A graduate of the École Polytechnique (X78) and ingénieur général de l’armement, Bertrand de Cordoue began his career as a programme manager at DGA.
He was an expert at the Centre d’Analyse et de Prévision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1986 to 1988, before returning to DGA as head of Franco-British relations and European affairs.
From 1991 to 1993, he was technical adviser for industrial affairs in the office of the Minister of Defence.
He was then appointed to France’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels as Armaments Adviser, then Industrial Adviser.
In 1999, he joined the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in Paris as Deputy Director of the Directorate for External Economic Relations.
In 2004, he was appointed Director of Research and Technology at the European Defence Agency in Brussels.
In 2009, he joined the EADS Group (now AIRBUS) as Director of Key Accounts France for the Cassidian division. In 2012, he became Head of Defence Public Affairs for the Airbus Group in France, and then, in 2021, Director of Defence & Space within the Airbus Public Affairs department in Brussels.