The underlying strategic credo to achieve that goal is that authorities and the private sector must work together to make the world more measurable by building global data standards and data infrastructures. His immediate focus is on the “real world - data world” interface, primarily object identification. He serves on the Regulatory Oversight Committee of the Global LEI System (GLEIS) and has been instrumental in the emergence and development of the GLEIS. Prior to the ECB, Francis spent fifteen years in the automotive industry, eight of which at Mercedes, working mainly on globalisation, strategic alliances and business development. He holds an engineering degree from École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, Paris, and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK