The year of the "self made"!

This Friday, we continue our series started last week on the LOBBY AWARDS ceremony that took place recently. And we are still with the Master of Ceremonies of this must-attend event in the field of Inspirational and Caring Leadership. I'm talking about Thomas de Bergeyck himself.

Flashback: last week, your LOBBY newsletter revealed the winners of four categories. As a reminder, the female leader of the year is Ilham Kadri, while on the male side, the jury could not decide between Giles Daoust and Laurent Hublet, who thus came in ex-aequo.

We also told you about the award for Artistic Leader which was given to the brilliant Isabelle de Borchgrave . And, finally, the award for the Revelation of the year which was given to Sana Afouaiz. But the LOBBY AWARDS is 10 awards in all. So who are the other winners? We tell you everything, below, with the comments of the aforementioned Thomas.

Let's start with a new award. This is the first year that the LOBBY AWARDS have nominated an ESG Leader. "Governance, social and environmental issues are all criteria that led the LOBBY AWARDS to propose an ESG Leader award. And it is Chuck de Liedekerke, the owner of Soil Capital, who wins. He helps farmers secure their future by storing carbon in their farmland for a healthier agriculture. An action of great importance, the Covid crisis having shown us the irreplaceable role of farmers in our society. And we know how difficult the job is. Through this award, the LOBBY AWARDS also pay tribute to these hard-working farmers.

Now a classic of the ceremony, the Tribute of the Year is awarded to Luc Tayart. "He has spent 27 years at the service of the King Baudouin Foundation, an "atlas" of philanthropy that today generates one and a half billion euros of equity. He is handing over the reins, but will continue his expertise in the service of the common good. Such longevity was worth noting for this self-made man who confides: "You have to be a bit naive in this kind of job, so the time was right for me.

"Brussels can also boast some great self-made people on its territory: Thibaud Elzière and Quentin Nickmans, with efounders, help dreamers make their startups a reality. But there is no question of being alone: entrepreneurship is collaborative. These incredible 3.0 bosses are launching two new startup studios in 2023. They are our Leaders of the economy", continues our interlocutor for whom the "self-made" is really the trademark of this year's Leaders: "Because they believed in their strengths and abilities, but also because they doubted, these men and women that we have chosen to honor have proven that they are "self-made". Their primary resource is not in their pockets. It is within them. Call it what you will: faith, optimism. Or courage, simply?"

Brussels always with... the Brussels Leader of the year 2022. All this is of a relentless logic. Not surprisingly, it is Bruno Pani "the man-orchestra who managed so many artists, so many prestigious events before taking all the risks to give life to an old lady in perdition. With him, the Cercle de Lorraine has become TheMerode. A social club willing to change a certain world. Utopian, Bruno Pani?

No, optimistic!"

As for Wallonia, it has not been forgotten: "With the audacity of Luc Petit, an incredible genius in the organization of events, who has made hundreds of thousands of spectators dream all over the world.

Finally, our Buzz of the year is attributed to the incomparable Stromae. In 2022, the maestro has once again succeeded in "hijacking one of the sacrosanct journalistic codes of the interview, to turn it into a promotional tool for the 8 o'clock news of Tf1".

The entire LOBBY AWARDS team extends its warmest congratulations to the winners. May these inspiring and caring leaders continue to show us the way!

And speaking of Inspirational Leadership, if you want to read the interview with the sponsor of the LOBBY AWARDS 2022, our Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, IT'S HERE.

In the meantime, you can learn more and better about the Leadership that motivates us by reading the latest LOBBY magazine, HERE.