"Bold." | Leadership: simplifying complexity with Guillaume Autier

Today we delve into the strategic mind of Guillaume Autier, ex-CEO of the Meilleurtaux Group. Through his journey to transform a historic broker, he teaches us how resilience is a decisive competitive advantage and why the timing of a decision often outweighs its perfection.

Let's start with a simple question: what's your superpower?

It's funny because when I used to talk to the teams at Meilleurtaux, I used to tell them word for word ‘you know, we've got superpowers, let's use them!’

By that I meant that the strength of a brand like Meilleurtaux, its audience, combined with the lower costs of developing a new product, meant that we could seize just about any opportunity... as long as we really decided to, worked hard at it and kept a real sense of urgency. In almost all areas, I truly believe that today's technologies endow everyone with real superpowers, but that the difference lies in the real and profound desire to use them. What really makes the difference between individuals, in my experience, is the ability to “get on with it” and stick with it over the long term.

So my superpower, if I have one, is probably resilience - I try to be one of those people who hang in there versus those who give up. Everyone has difficulties. Even the entrepreneurs we all admire, who seem to have always been programmed for success, have obviously encountered setbacks. The fundamental difference is between ‘holding on’ and ‘giving up’.

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This is particularly true in our insurance industry, where knowing how to survive, being resilient and taking your time is a huge competitive advantage.

Absolutely. This is even truer in industries where the economic cycle is bound to slap you in the face. Sometimes the cycles carry you along, sometimes on the contrary you're up against a current so powerful that even if you swim very fast, you'll never be able to beat it.

In these cyclical environments, it's obviously very difficult to hold on, and hold on for a long time. Another comparable situation concerns industries with high barriers to entry, where it is impossible to gain a foothold without working for years. These industries scare entrepreneurs, because you have to make a commitment for years before you know whether it will work. Some investors are particularly keen on these sectors, and this of course naturally selects people who are capable of holding their own over the long term.

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What were the moments in your career when you really had to hold on and that made all the difference?

I've had three main periods in my career, each lasting about six years: first in the public sector, then with a major bank (BNP Paribas), and finally with Meilleurtaux.

In the case of Meilleurtaux, which I managed for six years, the last 24 months have been particularly marked by this very sharp rise in interest rates. While this has helped businesses such as investment, it has had a much harder impact on mortgages.

When interest rates rise, borrowing becomes more expensive, which has a direct impact on the market. We have seen transactions in both existing and new property, and the volume of lending fall dramatically. We're talking about a huge market, worth around €200 billion, which has shrunk by half in just 12 months.

At times like these, you have to hold on, grit your teeth, be transparent with your teams, give hope by opening up other projects and remain convinced that the company has real value to contribute and that at some point the sun will reappear on the horizon.

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You mentioned the rise in interest rates. Does a situation like this create stress for you?

On the contrary. The situations that energise me, and the teams around me, are those where we set ourselves ambitious targets, where we have to climb a lot of stairs. I'm energised by difficulty.

On the other hand, the real stressful situations arise, not when you have to do difficult things, but when your fate depends on someone else. Having to do a lot of work, facing difficulties, to get by is not stressful in itself. But when you depend on someone else for your success, that's when the stress really kicks in

At Meilleurtaux, which is by definition a link in the chain in its businesses, including insurance, we inevitably depend on other players - partners, suppliers, brokers. When you're negotiating a partnership and the person you're dealing with has to refer the matter to someone else, and you don't really have any control over that person who's part of the decision-making loop, it's invariably a source of intense stress for me.

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So, resilience. And when you have to work on a new subject, a complex project, to really get to the bottom of things, what's your approach?

I like to work on a subject in depth - researching rigorously, meeting the experts, taking detailed notes.

During my studies, I worked with brilliant people who understood everything instantly, but that was definitely not the case for me. The only way for me to get up to their level was to work considerably harder. At Meilleurtaux, we have diversified a lot, created many activities and acquired several companies. When I started out, I didn't know very much, and to be credible in these new areas, I had to work hard and be humble.

And besides, working and learning are not so much about accumulating information that can be used later, but primarily about reassuring yourself. When you haven't mastered a subject, you hesitate to make decisions, you say to yourself ‘I don't know enough, I'm not sure’ and you put off deadlines. When you've learnt things, you're more confident and you can move more quickly.

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So the aim of this in-depth preparation is to be more at ease or to make decisions more quickly?

It's about being more comfortable so that you can make decisions more quickly. I've often found that the worst decisions are the ones you don't make. I have a friend, Alexandre Fretti, who used to run Webhelp, who had a saying that I particularly liked: "Most of the time, the timing of the decision counts more than the meaning of the decision."

In many cases, delaying a decision is more damaging than making a decision that might turn out to be flawed. If it really is a bad decision, it's rare in our sectors that we can't adjust our aim a week later.

Chronic indecision, on the other hand, is truly damaging.

How did you develop this culture of rapid decision-making at Meilleurtaux?

We have deliberately sought to create a shared sense of urgency. We put processes in place to maintain a steady pace, set ourselves clear deadlines and stick to them as far as possible. I tried to embody this approach and set an example by making decisions quickly myself.

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It sounds simple enough, but have you ever missed a trick?

The few professional regrets I may have almost always concern issues on which I took too long to decide. This is particularly true when it comes to human resources issues - especially when you have to let go of people who are no longer aligned with the company's vision, or on the contrary, move ahead with a key recruitment.

When we identify a problem, we often say to ourselves ‘perhaps it's premature, I'll wait a little longer’. But once the decision has been taken and implemented, we almost invariably realise: ‘in fact, I should have done this six months earlier’.

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Now let's talk strategy. How do you really learn to lead?

I'm convinced that nobody really learns how to direct from a book. There's only one real school for it: practice. And when, in addition to practice, you can observe people who have mastered this art, it's even more instructive.

Working alongside Jean-Laurent Bonnafé taught me an enormous amount. One thing in particular stood out for me - he never explicitly taught it to me, I simply observed it. In an organisation as complex and international as BNP Paribas, no subject is really simple. Yet he had this exceptional ability to take any subject, particularly the most complex ones, and simplify them to the extreme in a formula, often a metaphor, often amusing by the way, taken from sport or cooking. I've never met anyone who excelled at this.

He never shied away from any subject, whether it was human resources, technology, business strategy or regulatory issues. In meetings, he listened attentively to explanations and, when most of the participants seemed lost in the complexity, he concluded with a perfectly clear summary. What was remarkable was that he managed not only to make everyone understand the diagnosis, but also, through his economy of words, to indicate precisely the direction to follow.

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Who gave you your first real opportunity to manage?

It was undoubtedly my predecessor at Meilleurtaux, Hervé Hatt. It's quite ironic when you think about it: he had spent many years with the AXA Group before leaving that world. For my part, I was at BNP Paribas. Objectively, there was no reason for our paths to cross.

At a certain point in my career, I realised that at BNP Paribas, my ability to have an impact was limited, and that in smaller structures, I could have a more significant impact. So I drew up a list of the five or six companies I could see myself working for, and Meilleurtaux was on that list. And I contacted Hervé directly!

We hit it off straight away. Coincidentally, we were both living in London at the time. I hadn't joined Meilleurtaux with the ambition of taking over as Director, but a few months later, a transition began within the company. He gradually increased my responsibilities - every six months or so, I changed function and broadened my scope - until I finally succeeded him.

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Let's take a step back in time. When you were a student, did you ever see yourself pursuing this career?

When I was 20, I had absolutely no idea that one day I'd be running a company like Meilleurtaux!

I had a fairly clear vision of my first career step: the public sector. At that age, our goals often include a significant amount of dreaming and irrationality.

My value system, the whole ecosystem in which I evolved, was centred around the major public decision-makers. I was genuinely fascinated by this world. Today, these figures are often criticised, and it's true that the governmental landscape has become very unstable, power has become diluted. But back then, I was captivated by great politicians.

My parents had a particular admiration for Giscard d'Estaing, and his name came up regularly in our family conversations. I used to say to myself naively: ‘I want to be like Giscard’. He was the role model in my family. So, naturally, I began my career in the civil service, then in a minister's office.

Over time, my fascination with political decision-makers gradually faded. I felt the need to switch to what I called “real life” - the private sector. And when you work at Bercy, the private sector to which you are exposed is not that of SMEs, but that of major financial institutions. So it was quite natural for me to join a major bank.

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You have undergone a major transformation at Meilleurtaux. What was your strategic approach to managing growth and diversification simultaneously?

When I joined Meilleurtaux, Hervé Hatt had already started to diversify into loan insurance. I continued along this path because it was a particularly judicious decision - he had implemented it even before the regulatory changes such as the Lagarde and Bourquin laws, and these changes subsequently confirmed the relevance of this strategic choice.

I extended this diversification approach to other business lines: car insurance, health insurance and investment. We also expanded beyond France, notably with the acquisition of a company in Belgium and Luxembourg. Our approach always followed the same pattern: identify an opportunity, carry out a build-up, acquire a structure, then integrate it fully by giving it the benefit of our brand and our traffic, and then generate organic growth.

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Have you been inspired by anyone in your approach?

I'm particularly fond of Jeff Bezos' philosophy: when you're developing a business strategy, don't try to anticipate what's going to change in the next 10 years, concentrate instead on what won't change. In our sector, the answer was obvious: consumers will always need to compare, to be informed, to get the best deal possible and not to be taken advantage of by their suppliers.

They will always want to retain their decision-making power. This constant is, by definition, immutable and will even become stronger. It can therefore serve as the basis for a long-term strategy.

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Very clear. I imagine that means making some tough choices. What was the most important business decision you had to make?

In a company like Meilleurtaux, which has relied heavily on external growth, the most crucial decisions have generally coincided with M&A operations. When you commit large sums of money to competitive M&A deals, you are also putting the very identity of the company at stake.

We carried out around ten deals of varying sizes, including three or four particularly significant ones. Our approach was very similar to that of recruitment: you rely on analysis to reassure yourself, but in the end, it's a question of intuition - either you believe in it or you don't, either you feel it or you don't. You have to develop your intuition and be open to the idea. You have to develop your intuition and trust yourself.

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The decision-making process is therefore heavily influenced by your intuition. But making decisions involves risks. What have been the most difficult moments?

These are invariably the decisions relating to individual human resources. When you're running a business, recruiting and developing talent is rewarding, but letting people go is always the trickiest part. Human resources decisions are always more complex than purely business decisions.

A business decision is usually taken quickly, but when it comes to a human decision, I've often had the impression that I've procrastinated too long. You'd have to be particularly insensitive to take this type of decision lightly. These situations are inherently uncomfortable, which is why they often drag on so long that I've sometimes said to myself: ‘You've obviously waited six months too long’.

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You talk about difficult human decisions. On the contrary, what has been your finest management moment?

Rather than key moments or an “epiphany”, I have memories of a deeply satisfying daily routine. I'm a great believer in the power of habit and routine. The team we put together was made up of the right people. We managed to create a daily routine and a way of working that never tired us out. I really enjoyed that rhythm.

It's comparable to personal life: there are certainly high points, memorable trips, but the essential thing is to be able to build a fulfilling day-to-day life.

Festive moments, seminars and off-site events are all part of corporate life, but if everything is based solely on these exceptional moments, it's a sign that something is wrong. The real life of an organisation is its daily routine. You can't buy a good atmosphere with spectacular events; there's no substitute for smooth day-to-day running.

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Is there a professional or personal experience that has been particularly decisive in your career?

Before my professional career, I had a decisive experience. As an apprentice pianist at a small provincial conservatoire, I thought I was good enough to attempt the Paris Conservatoire competition. Reality was brutal: faced with candidates who were often younger but capable of giving professional concerts, I realised that I wasn't in the same league.

My grandmother was convinced that I played the piano admirably, but confronting excellence showed me otherwise. After a few difficult months, I learned a valuable lesson: never let yourself be fooled by illusions, actively seek to find out the real level of excellence in a field before committing yourself to it.

This experience taught me the crucial importance of having the right benchmarks. In any sector, there is always someone better than you. It's healthy not to delude yourself, but to observe those who really excel, listen to them and learn from them - an approach I've applied throughout my career.

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Firstly, what advice would you give to someone starting out today?

I would strongly encourage it to gain more international exposure. My own background is very, perhaps too, rooted in France. I corrected that by spending three years in London and had the chance to work with international shareholders. But I definitely should have done that earlier. Echoing what we said about humility, you can be fully satisfied with your achievements in France while recognising that, on a global scale, countless people are doing extraordinary things.

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The second question: Is there a motto or guiding principle that particularly shapes your actions?

At the top of my to-do list, I’ve written down a few maxims that I regularly refer to. The first one is: “Eat frogs for breakfast.” The idea is simple — the task you keep putting off is often the one that matters most. It’s usually both important and urgent. So you should tackle it first, without hesitation.