“My role is to support our teams so as to offer ever more services that help to create a better world.”
Nomadic life goes back to childhood for the French-Swiss Guy Escarfail. As well as growing up between the two countries, he explains that he “moved a lot because of my father’s work, and that has surely influenced my lifestyle as an adult”.
An international career
Indeed, after HEC preparatory classes in France, he first headed for Germany to learn the language. He then joined HEC Lausanne, graduating with a double degree in Finance and Marketing. Next stop Abidjan, where he took up a post as a lecturer in marketing and sales management. It was in 1993 that Guy joined the SGS Group, where he has never stopped moving: “I was posted to Douala in Cameroon for 18 months, then to Pointe Noire (Congo-Brazzaville) for 16 months, before taking charge of the Bamako office (Mali), where I stayed for 4 years. I then took up a post in Geneva in the new eBusiness team. I stayed there for 3 years before leaving again as country manager in Antananarivo (Madagascar), where I spent 5 years and led a project to digitalise the Malagasy customs.” It was in fact this region that saw one of his finest professional achievements: “Lisiniaina Razafindrakoto, with whom I worked in Madagascar, recently became Interim Director General of the Economic development board of Madagascar (EDBM); it is a source of great pride and great satisfaction to see young talents whom we supported for a few years come into their own and become accomplished people!”
Guy Escarfail then went “to Dakar (Senegal) to take on a regional post, but it was a very short interlude of 5 months, because I was offered a very interesting position in Jakarta (Indonesia) that I couldn’t refuse.” He stayed in Indonesia for more than 8 years, then moved to Paris before “returning to Geneva to be in charge of innovation and relations with the external digital and innovation ecosystem for the group. I was then offered the chance to come to Morocco to head the Maghreb zone, and here I am!”
A new stage: Morocco
He accepted the offer, and so it was in Morocco, in Casablanca, that Guy Escarfail’s new life began in April 2021. He looks at this destination with fresh eyes, full of curiosity. And from the moment he arrived, he says he was struck by “the richness of the culture, the beauty of the landscapes, the delicious and so varied cuisine, and of course the kindness of the people. ”. To illustrate his point, he adds: “This summer, in the medina of Marrakech, my wife and I approached an elderly gentleman to ask him to recommend a place to drink Moroccan tea. This gentleman invited us to his home, served us tea himself, and we shared a delightful, timeless moment with him. He expected nothing in return; all he had in mind was this moment of sharing and conviviality. That is Morocco!”
It is therefore here, in this Morocco he already loves, that Guy Escarfail is beginning a new chapter of his life as Managing Director of SGS for Morocco and the Maghreb. A role in which he is already very involved: “We have just finalised our 3-year development plan, and we have already developed new services to serve our local and international customers ever better, whether traditional services in the fields of ICT or digital services. My role is to support our teams so as to offer ever more services that help to create a better, safer and more interconnected world for future generations.”
Family and nature
And accompanying him on this new adventure is the woman who has been by his side for 27 years now, his wife Frédérique, the mother of his 3 children (25, 23 and 21). For Guy, his family is undoubtedly his finest personal achievement. “I am extremely proud of our family, of keeping a perfect bond with my wife and of having children who are full of energy, independent and charting their own path in life.”
And over all these years, in all the countries where it has settled, the Escarfail family has always favoured outdoor activities in nature. And Morocco has plenty to offer them. Especially Guy the marathon runner, a true devotee of running and wide-open spaces. He even admits to being “very inspired by Nicolas Hulot, who first had a career as an adventurer before committing himself fully to ecology”. Before adding with amusement: “On the other hand, unlike him, I’m not at all attracted to politics!”
If you were…
If you were…
– A colour, which would you be? Green, the colour of hope and a symbol of nature
– A country, which would you be? Madagascar, I fell in love with it!
– A personality…? Mike Horn, a great adventurer
– An animal…? A bear, a symbol of renewal
– A connected object? Smart glasses
– A superpower? The power to fly
– A film…? Star Wars
– A book…? The Little Prince
– A song…? “Here comes the Sun” by the Beatles, because I am an optimist
– A quality…? Loyalty
– A flaw..? A sweet tooth… like bears…