Hervé DE GOUVION SAINT CYR is currently CEO and owner of TalentriCity in Paris.

Introduction :

“My career was built by having met people who made me willing and able to transmit all of my humanity. As soon as I met them, I understood at once that I would live many an unforgettable experience with them.” The changing point for Herve de Gouvion Saint Cyr was the feeling that marked every step of his progression as sales manager in luxury hotels, and who recently made the transition into consulting and training.

Interview :

Everything started when, unsatisfied with his experience at the university, he was looking for his vocation and requested an immersion period in well-known Parisian hotels: «I wanted to see if I would enjoy working in this environment”. Convinced by this initiative, the Bristol HR Manager welcomed him in this prestigious Parisian hotel.

Six months later, the hotel’s General Manager recommended him to Harrods in London. Three months of tea times in the Georgian Tea Room were enough for him to make up his mind: he would continue his studies in Vatel in Nimes. He was the Valedictorian of his class in 1995.

“In Vatel, the quality of relationships between teachers and students reinforced my sensibility of the human dimension. I was hired as soon as I finished my last internship at the Lutetia Hotel as Head Banquet Waiter. Having worked there for seven years, the General Manager, Jean- Marc de Margerie, allowed me to climb the corporate ladder until I was promoted to Sales Manager.”

He then worked in a series of prestigious hotels, and fondly remembers those people who really influenced him: “Beatrice Belehradek and Loic Le Berre at the Ambassador Hotel, Francois Delahaye and Laurence Bloch at the Plaza Athenee Hotel. They were able to touch my emotions. Three years ago, I would not have joined Luxury Attitude without this exceptional meeting with Erik Perey and Lionel Meyers, who founded this company that, for the past sixteen years, has been working with the most famous hotels, stakeholders in luxury goods, haute couture and other high end sectors.”

Luxury Attitude, a member of the INSEEC Group, advises and trains companies in their service strategy by including the human dimension of luxury. “I became head of this company, while continuing to take advantage of the presence of the two co-founders”, said this Vatelien who advises young adults to cultivate their instincts of meeting others: “In the hospitality industry, the human side is a hundred times more present than in other fields. Recruiters must trust the personality of the candidate they are interviewing. When meeting someone is a magical experience, everything else can be learned.”