Head of the Business Information Systems unit at the European Chemicals Agency

Francois Mestre is Head of the Business Information Systems unit at the European Chemicals Agency. Prior to that position, he was Chief Information Officer at the Autonomous University of Madrid from 2007 to 2011. In the period of 1997 to 2007, he was Regional IT Manager for the French Treasury, Economic Forecast and Customs. He graduated as MA in telecom engineering and BA in law.

The Business Information Systems unit develops the data formats and scientific systems that ECHA provides to industry and its stakeholders (e.g. Commission, Member States) to comply with their obligations under the chemicals legislations on industrial chemicals and biocides. Companies are required to collect or generate information on properties and uses of their chemicals, assess the risks and recommend safety measures. All this information is electronically submitted to ECHA in standard formats.
Registration dossiers are in IUCLID format, fully compatible with the OECD standard formats, ontologies and controlled vocabularies are developed jointly to ensure full interoperability of systems worldwide and facilitate electronic exchange.