A career change in the training department after almost 25 years at Airbus

What is your professional background and how did you set up Living Kultures?

I began my career in Germany with NDR, a national television channel, before pursuing it internationally and then in France. Over the course of 23 years, I progressed from communications assistant to Financial Accountant Manager to Head of International Payroll Coordination at Airbus. My career was mainly divided between communications, finance and mobility. I'm constantly helping and advising in these different areas, and have developed a faultless adaptability. I've been able to work with a wide range of people from different backgrounds, experiencing a wealth of languages and cultures. Airbus has also enabled me to take part in a wide range of training courses to deepen my knowledge and develop new ones. I've had the opportunity to train in other languages (Spanish, Arabic and a little Japanese), but also in Transactional Analysis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, as well as management, coaching and leadership.

Since setting up my sole proprietorship in 2018, I've been teaching in several schools and organizations. Sharing my knowledge is important to me. I like to say that I'm training future generations by protecting them from certain avoidable situations. I train them with caution, neutrality and passion. They also enable me to learn, feed my curiosity and keep up to date.

These are the generations I'm working with, who have the opportunity to improve the society we live in today.

During COVID, as I was already self-employed, I decided to take a diploma as a language trainer and coach to add other strings to my bow.

The idea of setting up my own business came to me in 2017, and thanks to a business creation leave, I was able to get started in complete safety.

Since then, my days have never been the same. I carry out numerous assignments in different contexts and locations each time, and it's with this that I've found my balance.

Thanks to my Living Kultures® business, I can organize myself as I wish and have several complementary activities while devoting myself to my family, friends and hobbies.

In addition to this entrepreneurial adventure, the courses I give at school and the work I do for various companies, I also carry out a number of volunteer missions.

In 2022, I went on a mission to Morocco to teach French, English and German to children, young adults and women.

In 2023, I volunteered for the Rugby World Cup. Initially, I was only supposed to be a driver, but I ended up adding a language component by training the other volunteers to acquire basic English, Japanese and Portuguese so as to provide the best possible support for foreign spectators, partners and athletes.

In July, I'll be in charge of welcoming and providing multilingual support to the Olympic family at the HYATT hotel in Paris for over three weeks.

How did you come up with the idea of setting up your own business?

I was lucky enough to have access to training in languages, leadership and management, and I wanted to make this available to others. What's more, I needed to be able to better organize my day-to-day life, to be able to manage my schedule as I saw fit. The main reason, however, was my need to find meaning in my professional activity.

I like to be always on the move. The fact that I've set up my own business means I'm able to get involved in a wide range of projects and develop my full potential.

What advice would you give our readers?

Live every day as if it were your last!

Keep in mind the goals you've set yourself and give your all to achieve them. Don't give up hope when it's hard, fight for it. And finally, don't be afraid to ask for help by talking about your difficulties to those around you.

And above all! Mens sana in corpore sano!!! The excuse: "I don't have time to do sport while I'm studying!" is just a bullet in the back of your mind! Sport and movement help to keep your mind clear and your energy levels up.

Never give up on your dreams! I wanted to be a teacher when I was 12, and I became one when the time was right!