My name is Grégoire Vigroux and I am the Co-Founder & Vice-President Business Development Europe for TELUS International in Europe.
In 2007, my business partners and I launched a small BPO company in Bucharest. We started with eight team members as CallPoint New Europe and TELUS International acquired the company in 2012.
Most of the clients TELUS International serves in Romania are Western European and North-American based. Our largest operations are in English, French, Italian and Spanish. From Romania, we deliver customer experience services to some of the largest companies in the world in 20 languages via phone, email, chat and social media.
With the most recent acquisition, Competence Call Center (CCC), in February 2020, TELUS International Romania currently employs nearly 2,000 team members in Romania over three sites – Bucharest, Craiova and Brasov.
CCC is a leading provider in BPO with a focus on customer relationship management and content moderation. The acquisition is the most sizeable transaction in TELUS International’s history at a purchase price of approximately €915 million, the equivalent of approximately US$1 billion (approximately C$1.3 billion).
How did you start your career? Which were your first steps? How did you envision your career?
For 12 years, I have been based in Romania. I invested in 12 start-ups and launched 5 companies of my own. CallPoint New Europe (now named TELUS International Romania) is my largest venture.
One of the reasons for our company’s success is we started the right business (outsourcing) in the right time (2007) in the right place (Bucharest).
What were your key career moments (those that had an impact on your professional journey)?
Choosing Bucharest instead of going to Paris, London, New York, or Palo Alto was the best decision I made in my career.
The acquisition of my company CallPoint New Europe by TELUS International is another beautiful moment. We sold our company to a global player which not only made us grow, but most importantly shared our core values.
What is the best three most valuable career lessons you have learned?
- Be humble and always try to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you are.
- Be kind to people – your own team members as well as the communities (Corporate Social Responsibility).
- Company values and culture are equally important (if not more important) than revenues and business growth.
Why did you choose Business Service Industry? What were top 3 reasons for choosing TELUS?
The outsourcing industry is a dynamic one, full of challenges. For a hyperactive person like me, outsourcing is therefore exciting!
What are your/your company’s plans for 2020?
Growth. Growth. And growth! But not growth at any cost. At TELUS International, we believe growth comes with progress. Profits, with purpose.
Once with the CCC acquisition, TELUS International reaches impressive figures: almost 50,000 team members worldwide, 50+ languages and 50+ CX (customer experience) and IT delivery centers.
CCC partners with industry-leading global brands primarily from fast-growing technology, media and telecommunications, retail, and travel and hospitality sectors – key growth verticals for TELUS International. The acquisition of CCC will result in a sizeable diversification of TELUS International’s operations and client base in Europe.
Tell us a little bit about your private life. Tell us about your passions, family. What do you do to relax?
I have 3 kids: Amaury (6 years old), Émeric (4 years old) and Camille (3 years old). I am married to a beautiful and smart Romanian wife, named Ioana.
I have been writing science-fiction novels for many years. The action takes place in Romania.
If you were starting now your career, knowing the present and near future opportunities, what would you do? What career would you pursue?
I believe I would not change much.
What are the top 3 skills that you would develop?
Technical skills. I am not a techie guy at all and I believe I should have a better understanding of how technology works because we live in a technology era.
What would you do and what would you avoid doing? – Practical advice to young professionals.
I would do the exact same things except just one. In March 2014, I went through a burnout because I was working too much. My body said ‘stop!’ This could have been avoided.