Presentation of our new General Delegate: Grégoire Antoine alias Greg !

1.       What is your experience within TBS Education / TBSA ? 

I'm from the class of 2005, I spent 3 very important years in TBS Education.

I was quickly involved in the associative life by being BDE 2003-2004 and I liked it a lot, I met people who are still close to me today, including my wife since it is there that we met!

I loved my time at the school, which explains the nostalgia or at least the desire to come back one day to work for or around the school.

2.       From Royal Canin to Director of Consulting and Projects in New Zealand, explain your career path to us, how did you get to be the General Delegate of TBSA? 

My first job was working for Royal Canin, I was a kibble salesman, which made my friends laugh a lot at the time! A job in the field, not unpleasant but not stimulating enough.

With my wife, we wanted to discover the world, so we literally took a one-way ticket to Tahiti in 2008. I did my first experience in a communication agency as an account manager and we stayed there for two and a half years.

Then, we fell in love with New Zealand and we left for 1 year but finally we stayed there for 9 years! There I worked most of the time in communication agencies. I started at Ogilvy & Mather, a big international communication group in the consulting field. Then I joined a small agency that I helped to grow, The Business.

A very beautiful period of my life, but due to the arrival of our daughter we had the need and the desire to get closer to our home country and our family.

I started working again in France in an ergonomics company but I always had in mind to get closer to the school and/or the association, with which I was always in contact since I was part of the Auckland Chapter.

Cathy, whom I have known for years, informed me of her retirement and of the opening of the position for her succession.

I first thought about it before deciding because it is a position with great responsibilities, but I chose to position myself and it turns out that TBS Alumni trusted me.

3.       What motivated you to take the job?

My drive was first of all affect, because I've known Cathy for a long time and to project myself in her shoes and to tell myself that I'm the new Cathy, let's say it like that (laughs), I really like it because it makes sense.

I am at a time in my life when, like many, the search for meaning in my professional life is preponderant.

And the two other vectors of motivation are the ultimate goal, and the completeness of the job.

The ultimate goal of the association is to animate this network and to make sure that people who come out of the same school know each other, meet each other, do business together and why not recruit each other. This is a very powerful motivation for me.

The complexity and diversity of the job are also a source of motivation: you can go from database to communication or from administrative to a sometimes almost political side, especially with the school, where everyone has to understand that we are all moving in the same direction and that we all have the same objective.

4.       What did TBS Education bring to you in your career? 

Beyond the academic training and the human side, it brought me a real maturity, between the moment I entered the school and the moment I left, a real "resourcefulness" almost!

As far as TBS Alumni is concerned, I am firmly convinced of the potential power of a network such as this one, both humanly, professionally and socially.

When you are transferred to a place and you don't know anyone, most of the big cities in the world have a Chapter since TBS Alumni is present in 146 countries, so there are people who are a priori a bit more open than complete strangers to receive you or even to go for a drink. That's what I did when I arrived in Tahiti, and that's how I got my first job.

And at other times in my life, I've been the one to advise, meet, and guide other alumni. A network goes both ways.

5.       You have several fields to your bow, what advice can you give to Alumni, to adapt quickly to a new sector/be more flexible? 

I think in retrospect that risk taking is important. You have to try to reduce the fear of failure, if you don't try you won't know if it's right for you: you have to try to know.

And for an advice... I would say indulgence to yourself, that's what I'm telling myself every day now (laughs) because the knowledge transfer between Cathy and me is dense.

6.       Do you advise our Alumni to try professional experiences abroad? 

Completely, without denigrating the people who don't do it, it gave me an open mind.

I discovered that there are other ways of thinking, of managing, and there are so many people and things to see.

I made it my mantra, Anglo-Saxon management and positivity above all. That doesn't mean being naive, but being understanding of others.

7.       Any ideas for the future of TBSA?

The current team and all those who have been in the association, have done a lot of work to structure the association to have a solid foundation. Cathy has installed a version 2.0 of TBSA and I would like to go higher.

My long and medium term objective is to increase the means and the income of the association, to be able to amplify our contents more. To be able to do more and better while respecting the ethics of the association.

And my short term ambition is to impregnate myself as much as possible with Cathy's knowledge and to be inspired by her know-how. For those who know her, she will have marked the history of the association because of her benevolent personality and her determination.

To get to know you :

A hobby?

A large part of the time that I was able to devote to my hobbies was shared between soccer and motorcycling. This time is reduced today because I have 2 children, a cat, a busy job and a 45 minute drive so I do it much less (laughs)!

A quote / A mantra ? 

The currency in a network is not personal need, it's generosity.

Three words that define you? 

Enthusiastic, positive and with a sense of humor, which is important in my way of being and working.

A last word for our Alumni? 

I invite you all to join us if you have some time to give or if you have needs. The network is what you make of it, we are almost 50 000 people today, it's huge. The goal is to see what you can bring and what the network can bring to you.

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