Jules Fournier ('15): Keeping Every Door Open

Jules Fournier has never believed he had to choose between business and creativity. While his career has taken him from French government offices to YouTube, Google, and now Netflix, creative writing has remained a constant alongside it. That balance began at Sciences Po, where he arrived in 2009 imagining a future in politics.

Fascinated by public affairs from a young age, the Paris native chose Sciences Po because it offered exactly the kind of education he was looking for: one that examined society, institutions, and the forces shaping the world. "I remember looking at the curriculum while I was still in lycée," he recalls. “I thought, if I ever get into Sciences Po, I'll always be happy to wake up and go to class.”

After completing Sciences Po's undergraduate program, including a year abroad at the University of Texas at Austin, Fournier pursued the dual master's degree in Corporate and Public Management with HEC Paris. Along the way, he interned in the offices of French government ministers, worked on public policy, and co-authored a book with former Prime Minister Michel Rocard. Although he once considered preparing for the École nationale d'administration (ENA), his interests gradually shifted.

"I became increasingly interested in the media industry," he says. “I realized I didn't have the same passion for public service that motivates some people. I was fascinated by certain aspects of politics, but I also wanted to explore something different.”

That curiosity led him to an internship at Dailymotion, followed by a role at YouTube in London working with creators across France and the United Kingdom. In 2019, he transferred to Google's San Francisco headquarters before later joining Netflix in Los Angeles, where he now serves as Senior Manager in Content Finance & Strategy, partnering with content teams on emerging opportunities and future investments. Although moving to the United States had never been part of his long-term plan, he embraced the opportunity when it arose. 

"I wasn't actively looking to move to the U.S.," he says. “But the opportunity came along, and it felt exciting. I'd always imagined living in America one day- I just thought it would probably be New York.”

Creative writing, however, had never disappeared. The son of a screenwriter, Fournier had always been drawn to storytelling. While working at YouTube, he became fascinated by the world of online creators, seeing both compelling characters and a new form of storytelling taking shape. "I thought it was a fascinating world that fiction hadn't really explored," he says. “These creators are reinventing how we tell stories, so I wanted to tell a story about that world.”

Once he moved to California, he finally had the distance to begin writing. The result was Mal Lunée, a novel following a teenage girl whose unexpected rise as a YouTube creator gradually reshapes her identity. Published in Québec before its French release in 2025, the novel was the culmination of nearly six years of writing and revision. Today, Fournier balances his work at Netflix with novels and screenwriting. "Writing is a very solitary exercise," he says. “I like having another job that keeps me connected.”

Ask Fournier what he took away from Sciences Po, and he doesn't point to a single class or internship. Instead, he talks about a way of seeing the world. "Sciences Po gave me the keys to better understand the world," he says. “It didn't open every door, but it gave me the framework to navigate them.”

He credits Sciences Po with equipping him to understand organizations from multiple perspectives. The business training provided practical tools he still uses in strategy, while the broader curriculum encouraged him to think beyond immediate business questions and consider larger political, social, and cultural contexts. "I think it really expands your aperture," he says. "Compared to people with a more narrow business background, I often find myself looking at the bigger picture." 

He also points to his internships in government, where watching leaders respond calmly to public health crises gave him lasting perspective. “When you've seen people dealing with genuinely high-stakes situations, it helps you keep perspective when you're facing a stressful business deadline.”

The advice he now shares with current Sciences Po students comes from his grandmother: “Keep your options open.”

Throughout his career, he has often been told that success requires choosing one path and abandoning the rest. His own experience suggests otherwise. "People tell you that you can't be good at multiple things at once," he says. “I would argue the opposite. As long as you feel the urge to pursue different interests, don't constrain yourself.”

For Fournier, that is one of the greatest gifts a Sciences Po education provides: not a prescribed career path, but the freedom to build one. "Sciences Po gives you that freedom," he says. “It's a privilege, but it shouldn't become a constraint.”

And perhaps most importantly, he adds with a smile: "Have fun along the way."