Some people will say that I am biased … but I sincerely believe that Sophie is the most dynamic person that I have ever met. There is absolutely no way “naseba” would exist today if it were not for Sophie Le Ray.
In the summer of the year 2000, I had just transferred from Shanghai, China to London … I was sent to open an office in Monaco — I was super American, and had no real clue or understanding of the French culture.
I was “aggressively” looking for 9 (x) one bedroom apartments in Nice, France in the middle of July … I went every where, but was told “nothing available, its summer break.” By chance I bumped into Sophie, who being dynamic, found me 10 apartments … it was obvious that she was someone that “made things happen.”
I was looking for an office manager for this new office — so I recruited her to work for me. Within 3 months, Sophie had moved into Production and within a few months, in my opinion, became best producer in Europe for the company. She was/is ultra dynamic.
When I moved the office from Nice to Barcelona in 2001- Sophie transferred to the London production team …
As discussed in my “naseba” section of this blog (please see that section for more clarity)
… Sophie was very frustrated in the London office of my previous company. Reflecting back, I am sure she will admit, she might have been a bit overzealous … however, the people in her office were not as focused or as driven as Sophie.
She went from working in my office, which was a very focused, organized, and demanding corporate culture — to working in a messy, sloppy, undynamic environment where people did not work as hard as she.
One day she sent me an email saying “you could do this so much better …” and she got fired.
(see naseba section of this blog for clarity)
It was Sophie’s enthusiasm that launched naseba … and her dynamism that helped us succeed.
My previous Chairman lost a lot when he pushed me out, but I sincerely think he lost much more when he fired Sophie.