We at Sophia Business Angels were particularly saddened by the news that our dear friend and colleague, Pierre Laffitte, passed away on 7 July, at the age of 96. He was the President and founder of the Sophia-Antipolis technopole, the largest technopole in Europe. An eminent scientist but also a committed politician, Pierre Laffitte sat in the Senate for the Alpes-Maritimes region from 1985 to 2008 where he served as the specialist in innovation issues.