Mobile phones chief Bernard Ghillebaert once hosted the ultimate business trip
– a 45-minute helicopter ride from Brussels to the Ardennes region for the
Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium, followed by lavish entertainment for
clients at the event.
“The helicopter is not the normal mode of transport for us, but it was a nice
bonus. The intention that weekend was not to do much work, but to get to
know customers better and strengthen relationships. In situations when they
are receiving that type of corporate hospitality, the clients are usually
polite!”
Ghillebaert, 55, is the UK chief executive of Orange,
part of the France Telecom group, which reported revenues of approximately
£8.8bn in the first quarter of 2007. Ghillebaert has a house in Paris and a
flat in London, and has to travel frequently between the two for business.
He also travels to other countries on business.
Are all trips that exciting?
No! Most of them are very routine, but the ones that aren’t tend to stand out.
I was once sent to do business in Stockholm in January, when it was -15C,
which was an experience. Mind you it was dry, so it was not so bad. A number
of years ago, I was in a very bad storm in Holland and after a meeting had
finished, it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to fly back that night.
We ended up walking down the street in Amsterdam with objects flying around
and the electricity cut off. The airport was closed and we had to spend the
night in a very small hotel.
Have you ever had any frights on flights?
Once I was flying from Paris to Stockholm and we were just on the verge of
landing when the pilot put the gas back on and climbed again. This happened
a number of times because the landing carriage wouldn’t drop down, or at
least a light in the cockpit was telling the pilot that it was not down. In
the cabins you could hear conversations between people and then suddenly
everything would go quiet. In the end we flew in front of the control tower
and the controllers could see that the landing gear was in fact down and
told the pilot. It was quite frightening and there were lots of fire engines
on the tarmac when we arrived.
How about any long-haul adventures?
Some time ago I went on a business trip to the US with a colleague who was an
amateur pilot. He had this idea to rent a plane and fly us through the Grand
Canyon, which seemed very exciting as I was confident of his abilities. But
there was a strong side wind and the plane was quite unsteady in the sky and
felt like it was continually on the verge of clipping the side of the
Canyon. As you can imagine, this affected my enjoyment of the place! The
Canyon is very beautiful, but I was concentrating on other things.
How do you travel between the UK and France?
I prefer the Eurostar. It is more comfortable than other modes of transport
and you have somewhere where you can put your legs. It’s a longer journey
than flying, obviously, but door to door there’s not much in it. Mind you, I
did get stuck in the tunnel once for a couple of hours with my family. The
shuttle part of the tunnel with cars had a problem and was stuck, and so
were we. When you think you are under the water, it is quite a worry. My
wife was quite concerned, but I was OK.
Do you ever fly to Paris?
Seldom, but if I do, it’s a mix of either easyJet or Air France. Flying has
become tiresome because of all the security arrangements, such as the limit
on how much you can take in containers. I understand why they do it, of
course, but it is an issue. If I go Air France the food is not bad. Most of
my flying is short haul and therefore we travel economy.
What differences do you notice between London and Paris?
I think Londoners are more civilised than Parisians, because they get less
stressed about things. I can get away with having that opinion because I am
French. But there are too many cars in Paris and I think we are naturally a
bit more Latin in temperament.
Are you someone who leaves for trips at the last minute?
No, I’m the opposite. I don’t like to be rushed because I have plenty of
reasons to be stressed during my business life and I don’t want to add to
that. I hate being late for anything, including business meetings. If I’m
flying, I’ll get to the airport at least an hour before I need to be there.
Do you have particular requirements of hotels?
Not really, I tend to go where the company puts me. I just want a nice room
with a bed because I don’t use the hotel facilities. I get there late and
get up and go early.
I hear you like to keep in touch on your travels
I do, with colleagues, partners and suppliers, irrespective of my location.
I’m afraid I’m a BlackBerry addict, as it’s pretty much the first thing I
reach for in the morning. I know it has been nicknamed the ‘crackberry’
because of its addictive habits, but I hope the effects are not so bad! Some
people use it just for email, but I use it as a phone too. So it has all my
contacts in. I can’t afford to lose it!
Any final tips for executives?
Don’t take heavy suitcases. Just pack what is strictly necessary to get you
through the trip. If you are caught short, you can always go and buy a shirt
or a pair of socks.
