Our Incredible Life Paths: Brice DALLARD (TBS 2003)

Would you say a few words about yourself?

My name is Brice Dallard. After studying law, I chose to go to TBS via the parallel admission exam. Therefore started at the school in 2^nd year. After that, I did a gap year in New York with three other class mates. I chose to do the “OM Entrepreneur” programme, because I wanted to stay as general as possible. I was immediately charmed by the city, as well as the fact that the campus is located in the middle of town instead of in the suburbs. I also had friends who had graduated from TBS, and who had told me great things about it.

Who are you today?

Right after I got my degree, since I had various interests, I didn’t really know where I fit in terms of the job market. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to begin my career working abroad – my gap year in New York had given me the taste of the expat life. I went to London (a bit of an adventure) through the contact of a friend of mine from TBS on my meagre savings. A short time later, I found myself a business position which suited my “dabbles in everything” temperament.

After that, I had the chance to go to Vietnam, which was supposed to be a two-year experience to “build my CV” and ended up representing 10 years of my life! I went to work in textile sourcing, and by chance found myself in the aviation sector via my network in Vietnam. I immediately loved working in that field, and believed that I was made for that industry.  After Vietnam, I obviously returned to Toulouse, before returning to Asia – Singapore – where I lived for three years.  I managed the Singapore office of a spare parts distributor based in England. I was in charge of the Asia-Pacific zone.

If I had any regret at all, it would be not having looked for work in the aeronautics sector earlier. It’s a little of a paradox, but all of the experiences I had as a student at TBS have been good to take, and have brought me to where I am today. What I can say is that the concepts I learned at TBS still serve me today. What immediately comes to mind is the time management course has been particularly useful. More than what is taught in the classroom, I found that it’s the know-how that is the main thing TBS teaches you: the resourcefulness to manage projects from A to Z, the social life, learning how to work in group… all of which currently help me on a daily basis.

Today, I am truly fulfilled in both my professional and personal life. I see myself working abroad until I retire. Being an expat is not always easy, but you learn a lot about yourself and become more open-minded.  It’s an experience that is truly rewarding in every way, and I advise that everyone try it, for a few months at least.

How are you involved with the alumni network?

I had the luck of being able to find my position without any help, as I was headhunted by my employer. But you shouldn’t hesitate to use the alumni network from abroad. I think that each of us has had the experience of having to start from scratch in a new country, and that makes us very open and easy to access. The advice I’d give to students who contact alumni is to ask questions that are very specific as to the local context, and to avoid impersonal emails.  I regularly receive this type of message, asking if we have a VIE available, without having made any effort to do any research beforehand. As my company does not employ VIEs or interns my response is inevitably short. But there is a lot more information you should provide. What type of job are you looking for? What do you have to offer? Expatriate alumni often have a local network that goes beyond their own professional environment and may be able to put you in touch with the appropriate person.