Thierry Vircoulon graduated from the French Public Management Institute (ENA) and the Institute for Political Studies in Paris. He holds a masters degree in Political Science from Sorbonne University.

He has previously worked for the French Foreign Ministry and the European Commission, notably in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.He worked as the Central Africa project director for the International Crisis Group in Kenya and has been teaching security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Institute for Political Studies in Paris.

He is the coordinator of the Central and Southern Africa Observatory of the French Institute of International Affairs, is doing consultancy research for various organisations working in conflict zones (NGOs, donors) and is contributing to the global organised crime index.