Two on top of the podium!
By Shana Devleschoudere
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For the first time since the creation of the LOBBY AWARDS, the members of the Jury were unable to decide between two men who have marked the year 2022,
each in their own field: Giles Daoust and Laurent Hublet.
For the first time since the creation of the LOBBY AWARDS, the members of the Jury were unable to decide between two men who have marked the year 2022, each in their own field: Giles Daoust and Laurent Hublet.
After our focus on Ilham Kadri, named Female Leader of the Year 2022 at the LOBBY AWARDS ceremony, it was natural for this week to focus on the Male Leader. And it was a great surprise!
In this category, the Jury decided ... not to decide! Indeed, for the first time since the creation of the LOBBY AWARDS, the members of the Jury were unable to decide between two men who have marked the year, each in their own field. We are talking about Laurent Hublet and Giles Daoust.
I have to admit that as the moderator of this Jury, I was particularly happy about this equality. I am all the more satisfied because I had never seen two men so happy to appear together on the first step of a podium. I felt a real joy in them. They thought it was natural that the Jury would put them both on stage at the same time and allow them to get their messages across during the evening of January 24 at the AG Campus. Both are true entrepreneurs, who take risks, work and assume. They are not afraid! We saw it with Laurent Hublet's "electroshock" letter to the minister concerned and to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, presenting his resignation from the governmental group concerning tech in Belgium... Everyone talked about it! In short, these two shine by bringing something very fresh, young and innovative, also very committed, on the great challenges of today, which obviously include the human dimension.
Although they work in different sectors, there are many similarities between the two winners, as we have just mentioned. Thomas de Bergeyck, the evening's host, says it all: "It's hard to decide because our two Laureates tick all the boxes. Integrity, the common good and independence. Three concepts that fit Laurent Hublet, founder of BeCentral, a digital campus in the heart of Brussels that helps to create a thousand new tech talents every year. Laurent recently resigned from the group of experts convened by the federal government to advise it on digital issues. Not an abandonment, a signal that the switch is not the right one. Giles Daoust says it straight: "Managers, learn to put your ego aside. If one of your actions is motivated by your ego, back off and react differently. Giles knows this better than anyone, as the head of his family's temporary employment agency, which has become the tenth largest employer in the Brussels region, and as the man who launched his own film and book production company, Title Media, almost twenty years ago.
Even if these two names are probably familiar to you, they are not necessarily known to the general public. This is also a characteristic of our Laureates: despite their brilliant career, they cultivate a certain distance and discretion. So, who are they?
Giles Daoust is a real jack-of-all-trades: CEO of Daoust Interim and Title Media, he is also a founding partner of LN24, columnist for l'Echo and Brussels Business, member of the FEB Strategic Committee, director of l'Ommegang, screenwriter and writer. In 2021, he published the book Workaholic! which was followed by the book Management in 2022. A year ago, in this same newsletter, we asked him about the notion of leadership and this is what he told us about the characteristics of a good leader: "If you're too nice, things don't work out; if you're obsessed with results, you become inhuman. It's a matter of formulating values that are specific to the company. There is no doubt that he has found the right balance at DAOUST INTERIM...
Laurent Hublet has a little more notoriety... but probably in spite of himself. Member of the group of experts gathered by Mathieu Michel in his task of Secretary of State for digitalization, our laureate has slammed the door. A form of disavowal of the government's digital strategy. Today, he pleads the urgency of a "reconnection between politicians and tech entrepreneurs" and to "transform good intentions into concrete acts". The task is great, but with exceptional men and women like our Laureates, everything is possible!
If you want to know more about our two ex-aequo Winners, taste our article in the last LOBBY about them, on page 26 : here.
In the meantime, we Belgians who love French politics so much, do we know what would happen if, in the 2nd round of the presidential election, the two candidates were tied? Even if the probability is low that this would happen, we would have to... organize new elections... And bang!
Administrateur chez BECI et Up4North, Stephan Sonneville, le CEO d’Atenor, est du genre hyperactif. Et comme si ça ne suffisait pas, il a été élu en mars dernier à la tête de l’UPSI, soit l’Union Professionnelle du Secteur Immobilier qui regroupe l’essentiel des grands acteurs du secteur en Belgique. 
Francis Metzger is the driving force behind an award-winning architectural practice (MA2) he founded in the early 80s, which commands respect both at home and abroad.
and beyond our borders. 