On 29 March 2024, the Board of Directors of the Royaumont Foundation, chaired by Aldo Cardoso, approved the appointment of François Naulot as Director General of the Royaumont Foundation from 1 January 2025. This choice was made in accordance with the Foundation's articles of association by its Executive Committee. The DRAC Ile-de-France, the Ile-de-France region and the Val d'Oise département were all involved in this decision. The Committee enlisted the services of the Egon Zehnder recruitment agency, as well as a group of experts set up to examine each candidate's cultural project.

Francis Maréchal, who has been closely involved in the preparations for François Naulot's appointment, will continue as Managing Director until 31 December 2024.

A musician by training, François Naulot studied in Germany and the United States. He has performed as a violist with orchestras such as the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hanover and the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt. In 2011, he moved into artistic administration, joining Jean-Christophe Spinosi's Ensemble Matheus and then William Christie's Les Arts Florissants as artistic and pedagogical coordinator.

In 2017, François Naulot was appointed artistic director of the Pôle Voix et Répertoire and the Unité Scénique de la Fondation Royaumont. In particular, he created the Orsay-Royaumont Academy, was responsible for the Festival's vocal programming and accompanied several ensembles in residence, including Les Métaboles and the Consort. He has developed the broadcasting of prize-winners' concerts as part of French and international partnerships (Opéra de Lille, Wigmore Hall, Salle Bourgie in Montreal) and staged opera productions such as Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser. Appointed General Secretary of the Foundation in November 2023, he oversaw the cultural department, which includes artistic programmes, tours of the monument, communications and audience development. Currently Deputy Director General, François Naulot will take up his position as Director General on 1 January 2025. At the same time, François Naulot is Secretary of Productions at the Opéra Royal de Versailles and a director of France Festivals.