NICOLAS LE BRUN
Director Destree Organisation
& President EFAPCO

By Viviane Vogels

Nicolas’ family may be in the antiques business but the Head of Destrée Organisation is definitely far from being an antique himself; he is a young, dynamic entrepreneur who is leading a rich life, both professionally and privately.
A portrait.

ORGANIZER & PRESIDENT
BBT: You have recently been elected President of EFAPCO, what do you hope to achieve?
Well, EFAPCO, although still a fairly young association (4 years – 9 member countries) has a clear role to play in Europe as far as the whole PCO (professional congress organisers) business is concerned and therefore, as it’s President I see my role mainly as a communicative role.

• Clear positioning of the role of the PCO.
• Europe is the number one convention destination in the world.
• Lobbying at European Union level for the recognition of the actual job of PCO and of the meeting & convention business.

EFAPCO has gone through the conventional cycle of setting up for an association: getting rules & statutes together, recruiting members, getting to know one another. Now, after 4 years, has come the time to consolidate and expand. My objective is to come to 27 members, one association per member country!

BBT: Is that going to be an easy or a difficult assignment?
“A piece of cake..(Smiles..) No, really. We know it is not going to be easy but this is one place where I’ll happily use my skills: I majored in Political & Consular science – I had this ambition to become a diplomat – and I know that my diplomatic skills are going to come in handy! Internally, to smooth the path for fruitful discussions amongst the members, externally in our talks with the EU. Part of being a diplomat is convincing others to see it your way..well, that is a big part of my job. Making members, or potential members see things the EFAPCO way. An example: I was, like many other professionals, surprised that Holland does not have a professional association such as BAPCO (Belgian Association). We – as EFAPCO &BAPCO - have invited the individual PCO’s to attend an information meeting which was attended by 15 Dutch PCOs, I call that a good start!”

BBT: So, what in your eyes makes a good PCO?
“A good PCO never forgets the client and listens! A great attention to detail is a must, costs need to be managed professionally, local rules & regulations need to be adhered to. The PCO is a  - calm! – coordinator, in charge of ensuring a professional welcome for all participants and always on the lookout for optimal solutions. EFAPCO bases itself on the know-how of all its members in order to streamline all these requirements and becomes as such a depository for potential solutions across the board and on an international level. This is also how we want to approach the EU: the first contacts have been very positive, we have the support of the CEN (Commitée Européen de Normalisation). They have acknowledged that we are going about our business in a correct way and also in a novel way as no European structure existed as we have now where each country has 1 vote!.”

Nicolas by now has clearly climbed on his hobby horse…he elaborates: ”With all that, we may of course never forget the client! It is essential that we, as an association, continue to listen to what our clients tell us. But when we meet up, I must say it is always a pleasure to be in the company of real professionals and it is a great opportunity, each time again, to discuss common points. The discussions can be heated, we are after all a multicultural organization, but the 1 country/1 vote system keeps us going. The seat of our Association is in Brussels, not only easy for me but also convenient for these important meetings at the EU!

I come from a strict school: BAPCO! We have a reputation for being sticklers for detail and therefore I was seen in the beginning as a bit of a pain in the neck as I was always asking a lot of questions. The other members have come to respect me and of course the confirmation of that respect was my election as president!

BBT: What are you currently concentrating on in EFAPCO?
“After two year of intensive ‘lobbying’ I have managed to bring about a change in the membership fees. We now have two levels of membership: full members and associate members. Only national (or local/regional) PCO associations can become full members. EFAPCO is primarily a federation with each country represented by one association.
It also counts associate members (approx. 100 today), PCOs of course but also other meetings industry stakeholders such as universities, fairs, hoteliers and other suppliers who believe in our message and our goals.”
Our new Board has been charged with a mandate running from now until the middle of 2010. So it is important to stress the Federation’s focal objectives:

• Recognition of the professionalism of European PCOs and their contribution to the success of Europe as the world’s leading meetings destination.
• Continuing development of the European meetings industry.

“The business plan for the coming two years, approved by our General Assembly in Warsaw, identified two tasks as being crucial to the success of our mission:

• Development of Membership: Only by increasing the number of member states in which we are represented, will EFAPCO broaden its influence and raise its image and validity in the eyes of European institutions. Today we have nine full members – all national associations. We aim to have at least 12 by the end of our term of office. Remember, it took the EU almost 30 years to gather this number of member states.

Expansion of Contacts with European Institutions: We have made great efforts – and been successful – in opening EU eyes to EFAPCO. Clearly, the European Commission and other EU institutions, including the Parliament, are going to be crucial partners in us achieving our goals.

BBT: In your business you must meet with a number of great professionals, anybody in particular you look up to?
“(No hesitation!) Julio Abreu. He is a born communicator, a superior intelligence, speaks 5 languages perfectly and has a great sense of humor… I admire in particular the ease with which he has always put his own identity aside for the greater good of the group, that, in my eyes, is the real top priority for an Association Member. I admire him enormously and keep his shining example in mind when conducting EFAPCO business.”

BBT: It sounds to me you are having a good time?...
“I must admit that being this combination of diplomat and manager suits me fine. I like managing people and situations. I am also very lucky to have a great team here at Destrée Organisation which gives me the opportunity to spend time and energy of EFAPCO. I took this company over back in 1991 together with my mother, we ran the business together for 10 years. Then she opted for the sunshine and realized her dream of running a ‘Maison d’hôtes’ in the South of France (www.pasdelane.com) …I must say I cannot blame her for leaving Belgium, she has an idyllic place there, the weather is quite a lot better then what we have here and it is above all a restful place which I visit as often as I can.”

BBT: I saw another company name on the door?...
“About 8 years ago I had the opportunity to buy ‘Arts Advertising Associated’ who where already present in these offices. We specialize in advertising for the Art world, antique dealers and auction rooms. It is a nice link with the past; my family has always been in the antique business, my brother works for one of the major auction houses in London, Bonham’s. Now… there is, after Brussels, my favorite city: London. I lived there for 13 years; I even have the double Belgian and English nationality. Of course with my brother and his family living there, I try to go there as often as I can.”

BBT: How about free time for yourself?...
“As I said before, I am lucky to have a great team of colleagues here at Destrée that I trust and who grow the business with me. This also means I can delegate quite a number of things as I want to create more time for myself and my boys. Alexander and Lucas (10 & 8 years old) know me as a hands on daddy, although possibly a little too strict to their liking I guess. They live in a rhythm of 10 days with their mother and 10 days with me which gives us the opportunity to live as much as possible as a family unit together with my girlfriend Sandrine.

I live in the same street as the office in Ixelles, my favorite area of Brussels. After London, Brussels is my favorite city, not at all boring but entertaining on a human scale. Ixelles for me is like a mini Brussels so, as far as I am concerned, I really live in the best part of town where I find everything I look for! Ixelles has students, Ixelles has Matongé, Ixelles has art and the Bois de la Cambre, Ixelles is definitely multicultural and I love it here!”

BBT: Any good addresses you want to share?
“That is exactly the richness of Brussels; we have so many excellent places to choose from that the list is too long. For the moment I am particularly fond of ‘De la Vigne à L’Assiette’ run by the former sommelier of Inada. L’Idiot du Village and Notos are also high on my list of places to visit regularly!”

BBT: Good food does not seem to stick to you …you must exercise regularly?
“I have taken up golf and play as much as I can at La Tournette. I am not the best of players but I do enjoy the long walks and venting a bit of frustration on that little white ball! I am also a fervent indoor football fan. I am the president of our club which we founded 10 years ago and play regularly. I like football obviously and will regularly consult the internet via my Palm to look for results. And before you say it, no, I am not a connect freak, I can go easily for 3, 4 days without emails even though I find emails a great way of communicating, but I do not let it rule my every waking moment...too many other things to do!

BBT: You seem a fairly ‘composed’ sort of person, any likes and dislikes you feel strong about?
“I definitely do not like cold ‘frites’ they are a crying shame! I can also get very hot under the collar about ‘tagging’, it so disfigures beautiful buildings and towns, and about security controls, as necessary as they are! Intolerant people and people with a hidden agenda are not my favorite people either; they can get me very mad.
I do like good food and drink; they are the foundation of a good life. I love traveling but I also like to return form traveling after having discovered different people and places: it’s always good to return home. Brown is my favorite color; this is probably because of my name…Where people are concerned I like them to be open and without prejudice as I feel I am. I love laughing with my family as we do a lot when we are together!

My years in England and my upbringing have left me with an Anglo-Saxon sense of humor and a great liking for soaps such as ’Six feet under’ or ‘The Soprano’s’, they are just too funny and the different characters are delightful.

I am not a great music lover but an album by The Cure or electronic music such as ‘Too many DJ’s’ can interest me. On the classical side I suppose I like Mozart best but you will not find a CD of any concerto’s by Mozart in my CD library.”

Nicolas Le Brun did not have a hard time convincing me that EFAPCO is in capable hands for the coming years, we have definitely not heard the last of him and his organization!
His big beaming smile was a great bonus…!

CONGRATULATIONS !!
Nicolas & Sandrine got married on June 21st!

We wish them all the best and many years of happiness!

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