An original career path allows Nicolas Lespine to put a wealth of commercial experience at the service of the Point CHR Distribution development project.
The director of Point CHR Distribution is 40 years old. “I was born on December 20. On my birthday, the whole Reunion is celebrating ! » observes Nicolas Lespine, smiling. This young business leader from Lot-et-Garonne began with a scientific background.. His studies as a chemical engineer in Toulouse should undoubtedly have led him to join industry. But the job market, in French industry in particular, is most gloomy at the time. He therefore decided to acquire additional training and embarked on a higher education diploma specialized in management.. He thus obtained a certificate of aptitude for business administration. To this double hat of engineer and manager will soon be added a third experience, that of commerce acquired on the ground.
Because it is in mass distribution that, Ultimately, Nicolas Lespine begins his professional life. At the beginning, it’s a student job as a cashier. A job opportunity presents itself, he is training as a cash register manager and department manager. It will operate in several Auchan stores in the South of France, where his skills, of course, lead him to take responsibility. Nicolas Lespine also remembers from this period the importance of people at all levels of commercial activity..
Inter : The position I was looking for
“Commercial professions require a lot of rigor. I felt in my element there, but not completely. I wanted to think about the future, what I really wanted to do. I took a gap year during which I traveled to Southeast Asia and South America. I took a liking to new horizons. I was in Argentina when a friend, who lives in Reunion, let me know that the Géant Casino of the ZAC Canabady was recruiting. I arrived in Reunion in March 2011. »
Nicolas Lespine starts head of the Liquid department. When the store comes under the Carrefour brand, he is promoted to head of APLS department (Other self-service products). Position he held for three years. The desire to evolve then led him to become interested in “the other side of the barrier, that of suppliers ». He took the plunge at Lactalis International by training in the sales profession. After two and a half years, an opportunity allows him to join the Cilam Group as head of GMS sales of liquids and ice creams.
At Cilam after two and a half years, Nicolas Lespine has been entrusted with the management of Point CHR Distribution. “A business development challenge, it’s the ambition that I hoped for and the position that I had always been looking for. I joined a close-knit team. I strengthened it and I manage it and make it evolve. And together we take up this challenge which is starting to bear fruit. »
