Guillaume was born in 1970 in a town called Saint-Dié-des-Vosges -France- located in the North-Eastern part of the country. Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is famous for organizing each autumn a World Geography Festival since 1989.
Few people know but in 1507, upon the request of the Duke of Lorraine, a local chapter of scientists and churchmen were asked to find out a new name for the recently discovered continent and to draw the first map featuring the new continent as a distinctive one. As they thought -at that time- that Amerigo Vespucci was the one who first discovered it, they consequently named the new continent after his first name, i.e. 'America'.
After his studies at the Strasbourg Graduate School of Management, Guillaume first came to Hungary in 1994 and worked for the French-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. Back home, he worked as a Purchaser with Toshiba but however decided to come back to Budapest in 1998. Here, he worked for a regional and then a global executive search firm. After 8.5 years spent as an employee in the profession, he decided to set up his own executive search and HR consultancy firm called Agile Management Consulting Ltd. .
1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?
After my studies, I had to go to the army but disliked the idea. Instead, I applied for a kind of civilian service abroad and that is when the French Minsitry of Economy sent me over to Hungary to work as a Commercial Attaché for the French-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. I remember very clearly crossing the Hegyeshalom border on December 11, 1994. It was a very different world then: some 30km of highway road was missing on the M1, many old people were cycling in the fog without lights, etc. On the other hand, it was a quite 'msyterious' place and this gave a charm to the picture ...
2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?
I had regular stays in Germany as a teen and spent 9 months in Dublin as an Erasmus student in 1990-1991. It was also a different Ireland then. We had a good time. I still have very good friends from these days ...
3. What surprised you most about Hungary?
The 'closeness' of people and relationships. You can meet a local star or politician on the streets here. Also, things can get very personal as there is only a very thin line between professional and personal things. It has good and bad sides. Altogther, I appreciate the fact that the Hungarian human society is a more open one than any one in the 'Western world'.
4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend--what must they absolutely see and do?
Depends on age and interests but I would say the Hungarian Parliament, the Szechényi baths and the Budapest night-life, especially in the summertime with those open-air party places and alternative ones like the 'Szimpla' concept ...
5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?
Somlói galuska with a good Tokaji Aszú wine (max. 3 puttonyos though)
6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?
French butter. A basic for everything. Nothing can compare with it!
7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?
Isteni!
8. What do you miss the most from home?
What we call 'savoir-vivre': simply enjoy life and take the time to sit in a restaurant and eat good food. I try to maintain this tradition here.
9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?
Something creative and/or dealing with arts: writer, journalist, art critic, film director. Life is long so anything similar may come later!
10. What's a job you would definitely never want?
BKV controller! So much routine ...
11. Where did you spend your last vacation?
Back home: the Vosges mountains -this is where I come from- are not breathtaking but they are extremely inspirational ... I try to go home as often as I can ...
12. Where do you hope to spend your next one?
Crete, Greece. I'd love to see again some friends that I have met here in Budapest ...
13. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?
In 1982, I fell in love with a band called 'Asia' and since then I became a devoted fan to the genre called 'progressive rock' (Genesis, Yes, ELP, etc.). I collect CDs, travel miles to see concerts. For eg. I will see a band called 'Kansas' live in Basel next month. And I look so much forward to seeing 'Asia' live on May 30 in Budapest ...
14. What can't you resist?
A good CD store!!! Danger danger ...
15. Red wine or white?
Red
16. Book or movie?
Movie
17. Morning person or night person?
Night
18. Dog person or cat person?
Dog, but I do love animals in general, as long as they are free ... I don't like the idea of keeping animals in a zoo, except for the sake of preserving the species when indispensable only ...
19. Buda side or Pest side?
After 9 years in Pest, I now live in Buda. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages: more 'life' in Pest, more quietness and green areas in Buda ... I guess I prefer Buda with the time ...
20. What would you say is your personal motto?
There are many but I would chose mainly two:
1/"To believe is to create" and 2/"Being good only for yourself is the same as being good for nothing" (quote from Voltaire).