Pierre-Alain Roche studied engineering at the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées.
He is currently a consultant, retired, and honorary general engineer. His career has been spent working for the French government and local authorities. He has notably served as Director General of the Seine-Normandy Water Agency and Director of Central Administration. He has been a member of the Environment and Sustainable Development Inspectorate’s Environment, Resources and Risks Section and the National Environmental Authority, and Chairman of the Mobility and Transport Section. He is a member of the French Academy of Technologies and holds various social mandates in large public companies. He participated in the founding of the Water Governance Initiative (OECD), is a member of the board of directors of the French Water Partnership and the French Hydrotechnical Society (French member of the IWRA, honorary president of the ASTEE (French branch of the IWA). He has supported the ISW in its activities since 1998 and has contributed in particular to the organization of four editions of the Rencontres Internationales Eau et Cinéma (International Water and Film Meetings), the Maison des Citoyens (Citizens’ House) and several editions of the Youth Parliament.