with the Montreal hub
- **current** — Manager, Strategy & Operations in the Office of the CEO at Inkitt in San Francisco; contributor to MerciSF covering French food and culture in the Bay Area
- **current** — Advisor at AI company VCG.AI
- **2025** — Organized the Lovable x Project Europe hackathon in Stockholm - a 90-person event co-hosted with 20VC and Creandum

## Achievements

- Runs Strategy & Operations inside the Office of the CEO at Inkitt, a venture-backed publishing startup that has raised roughly $117M total (Series C) and is behind the Galatea app
- Conceived and organized the Lovable x Project Europe hackathon in Stockholm, drawing thousands of applications within hours and awarding a €20,000 prize
- Served as Curator of the Global Shapers Geneva Hub (2021-2022), setting governance and representing the hub at official events
- Mentored founders - including those with refugee and migrant backgrounds - at the SINGA incubator in Geneva
- Built an international career spanning Europe, China, Canada, and the United States

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Organized the Lovable x Project Europe hackathon in Stockholm and signaled plans to stage another with ElevenLabs
- **2026-06** — Continued writing culture and food features for MerciSF in the San Francisco Bay Area

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenie-fontugne/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/eugeniefontugne

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/eugenie-fontugne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01