This is the quick CV, in a deconstructed way. Initially, my career was in business. I graduated from Kedge (Marseille business school) and held positions in sales or procurement across different industries, including IT consultancy, lifelong training, importing household goods – with constant visits to India, China and Taiwan, and specialty advertising.
THE QUICK CV
Business
I entered the translation industry thanks to a happy accident.
Early days
Between two jobs, during a brief stint in the UK as a French sub-editor, I noticed an unmet need in the market. This led me to establish Babelon-line, a translation agency focusing on business and online content. This venture required overseeing English to French projects and transitioning into roles such as a translation project manager, marketer, and account manager. Like all SME bosses, this meant becoming a versatile ‘Swiss-Army knife for business’. The short stint lasted, business thrived… and the UK is now my permanent home.
Translation
As a kid
I always loved languages and started learning English from age 8. I lived in English-speaking countries since my mid-twenties and I enjoy playing wordsmith in both languages. My professional career exposed me to a wide range of topic, from household brands to CT scanners, so there is now little I have dealt with before.
Translation is an art and a science
IMHO, the most important thing is to have a real love for language. Merely translating the words is easy; the hard bit is to pick up the subtle nuances, to understand what is said between the lines and find a way to convey these nuances in the target language.
English to French
I translate only from English into French, but have good notions of German and a smattering of Italian. This gives me an idea of where the pitfalls could hide when tackling multilingual projects. I am a Memsource/Phrase certified user.
The call of the machine
A techie at heart.
At heart, I’m a tech enthusiast. I have a deep passion for machines, computers and tinkering with AI. One of my proudest achievements is obtaining a professional plane pilot license.
This experience motivated me to establish my translation agency. I recognized the need for businesses to have translations performed directly in more complex formats—such as HTML, XML, PO, or e-learning files—an offering that the market lacked at that time.
I had a long-standing project with a Cambridge-based company that supplied containerized medical CT scanners to the military. During this project, I provided translation and interpretation services. Moreover, I discovered the necessity for a ‘cultural fixer,’ someone capable of bridging the gap between English and French-speaking teams.
In my spare time, I frequently enroll in MOOC courses that align with my interests. I’ve completed courses on various topics such as Renewable Energy Technologies, Photovoltaic and Solar, Model Thinking, and currently, I’m exploring the realm of AI.
A stint teaching in Oxford
From 2019 to 2022, I was lucky enough to teach in a business school in Oxford (EM Normandie Oxford). I taught Critical Thinking and Working in Groups before being asked to oversee the school’s Student Union.
Being in contact with young, brilliant minds was a fabulous experience. At first glance, some students’ questions may have seemed naive, but they actually challenged the academic ways of thinking. Teaching young adults is incredibly rewarding.
And everything else
I was born in Nice and grew up in Marseille, an extraordinary city founded 2,600 years ago. I lived in La Réunion island and Madagascar before moving to the USA.
What was initially meant to be a quick career gap filler in London ended up lasting decades. I love the UK (disclaimer: not the long winters so much) and the country’s “everything goes” vibes. I am happily settled with my British wife in Sunbury, near the Thames river.
Amongst many other fine things in life, I enjoy:
- Canoeing and outdoors
- Photography
- Learning new stuff
- Preparing cocktails (with moderation)
- Terrible dad’s jokes