There may be ISUGANS past and present who are not familiar with the name of Christian Avenard, yet it is principally to his vision and initiative that they owe their passage through this unique school. At a time when trade with Asia was in its infancy, Christian came up with the idea of founding a CCI school specializing in the training of young executives who would go forth and do business with Asia, principally Japan in the early days.
Christian is a committed linguist and understood from the outset that doing business with other cultures imperatively means learning their language, AND of course understanding their culture and in particular their different ways of doing business. Many a company (often – dare I say it – American ones!) have come to grief through ignoring these key principles.
And so it was that the school was set up and financed by the CCI under Christian Avenard, achieving in only its second decade a MOCI reference for excellence. I used to make speeches referring to the school as being “unique in France”, but in retrospect I wonder if it was – at that time anyway – unique in Europe, if not the world.
We remember with gratitude and affection the vision and initiative of Christian Avenard and his team. They created a school which now has a fine reputation in its field, with hundreds of young people working all over the world. What an adventure they have embarked upon, and what an achievement this has been on the part of all involved – and Christian Avenard started it all ………
We wish him well in his retirement. (Chris SNUGGS - former DOS ISUGA - May 2021)
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The Chinese Ambassador to France and his wife (centre) visit ISUGA.
Christian Avenard is |
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Lunian Zheng is 5th from right and Christian 4th.