Hotel is my home, Hospitality is my life.
I’m lucky because I do a job that I love, I wouldn’t change it for any other else, simply because I couldn’t do anything else! I’m a French citizen, Catalan of extraction (from Perpignan) and have an international training.
My father was a senior manager of Air France and worked in several countries. I traveled a lot when I was a child and always spent my holidays at my grandmother’s hotel in the south of France. But I didn’t want to be part of that world: I saw how hard my relatives worked, with no room for anything else. So I began to study Law, decided not to follow the familiar footsteps. But soon I realized that the passion for tourism, for people and for trips was rooted in my DNA. So, I finally decided to study Management and work in the hospitality field.
My career started in 1982 with the first experiences: receptionist, bartender, waiter… A few years later I became a manager and started traveling the world, this time on my own. I directed hotels in Sicily, in Taiwan (Grand Hotel Taipei, Grand Hotel Kaohsiung), in North Africa (on behalf of Abu Dhabi Found). Then, when I joined Accor, I had roles in Greece, Egypt (Director of Accor Red Sea), Morocco, Tunisia (Country General Manager). In 2002 I arrived in Sardinia, at the Timi Ama, with the task of developing the new Pullman brand in Italy.
I must admit that I’ve been my induction in the Seven Stars Pantheon during the amazing Gala Ceremony has been one of the most thrilling moment of my life, a huge consecration to my whole career as a General Manager. I absolutely didn’t expect to receive such a recognition and I’m so honoured by this so prestigious reward.
Seven Stars has always been one of the most prestigious awards a hotel and a manager could receive and being inducted in the Pantheon is the absolute satisfaction and honour.
I’m married with an Italian woman and I feel a little bit Italian as well. Each country has its own characteristics, and in order to be successful in my profession you must know how to bring your own style, still remaining humble and try to adapt, understand the country, integrate. Italy is easy for me to understand: I have a Mediterranean temper, the Italian lifestyle is also mine: I like fashion, luxury and beautiful things. I like to bring something of me to the hotel. I am passionate about music, soul and jazz in particular: in 2003 I launched a jazz festival here at the Timi Ama.
My professionalism is based on teamwork. I don’t like the one-man-shows. A good boss doesn’t try to do everything himself, but delegates tasks to skilled employees. I delegate, then supervise, making sure that everyone feels an integral part of the project and responsible for their work. My leitmotif is “check and double check”.
