Tell us about yourself:
I retired four years ago from a 38-year career in the international real estate investment industry.
Our family of three love outdoor activities, hiking, biking, swimming and skiing. The winters in Montréal where we’re from are not very conducive to the first three and we started looking for where in the world we could move to with our then 9 year-old son.
I have literally travelled the world on business and have been to the Côte d’Azur many times for business and on vacation. We knew it was a great place for many reasons, especially its Mediterranean weather. During our first exploration trip, we fell in love with Mougins School where our son spent a day meeting his potential future classmates.
I continue to work as a consultant for my former employer and I am on the board of the association of the domain where we live. I also enjoy contributing to the PTA. I started helping out during various PTA events, later assumed the roles of middle school coordinator and hiking club coordinator, then vice-president for a short time before being elected president two years ago.
What is your greatest professional moment or achievement?
Coaching and empowering dedicated people in my teams and seeing them being promoted, or advancing their career through higher positions in the industry. The key to leadership is to surround yourself with good people who have complementary talent and skills, and to challenge and motivate the teams to excel.
What was your steepest learning curve?
Being very mathematical and logical, solving problems was easy, but I had to learn to be a good people leader and develop a sense of empathy. I also had to learn to reconcile career, work, volunteering, and family, which I am still working on.
Mougins is a great place because…
Mougins is a great place because this is where we live and have made many friends. Everything we enjoy is in close proximity and there is so much to discover.
Our son has been attending Mougins School for the past four years. He is happy and he likes his school and his teachers. We have seen him grow and develop into a fine young man.
Do you have a link to any work or anything that you would like to share with the community?
The Mougins School PTA is the link for our community, between families, and with the School. For all its beauty, our region is geographically challenged. Most of our children cannot simply go outside and play with friends.
This is why we have various clubs and we organise events and activities to develop relationships and help our children socialise in person outside of School, not only online. We also provide communications through our PTA Newsletter, Facebook, and dedicated WhatsApp groups.
