Henriette Cornet, French entrepreneur, founder of Urban Innovate, and passionate about mobility.
Her Journey
Originally from France, Henriette spent ten years in Germany, where she discovered the transformative impact of mobility while collaborating with Munich’s public transportation authority (MVV). There, she realized how profoundly our transportation choices shape not only an entire mobility system but also our quality of life.
She later moved to Singapore, where she worked on the design of autonomous vehicles for public transportation. Her next chapter was in the automated mobility division at UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, coordinating the deployment of autonomous vehicles across around fifteen European cities.
In 2024, she landed in San Francisco and founded Urban Innovate, a consulting firm focused on building the transportation systems of tomorrow by connecting cities, public transit agencies, and riders. Its flagship product analyzes social media conversations to understand, in real time, why people choose or avoid public transportation. “We don’t just want to know how people travel, but why,” Henriette explains. She also teaches at the University of San Francisco.
Her Observations
One of Henriette’s most interesting observations after living on three continents is how differently trust is distributed across cultures. In Singapore, there is an exceptionally high level of trust in government. In Europe, people tend to be more skeptical of large corporations. In the United States, the opposite is often true: private companies generally enjoy a higher level of public trust.
She believes these cultural differences help explain why on-demand mobility services have advanced so quickly in American big cities, often at the expense of public transit. “The public sector missed the train a little,” she says. That also creates an opportunity: rebuilding trust, starting with reliable service, to create cities where private cars are no longer the default choice. “Ultimately, the most important thing for me is reducing the number of private cars.”
We love that one of her favorite San Francisco events is the Muni Pub Crawl. A true public transit ambassador!
Interested? Henriette would love to meet fellow French people who are passionate about mobility. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn!
MerciSF Rapid Fire
- Favorite mode of public transportation: Trams.
- Favorite San Francisco transit lines: The J Church light rail and the 24 bus.
- Favorite bakeries: Le Marais and Acme (especially for their sourdough bread).
- What she misses most about France: Long dinners around the table with family and friends.
- What she’d miss most if she left California: The outstanding customer service and the everyday small talk that brightens people’s days.
