Airbus China Chairman: Be Opportunistic

What advice would you have a for 28-year-old Laurence, for example, just entering the industry or climbing the corporate ladder? What would you say to them?

I would say, take your opportunities. In my case, I never dreamt that I would leave my home country and move to France, which I did at 22-years-old, and then go and work for four years, in Japan and then return to France, but to a city that I’d never been to, Toulouse and, eventually, end up living and working in China. None of that was part of a plan. I was quite opportunistic at taking the opportunities, as and when they arose.

I think, at 28-years-old, you’ve got to be prepared to, maybe, do something that others are not prepared to do. Maybe surprise yourself, challenge yourself. Go and do something that you never dreamt of. It’s easy to say, but it’s not so easy to do. But my advice, to anybody at that age, would be, don’t get stuck in a rut. Don’t do the same thing for too long. Look for opportunities, look for things that maybe others hesitate to do and challenge yourself a bit.