CATHERINE BLANC
Manager CWT Meetings & Events


By Viviane Vogels

And yes, they do exist, Frenchmen who prefer Belgium. The living proof: Catherine Blanc who, having been raised in the Belgian Colonial atmosphere of Rwanda decided, once back in France that the Belgian way of living was more her cup of tea. She came to Belgium to visit some friends, met and fell in love with a Belgian the rest is history, she stayed on! The development of Catherine Provost into Catherine Blanc.

A REAL TRAVEL PRO
Many of us remember her from her days at BBL Travel where tarification had no more secrets for her. The introduction of computers made an interesting job into a more routine happening and after 12 years Catherine decided that a change of scenery was in order. She seized the opportunity to go for a position in the group department; actually…she was the group department as she started on her own!

After a couple of more stops in different companies Catherine joins Carlson Wagonlits in 1999 in the Incentive Travel House. She developed the department, some of her old co-workers from BBL days joined her and today she boasts a great team of individuals with each their own skills and interests. The creativity and the team spirit make it into a great but different unit that works well within the CWT framework but has retained the possibility to create, to develop and basically has ‘carte blanche’ in their domain. Today Catherine’s little kingdom counts 15 people.   
Within the department two different teams are at work: one team develops Meetings & Seminars & Trade missions, the other unit is solely occupied with Incentives.
Catherine admits that she has found her home and the challenge she wanted with incentives. It amuses her to put an original, tailor-made program together, and, although she is convinced that Meetings are the business of the future in the travel industry, she will always have a soft spot for Incentives.

Catherine is particularly pleased that she has the opportunity to work within the framework of an international company such as CWT as it gives her the opportunity to really put together the best possible offers for her clients based on the international contacts and know-how of her company. The synergies between the offices of the different countries, definitely give her an edge over local Belgian competitors. Although she is the first to underline that each market is different and has its own special quirks, she sees a challenge in developing an international product without losing the local identity.

Catherine, the “Mediator & Educator”

Q: How do you see your role in the incentive business?
A: I see myself in a role as a mediator, sometimes an educator, both towards my clients and towards my team. My team has been established for a long time and is composed of highly individualistic people; they each follow their files from start to finish and as such develop a very good knowledge and relationship with the client. Organising incentives is an ongoing labour of love (smile) but with no room for error!  I see my role as stabilising the team so they can work in optimal conditions and also…have some fun between assignments! I want them to be proud of their achievements and I am more a colleague than a boss. Education is important; we need to have a maximum of information on the products and destinations available. However, I am not known to receive many representatives of hotels or airlines. I know, they say it is hard to get an appointment , but, due to lack of time, we need to select them and  the information must be really worthwhile .

Q: Isn’t that a little contradictory?
A: yes and no, on the one hand I do not need a representative to come and explain the legroom on a  plane to me, I can read about that; on the other hand I will more easily find time for a new destination, or a destination that has developed new themes or hotels or other venues. We also have to listen to what our clients ask for and believe it or not, there are trends that are followed and therefore certain products that are less attractive in a certain period.

Q: You speak very passionate about the subject.
A:  My passion for incentives is the engine that drives me in my work. It comes from a fire deep in your belly, some moments are lived very intensely, some moments get downright ‘hot’, but that is the beauty of the job. The better you are prepared for the unknown – often ‘human’ – factor or ‘Plan B’ as it is often called, the greater the satisfaction of a job well done. When a client comes to thank you at the end of a trip, you know all the hard labour has been worth it!
I have also learned to say no to a client, it is our duty to give advice and sometimes that means telling the client something is not possible.  Our Experience is also what they are paying for and explaining rationally why a certain demand cannot be met is one of our added values. If you have a trusting relationship with your client they will accept it and know that it was good professional advice.

Such a passion can be tiring, Catherine admits than when she returns home from an incentive trip she feels like an orphan or a mother who’s lost her children. “You realise that you have been carting all these problems and challenges around for the duration of the trip and it’s exhausting, but I have found a remedy against these ‘return blues’: I take a good bath and when I pull the plug and the water disappears down the drain they take my accumulated worries with them, and I am ready for another challenge!”

CATHERINE PRIVATE

Home
Catherine (51) does not look her age and definitely looks not like a mother of two grown-up daughters of respectively 23 and 25 years old! “They are clever and not following in their mother’s footsteps”, she smiles. Catherine lives in Brussels with her partner, who works in the banking sector. “He works in a totally different environment and has sometimes a hard time understanding that my job will follow me home, when I get phone calls with last minute changes or challenges with a group…”

Favourites
Without hesitation Catherine mentions the Namibian desert as her- by far - favourite destination. “The unique feeling of total fullness that came over me when I first visited Namibia gave me that great feeling of ‘coming home, having arrived’. The scenery of incredible vastness and beauty, the colours, the purity of the air, the contrasts and the gentle people make it so special”, she sighs but adds with regret “unfortunately it is a difficult destination to sell to clients because of the cost, but I do try to bring smaller groups to discover this magic place.”
It has been a long time since I witnessed somebody speaking with so much verve and emotion about a part of our planet, it gives food for thought and ideas for a next discovery trip…
When prompted about other destinations, Catherine mentions France (she is French after all), Italy and Ireland where one can travel in time and mainly meet interesting people.

Africa seems to have a special pull where Catherine is concerned as she dreams of discovering Ethiopia and Madagascar. Travelling to her is more of a discovery than lounging on a beach; she wants to get to know a destination, its culture and definitely the nature. Travelling is getting away from the daily routine and discovering new emotions.

Foodie
Catherine loves cooking and her partner is also a good cook although he is more into Belgian cuisine versus her liking for Mediterranean cuisine. His ‘pain de veau’ got a special mention and seems to be a family favourite!

When eating out Catherine is particularly fond of the Vietnamese, Italian and Belgian cuisine restaurants. When asked for a couple of good addresses, she mentions “Les Ailes” at Court St Etienne, “Ciao”, “St Hubert” (for its excellent filet américain apparently..) and “La Coriandre” in Watermael. “La Belle Maraîchère” on the Place St Cathérine gets a special mention for the fish preparations.

Culture & free time
Catherine lives with music and has a radio in her office. Her tastes vary from Mozart to ‘commercial’ pop songs. She admits to a liking of opera but…only live at the opera house! “You need the drama of the stage work, the ambiance of the opera house, to really appreciate.” If appropriate she will also try to go to a concert when travelling.
Mozart en Verdi, but also Florent Pagny, Obispo, Brel, Barbara and Brassens meet with her approval.

With her –enviable – slim figure it does not come as a surprise that Catherine loves to dance but has not many occasions to do so, she remembers fondly her African Jazz dance classes.
Today leisure time is spent closer to home discovering her part of town, or a close by destination and reading. The occasional movie and then preferably an old fun movie.

Being a booklover myself I always like to hear what others choose as their favourite read and yet again I was surprised. Catherine choose “ A Brief History of Time ‘ by Stephen Hawking, an unusual choice to say the least! In this book the author introduces us to his theories on the "big bang", "wormholes", black holes, particle physics, the vastness of intergalactic space, and matter and anti-matter. Depending on her mood Catherine will go for a science fiction or an historical novel, in both cases it takes the reader on a trip in time.
Talking about a trip in time, Catherine reckons that when she is old and retired (!) she will find the time to write a book on all her wonderful travel souvenirs, the little gems and pearls of wisdom from both clients and colleagues, the lasting impressions of s-certain destinations, a quick professional guide to easy travel…should prove to be fascinating reading!

She smiles when she explains that her partner needs a lot of patience whilst he is introducing her to the art of watercolour painting which she finds rather difficult.

But she prefers to apply herself to a new skill than try her hand at sports!

…and what will the future bring?
I am still having a lot of fun in my work; I feel I have still a lot to learn and to do, so I’ll go on for while especially in good health. The challenge will be to discover and apply the new and upcoming trends and to continue to be innovative so that the clients continue to feel that we offer them that extra dimension!
CWT have a motto based on the 3 ‘S’ symbolising their treatment of the client: Service, Security and Savings…I have changed the savings into Satisfaction because at the end of the day that is what we all work for…
Great thought from a great lady!

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