Nicolas has recently been appointed as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of International Dairy Queen (IDQ).  IDQ is an 82-year-old American Icon that serves fast food and ice cream treats through more than 7,000 locations in the United States, Canada and more than 20 other countries. 

AAIMHI:

What brought you to IMHI, how did you hear about the program?

Nicolas:

I was literally born into the hospitality industry; my father was a hotel General Manager and I lived most of my young age in hotels across in the world. The hospitality industry was the environment I knew for a long time, I was fascinated by it and wanted to follow the footsteps of my father.

I crossed path with several individuals who either recently graduated or were about to enroll into the program. I had great conversations and feedback about IMHI, and I was quite attracted and excited to apply and continued to learn. At the time if you were living in France, there weren’t many options to continue your post graduate studies in hospitality administration at a master’s level. 

AAIMHI

What do you remember from your time at IMHI?

Nicolas:

I met my wife then, she was an exchange student from Cornell and we will celebrating our 25 year marriage this coming December so, a pretty big memory from IMHI right there!

I remember the connections being made, the group of students was very eclectic in terms of origins, perspective, and experience. The students came all around the world, from Sweden, US, China, Spain, Germany, Japan, …This was a great exposure to the world, in terms of perspectives and cultural richness. I truly enjoyed the diversity and differences in experience. It opens you a little bit more to the world and allows you to create strong relationships that still last to this day and likely beyond.

I became the President of the BDE and realized quickly that it would take a lot of my time, collecting funds, selling pizzas at the Foy’s, … it was fun, but it definitively took a lot of time to manage the association. My wife keeps reminding me that if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be graduated today, as I was spending too much time planning student events!

AAIMHI:

Which courses do you remember?

Nicolas:

I always remember the Casino Management course, held by an executive, a visiting professor. Eric Bidault worked in Casino Development for the Groupe Barrière. I was really intrigued and interested by this course; I still think about this course a lot. 

Obviously CRASE with Michael Nowlis was fun and exciting.

One teacher I will remember forever, that was Robert Kastner! He was teaching Finance and Accounting. His topic was not so exciting for me, but he made it so engaging, I really enjoyed going to his class even though I was petrified by the subject. I believe I learned a lot because of his style.

Another course that left a big imprint was the Strategy Course of Professor Tom Cullen. 

AAIMHI:

How did the French hotelier to be end up in Food & Beverage development in the US?

NICOLAS:

After graduating from IMHI, I moved to London and joined Jones Lang Wootton (Jones Lang LaSalle now) selling and buying hotels across Europe on behalf of investors. I continued and crossed over to the principal side of things when I joined Club Med first time around as their VP of Acquisitions for the Americas as well as VP of Joint Venture Real Estate with Starwood Hotels. I ultimately rejoined Club Med as their SVP of Development for a short while but eventually was approached by to cross over to the Quick Service Restaurant industry. It was an easy transition as there are several transferrable skills between sectors. It was not really planned for me to move into the QSR space, but I am glad I did and with my background I felt comfortable making the transition. 

I joined Yum! Brands in 2008 as the Chief Development Officer for the Latin America and the Caribbean business unit, then I was the Chief Development officer and Franchising for the U.S. business for Taco Bell Corp’s, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. 

I then led Focus Brands’ international business unit as its Executive Vice President. Then Wingstop as SVP of Global Development and President of their international business before very recently joining Dairy Queen (DQ).

I am an American by adoption, French and Swiss by origin. I have been in the US for 23 years and I still sound a bit foreign to some Americans…

What I appreciate in the U.S.  is the tolerance and acceptance to risk taking, the fact that it is less formal in most US companies compared to Europe. What is fascinating in the US culture is that they do not have any problems in adopting something that comes from abroad, they quickly make it their own. It is a very flexible culture, where you are easily integrated. 

AAIMHI

In your opinion, what is the important skill nowadays in your industry? 

NICOLAS:

First and foremost, you need to develop sales skills. Irrespective of the position you hold in any company, you are selling something, and you must develop an ability to convey confidence and solve solutions through your company products and services. It’s as important as to how to negotiate a raise, leave a job, write a cohesive email…. Myself, I wasn’t very excited by the words sales or the action of selling, but even if you work in finance or in any other support function, you are selling yourself, your expertise, your skills. The sooner you embrace it, the more successful you become. We are all salespeople.

AAIMHI:

Do you currently have difficulties finding employees?

NICOLAS:

Not so much on the executive level, but it is definitively difficult to find front line employees. There clearly has been a shift in younger generations coming in the work force in terms of what they are looking for to fulfill their expectations. Joining any consumer facing service jobs and taking entry level positions is not as appealing and those jobs are hard, yet so important.

The service industry must do a better job in selling a career rather than a job. Have a clear and understandable path presented to any applicants. We also need to accept the fact that people are looking for better compensation that considers rising cost of living. 

AAIMHI

Any final words of wisdom?

NICOLAS:

Be open to the world, take risks, put yourself in situations where you learn. Don’t take the easy path.

IMHI gives you a great learning platform. Build strong and lasting relationship wherever you go. IMHI is just a starting block in your new career. 

AAIMHI: Thank You Nicolas for sharing your story with us!