26.09.2007

Alexandre Saubot scoops award

Alexandre Saubot chief executive officer of the Haulotte group has won the 2007 prize for “Entrepreneur of the Year” for Rhône-Alpes region of France.

The prize was presented on Tuesday by Gilles Poncet of Fortis Bank France in the presence of Marcel Deruy, president of “Lyon Ville de l’Entrepreneuriat” and president of the award Jury.
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Alexandre Saubot

The French version of the famous American “Entrepreneur of the year”, the prize is co-
organised by Ernst & Young and l’Entrepreneur Magazine.
The award is presented to the leader of most successful company as measured by the following criteria :
- Sustained revenue growth
- Sustained profitability improvement
- Systematic Increase in employment

As winner in the Rhone Alpes region Saubot now goes through to the national final, which will take place on October 16 on the Opéra Garnier in Paris.

Vertikal Comment

These business awards can be cheesy affairs often organised by accountants and analysts to flatter the egos of clients, with little relevance to real performance. However in this case the measurement criteria are specific and in the case of Saubot the award is fully justified.

Alexandre Saubot took over the top job at Haulotte from his larger than life father Pierre, an out-and-out entrepreneur, in 2004. Assuming the top job at a family company is a far tougher challenge than most people realise. A challenge that many, if not most, second generations fail at.

This is particularly true when following a patriarch like Saubot senior. The son must perform far better than any outsider, in order to win the respect of his employees and prove that he deserves the job on merit rather than because he is the bosses son.

Saubot junior while appearing to be more conservative than his father has proven to be an exceptional successor, introducing a more structured business style without giving up any of the entrepreneurial spirit for which Haulotte is known.

At the risk of appearing sycophantic, Alexandre Saubot has performed far far better than any outside CEO is likely to have done and fully deserves this award which he has won on pure merit.

Let’s hope that he goes on to win the National award, not only for himself but also for the powered access industry.