Jacques Delacour is the Optics and VR Business Line Director of ANSYS, the global leader and innovator of engineering simulation software. While still a student at Ecole Supérieure d'Optique, Delacour created SOLSTIS, the first optical simulation software to apply optical simulation to the field of lighting in 1985. He then founded OPTIS in 1989 to develop and market his product. Earlier this year, ANSYS acquired OPTIS, extending its portfolio to physics-based optical simulation and enhancing ANSYS’ sensor simulation capabilities for autonomous vehicles.
While maintaining his management function, Delacour has successively worked as research and software development engineer, project manager, technical manager and marketing manager, before choosing to focus more on innovation and strategy. He’s also the author of "Optical Software" for “Technique de l’Ingénieur” (2002) and the inventor of two optical devices dedicated to simulation. He has been recognized several times for his work and his career. He was awarded in 1994 by the French Ministry of Defense for his policy of innovation, and was made Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2010.