A graduate of Telecom ParisTech and Sciences Po Paris, and a Mines engineer, Bertrand Pailhès worked at ARCEP and CNIL in the technology expertise department before joining the office of Fleur Pellerin, Minister for the Digital Economy, in 2013.

In 2015, he was appointed chief of staff to Axelle Lemaire, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, where he worked on the Digital Republic Act adopted in October 2016.

Since July 2018, Bertrand Pailhès has been national coordinator of the strategy for artificial intelligence at the Interministerial Directorate for the Digital Economy.

He joined the CNIL in November 2019 as director of technology and innovation.