Jean is the founder of Ascension and has over 25 years of experience working in technology, innovation and venture. Since 2015, he has guided the Ascension team in each investment decision and also keeps busy supporting the portfolio to scale and exit.

After obtaining his MBA from INSEAD in 1996, he became Head of Distribution for MTV Europe through its digital transformation out of the London office.

He then started working at Two Way TV, a pioneer in interactive technology, games and digital content, where he became CEO and structured partnership deals with many leading content owners, broadcasters and platforms. In 2008, Jean led the sale of Two Way Media to Virgin Media and a leading private equity group.

Jean is originally from Montreal where he received his BA in History with Honours from McGill University. Months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he taught English and French at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechoslovakia. He then became an economist at an NGO in New York advising governments on social and economic reforms across the former Soviet Bloc, having completed a Masters Degree in International Relations from Columbia University.

Jean is also an angel investor and was an early Seed investor in Atom Films, eventually sold to Viacom for $200m.

As a University student, Jean planted over 100,000 trees in northern British Columbia over two summers.