I was born in Antwerp, Belgium on February 8th, 1965. As the oldest of four kids I grew up with a strong sense of human rights and justice. I vividly recall some emotional experiences during my childhood when at times I was confronted with stories, news or movies about the oppression of indigenous peoples and the poor in developing countries. It wasn’t like I was just observing their pain and suffering, but I could feel it! It hurt deep in my heart, almost like I had been there, like it had been done to my family and me.
During my teenage years I was lucky to have a number of caring mentors, including a Catholic priest, a provocative Jesuit, a nurturing history teacher and an atheist Math teacher, who all stimulated my questioning and challenging nature.
My critical thinking and strong sense for humanitarian issues were the deciding factors to study Social and Political Sciences at the University of Louvain. However when I realized that a world revolving around money could only become sustainable through understanding and adjusting its driving economics, I changed direction and graduated in Antwerp with a B.S. in Accounting and completed my M.B.A. at the European University. While studying, I worked full-time as an account manager for De Ster, an international plastic manufacturer. Just before I finished my graduate work, Holiday Inn Worldwide asked me to help them with their European expansion. Holiday Inn was the beginning of a career that would eventually take me all over the world.
The fast pace, challenges, successes and losses of the real life monopoly game that we call business, totally consumed me. My joy and skill for the game were reflected in a fast paced career during which I managed to obtain one victory after the other. But while accumulating wealth and glory, I had forgotten about my humanitarian values—the reason why I had entered the business arena in the first place. At the age of 26 my 18-year-old brother died in a car accident, which was for me the start of a new search for the meaning of life. In my spare time I studied different philosophical and religious works, and ultimately found myself most comfortable with the ancient Chinese philosophy of Tao, which was pragmatic and based on universal principles that could be observed in nature, as well as with certain elements of Native and Pagan spirituality. When I started to apply Tao principles as part of my leadership style my business success improved even more. Following an urge to get closer to nature, I moved with my family in 1997 to Calgary, Canada. From here I managed the West American and Canadian franchise service division of Holiday Inn.
After a ten-year-long career for Holiday Inn and Bass Hotels & Resorts, I decided to set out on my own and started The Company Coach, a leadership development company. After doing some international consulting and brokerage work for Marriott International, Inc, I was offered the position of Vice President of Operations & Development, Latin America, for one of their divisions. Firsthand experiences with poverty there rekindled the humanitarian values of my teens. I decided to commit the rest of my life to the integration of ethics into the economic fabric of society.
My fist step on this path was writing In the Eyes of Anahita - An adventure in search of humanity. It is a novel based on my travels and adventures in South America and tells the story of an executive's struggle to integrate his deep humanitarian values with his role in global trade. I wrote the book to open peoples' eyes to some problems, but also solutions in our world and inspire them to take action and co-create a better world.
My strong sense for social justice and my passion for bringing out the best in people are reflected in my leadership coaching and strategic consulting services. In this way I help companies, individuals and communities to be successful by adopting sustainable business models and socially and environmentally responsible practices. Universities and community groups invite me frequently as a speaker on such topics as social justice, business & ethics and 'being the change'. I also speak at corporate venues.
I currently live in the foothills near Calgary, Canada, with my beloved wife of twenty years and three awesome children. I spend much of my free time promoting Fair Trade business practices, developing youth leadership skills in our community and rescueing injured wildlife as a volunteer for the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. I recharge my batteries while riding my horse (and friend), Mikey, in the Rocky Mountain foothills or dancing with my lovely wife to vibrant Latino music.
I can be contacted by e-mail at hb@hugobonjean.com
