Thierry Loué - Promo 83

My learning journey…

We engage in higher education to build a career and somehow realize our professional aspirations. I recall the time I graduated from IMHI having a great sense of satisfaction of being done with my learning as I was really keen to embrace the professional life.  What I did not realize at the time was that learning had barely started! 

40 years on, I can say that by necessity and by choice, I have been learning constantly whether formally or through various exposures which has been highly motivating. Leaning has been a way of progressing professionally obviously, discovering new fields, countries, cultures but also a way to avoid monotony and remain engaged. Getting constantly out of my comfort zone has enabled me to remain challenged and enlarge my skills. It has also been a great opportunity to engage with a wide array of people and this is probably the most rewarding part of all. 

I started my career in Paris where I was recruited as Finance Director of the Lutetia Hotel with the view of implementing new IT systems! A job for which I was not ready at all which required massive investment from my end. Lesson learned; what you don’t know you can learn; just try to do it fast! 

I then pursued my journey as head of Finance with InterContinental Hotels, first for the emblematic Paris InterContinental, then in charge of France and ultimately Southern Europe before becoming the youngest VP of the company in charge of Finance for Middle East of Africa, based in Cairo where I resided for nearly 7 years looking after a portfolio of over 60 properties after the merger with Holiday Inn. Lesson learned, the best way to achieve your objectives is not necessarily the straight line. Understanding different cultures, reconciling different interests between the owning companies, the operators, the lenders, the staff and ultimately the clients required a lot of adaptability, diplomacy and understanding. Make the genuine effort to understand the perspective of the various stakeholders will deliver more results rather than imposing any solution... 

I then became an entrepreneur and created two companies in the Middle East, one of them I sold to JLL. Lesson learned from starting a business from scratch; humility is a requirement and vision is a necessity. 

As I became the CEO of JLL for Middle East & Africa where I expanded the business throughout the region and enlarged the service offering of the company, the biggest lesson I learned was that “you are as good as your weakest link”. Recruiting, training and developing your team is the corner stone to any success. 

I then become in charge of JLL corporate initiatives worldwide dealing with several M&A projects and conducting massive transformation for the company. Difficult to change an organization highly decentralized that is 250 years old! Lesson learned, the vision may be right, if it is not shared, its implementation will not succeed. 

Today, as I retired from the corporate life, I decided to support young entrepreneurs to accompany them in their growth and value creation sharing 40 years of learning and learning from them as their understanding of new technologies constitutes a new challenge I am eager to embrace! 

Keep learning to stay young and relevant!