# Yves Frinault

> Yves Frinault is the French co-founder and former CEO of Fieldwire, the construction field-management company acquired by Hilti for approximately $300 million in 2021. Based in San Francisco, he combined engineering training at École Polytechnique and Stanford with experience at Ubisoft to build tools for jobsite coordination. He now serves as an advisor to the board of the Hilti Group.

- **Role:** Advisor to the Board at Hilti Group
- **Organizations:** Fieldwire by Hilti, Hilti Group, Ubisoft, Outbuild, Zello, Canvas, Zacua Ventures
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** M.S.; mechanical engineering and computer science, École Polytechnique, M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering; construction management, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Fieldwire in 2013., Led Fieldwire through its approximately $300 million acquisition by Hilti in 2021., Fieldwire had powered more than one million jobsites worldwide by the acquisition announcement.

## Career timeline

- **Before Stanford** — Served in the French paratroopers; radio-communication training informed his interest in coordination.
- **2006-2007** — Studied construction management at Stanford University.
- **Before 2013** — Spent approximately five years at Ubisoft working in game production and leading development teams.
- **2013** — Co-founded Fieldwire with former Ubisoft colleague Javed Singha; participated in AngelPad cohort 6.
- **2017** — Hilti participated in Fieldwire’s Series B financing.
- **2019** — Fieldwire announced $33.5 million in financing, bringing its stated total to $40.4 million.
- **2021** — Hilti announced an agreement to acquire Fieldwire for approximately $300 million; founders initially continued leading the company.
- **2022** — Reported that Fieldwire’s team had more than doubled to 300 people after the acquisition.
- **Current public biography, checked 2026-10-27** — Former Fieldwire CEO; advisor to the board of Hilti Group, with additional board and advisory activity.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Fieldwire in 2013.
- Led Fieldwire through its approximately $300 million acquisition by Hilti in 2021.
- Fieldwire had powered more than one million jobsites worldwide by the acquisition announcement.
- Led a $33.5 million financing announced in September 2019.

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Bricks & Bytes published a retrospective on his Fieldwire journey and the Hilti acquisition.
- **2026-10** — Research check: Fieldwire’s public author biography identifies him as co-founder and advisor to the board of Hilti Group. This is an observation date, not an appointment date.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvesfrinault

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yves-frinault
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27