Henri Giscard d’Estaing gave up politics and became a president

Henri Giscard d’Estaing could have engaged in French politics. However, he chose to dedicate his career to the private sector, and the president of Club Med has no regrets.

“Politics is a very respectable field. When I was 20, I was very involved in politics. I was even the youngest elected person in France [as a Conseiller Général], but I was already having thoughts of a job in the private sector. I was convinced that I should not live off politics. And in politics, it is difficult to grow in the shade of a large oak.”

That large oak was his father, former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who served from 1974 to 1981. The young Henri was surrounded by some of the most influential and ambitious people in society, yet, he chose to walk a different path altogether. He quickly found his calling in a role where he could orchestrate the perfect time-out for people on holidays. “It was the idea of being able to put myself in the service of products and brands of the company that guided me to choose this path.”