A look back at Sophie Boissard’s contribution to the Top Afep 2026: supporting innovation in care
On 28 March 2026, Sophie Boissard, Chief Executive Officer of Clariane, took part in the 8th Top Afep event, organised by the French Association of Private Enterprises (Afep) at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (EESC). Every year, this event gives 300 managers of SMEs and midcaps an opportunity to make contact with the leadership of major French companies through individual meetings designed to create concrete partnerships and support growth.
Open innovation at the heart of Clariane’s approach
Committed to the challenges of longevity, Clariane is developing an open innovation strategy in conjunction with an ecosystem of partners. Our CEO, Sophie Boissard, regularly attends Top Afep, reflecting our desire to identify and support innovative solutions for patients, residents and our professionals.
The discussions focused in particular on solutions in the fields of digital technology and cybersecurity (SEKOIA.IO, CIRCULARPLACE), healthcare (FRANCE CARE, VIA SANA, HOMEPULSE), as well as robotics and artificial intelligence (ENCHANTED TOOLS, SURGITEC ROBOTICS).
Digital and AI: giving caregivers time back
Interviewed on BFM Business by Emmanuel Lechypre at the event, Sophie Boissard mentioned the contributions made by artificial intelligence: improving traceability in care and freeing up time for teams.
With digital technology and artificial intelligence, professionals such as nurses and nursing assistants could avoid spending up to 20% of their time on administrative tasks, focusing instead on human relations and care.
The tools that Clariane has developed and rolled out so far across its facilities have also been widely adopted by the teams and perceived as a valuable source of day-to-day support. They form part of the solution to a major challenge: improving the quality of support in a context of increasing needs.
Find Sophie Boissard’s interview between 47:00 and 57:00 (in french)
Digital technology is a paradigm shift. We give all of our professionals tools with automatic and agentic analysis capabilities that can simplify reporting and traceability tasks. They see these tools as a source of help and support in their daily work.
Clariane, committed to guiding young people
Clariane also took part in the Top Jeunes, held by the Afep on 27 March 2026 with a focus on introducing secondary school students to professions and providing them with guidance.
Our teams, including Joëlle Hélénon, director of the Clariane University, spoke with secondary school students who came to learn about careers and opportunities in the care, support and medico-social professions.
These discussions highlighted the diversity of our professions, while providing greater insight into the expectations of younger generations, who are increasingly seeking meaning for their professional future.
In France, Clariane is now a major player in expanding learning, with 3,550 work-study students in 2025. The Group offers various career paths – such as nursing assistant, nurse, cook, physiotherapist and management apprentice – with an end-of-training hiring rate of more than 50%.
Through initiatives such as Top Jeunes, Clariane is reaffirming its commitment to supporting young people in building their professional future and training tomorrow’s professionals.
