Born in 1952, Gilles BESSERO is an engineer from the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale de Techniques Avancées. He joined the French Navy’s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (Shom) in 1976 as a weapons engineer.
From 1976 to 1994, he alternated between conducting hydrographic and oceanographic campaigns at sea, both overseas and in France, and carrying out technical and teaching duties at the Shom establishment in Brest. He was then assigned to the Shom management in Paris, where he coordinated the Shom’s national and international external relations and foresight activities.