Meet our team
The driving force behind Empire: our engineers are the beating heart of our business. Every team member boasts the very best technical expertise and years of industry experience.
Partner, Principal Engineer,
Head of Floating
Benoît Brière
Partner, Principal Engineer, Head of Floating
Benoît joined Empire Engineering in 2022, bringing deep expertise in offshore wind foundation design and floating wind technologies. He leads Empire’s European operations from the Marseille office and provides technical leadership across the company’s most complex floating and fixed-bottom foundation projects.
About Benoît
PARTNER AND LEAD FLOATING WIND ENGINEER
Benoît brought world-class expertise in floating wind engineering and advanced foundation design to establish Empire as a technical authority in emerging offshore wind technologies.
Early
career
Benoît began his career in offshore structural engineering, working on renewable energy projects across Europe. His early experience included both fixed-bottom and floating foundation systems, developing a comprehensive understanding of the technical challenges across different water depths and site conditions.
Professional
experience
Before joining Empire, Benoît spent over a decade working on pioneering offshore wind projects, establishing himself as a leading expert in floating wind foundation design. He has contributed to some of Europe’s most innovative floating wind developments, working across multiple foundation concepts including semi-submersible, spar, and tension-leg platforms. His expertise spans hydrodynamic analysis, mooring system design, structural optimisation, and the integration of floating foundations with increasingly large turbines. Benoît has also been heavily involved in developing industry standards and best practices for floating wind design.
Why offshore
wind
Benoît recognised that floating wind would unlock vast deep-water resources and fundamentally expand offshore wind’s potential. He joined Empire to build the specialist capabilities needed for this emerging sector, working on projects that push technical boundaries while helping to establish the design standards that will guide the industry’s growth. His vision was to position Empire at the forefront of floating wind engineering as the technology moves from demonstration to commercial scale.
Expertise
Expertise
Core technical capabilities
The technical expertise and strategic leadership that define Benoît’s contribution to Empire’s floating wind and foundation engineering practice.
Floating wind expertise
Leading Empire’s floating wind design capability, from early-stage concept development through detailed engineering across semi-submersible, spar, and TLP foundation systems.
Hydrodynamic analysis
Developing advanced modeling approaches for floating foundation behavior, mooring system design, and dynamic response assessment in challenging metocean conditions.
Technical leadership
Guiding Empire’s European operations and driving technical innovation across both floating and fixed-bottom foundation projects for clients worldwide.
Floating wind expertise
Leading Empire’s floating wind design capability, from early-stage concept development through detailed engineering across semi-submersible, spar, and TLP foundation systems.
Hydrodynamic analysis
Developing advanced modeling approaches for floating foundation behavior, mooring system design, and dynamic response assessment in challenging metocean conditions.
Technical leadership
Guiding Empire’s European operations and driving technical innovation across both floating and fixed-bottom foundation projects for clients worldwide.
Deep thinking
