Greater Paris Metropolitan Region
Nothing beats turning my clients’ dreams into a successful reality. That’s why I love my job in strategy consulting. But there is no free lunch. Instead, it requires a strong combination of long-term vision and solid pragmatism. I like to think that I acquired this knowledge growing up in the countryside, where you have to keep your feet on the ground and catch only the right opportunity. In my view, long-term vision requires anticipating and thinking five years ahead. This creates space for fierce agility symbolizes success in business. One of my favorite quotes is from Ferrari, who said: “My most beautiful car is the one I'm working on right now". Similarly, Porsche said: “The race to surpass oneself is the race that never ends". I graduated from the Mines ParisTech Graduate School, then began my career in 1992 at Arthur Andersen. It was there that I acquired the fundamentals of consulting, whereas my time at AT Kearney then taught me absolute rigor. In between, I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside Jean-Luc Lagardère who taught me that we have the right to be wrong, but never to be mediocre. In 1999 I founded my own consulting firm, Advancy. With 220 consultants, we are based in Europe, America, Asia and the Pacific. We have built a reputation based on trust and loyalty, and I am very proud of that. I place great importance on my employees’ individual abilities and I give my teams the space to express their creativity and make an impact. Recruitment at Advancy, therefore, focuses foremost on excellence and the ability to work in a culture in which high standards, openness, and transparency are key values. Finally, knowledge-sharing and education are my driving forces. I regularly return to the Mines Graduate School as a tutor to train students. And I mentor companies, helping them to grow by embedding a culture of human touch, respect, and hard work. I look forward to interacting and exchanging opinions with you on these topics.
I founded Advancy, a strategy consulting firm, back in 1999. Twenty years later, our growth is of around 25% each year. We work internationally on top-level issues in the following areas: BtoC (retail, luxury, consumer goods), Industry (chemistry and processes, mobility, construction), Entertainment (Hotels, Travel, Leisure ). Our clients involve leaders of both well-established companies and smaller brands. Our long-term partnerships provide them with fully personalized and confidential assistance. It is in our ethics not to provide our services to competitors, this way we ensure our commitment to our clients. Our approach combines corporate and private equity in a unique way. In addition to the analyzes, we approach each project - development, growth, reorganization, turnaround - in its concrete and specific realities. We respond with a personalized approach by integrating growth and competitiveness in all of our solutions. Our consultant’s expertise, our pragmatic way of designing strategies, the trust relationship we share with our clients and the reputation we built over time make up our best selling points on the market. Each consultant contributes to the success of the firm by having the necessary space within the firm to develop his/her talent and make a concrete impact. Our teams are driven by high standards and enthusiasm. This collective mindset generates incredible energy and power into everything we do. Advancy, some Key Figures: • Offices in 9 countries (Europe, USA x2, Brazil, Asia and Pacific) • 220 consultants • 2000 projects since our creation in 1999 • 5000 CVs per year • 5% turnover (the lowest on the market) • 100% of our customers come back after the first project with us
Five years of experience within A.T. Kearney taught me the value of rigor, and how to spot the most concrete and effective solutions to achieve the best possible results. During my position as a manager, I created a new Internal Business Unit, but I was also involved in the human side of the organization: I set up a " skills matrix scheme", a system for evaluating employees’ progress and remuneration which was then implemented and used throughout the entire company.
For three years I was in charge of special missions at Lagardère Groupe. I learned a lot from working with Jean-Luc Lagardère, the CEO of the company at the time. I admired his work and how he went on to build one of the biggest names in the industry through his entrepreneurial spirit and his risk-taking approach. This is what I call the "JL Lagardère DNA". Working for this visionary man has been inspiring and enlightening. In a few words, the strongest learning I still use everyday: you can be wrong and nobody will blame you for having hard tried, but you are not entitled to be mediocre.
This five-year experience allowed me to acquire the fundamentals of management consulting, corporate finance and strategy. These were also my first steps in the corporate world in which I had the opportunity to learn more about its uses and practices.