I have decided, following a request from friends who are already members, to join the strategic committee of the Bar Ilan University of Tel-Aviv, in France. For me, as French citizen, without any known Jewish origin, firmly believing that globalization improves relationships between peoples, this is about contradicting the ambiguous orientations of too many French academicians who recommend boycotting Israeli universities.
I don’t think that boycott is an acceptable weapon when it is aimed at reducing exchanges between intellectuals. This is a misinterpretation, or even an offense to the universalist and progressive idea that I perhaps naively have, on education and the purpose of the university.
For Pentalog, as well as for me, forging economic relations with Israel is unfortunately not a choice like all others. But, whatever the case may be, we cannot close our eyes to one of the top R&D powers of the EMEA region. I am happy with the mission that I am choosing today, as it will contribute to setting an economic, intellectual and scientific trend between Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Israel.

I wish that this commitment, which is absolutely apolitical, could help to develop the understanding between peoples… which, unfortunately, is still in need of such help.

2010 has seen the launch of new online marketing and sales tools designed by Pentalog. You may have already read about www.madeinoffshore.com, www.choosingmyitserviceprovider.com and www.pentalogspeaking.com. The web 2.0 is indeed a bustling and challenging environment for companies, which need to adapt and evolve fast in order to integrate and take advantage of innovations and news concepts. Pentalog is therefore in the process of reorganizing the content of its corporate websites as well. Among important changes done recently, I would like to mention the reorganization of our service offer on the www.pentalog.com (English version) and www.pentalog.biz (German version) websites: our services are divided into 3 business lines:

The corporate website now offers more visibility on our activities and has become even more transparent on our expertise. In the scope of Pentalog’s web-based sales strategy, our aim is to provide potential clients with as much online information as possible, thus helping them to carry out an effective preselection of potential providers.

The website dedicated to international partnerships www.pentalog-jvprogram.com is also being enriched. We recently integrated a map showing various outsourcing areas Pentalog is studying to establish new offshore subsidiaries. By clicking on the countries colored in green, you will be able to see the places we visited, with related information and links. Some additional changes are coming soon…

Elaborate your Offshore project with the European leader in Offshore Outsourcing!

I am deeply troubled by the French political attitude, which is, as usual, characterized by an exaggerated concern for political correctness (which indicates fear), mixed with self-importance. Almost the entire French political spectrum promotes inaction and lacks determination in front of the financial black hole which is going to ruin the lives of at least two generations of Frenchmen. This almost lack of reaction as regards deficits, compared to the substantial measures taken by all the states surrounding us will put us de facto in a situation in which France will be attempting to recover on its own, somehow like in 1981… with the success that is known.

Everybody complains about our inability to make reforms. But aren’t politicians the ones to show us the way? Don’t they have in their hands, when all European nations are tackling the problem directly, the opportunity to tell the French people that if we lack determination we are really bound for a catastrophe?

First, we had an omniscient generation which owned the future, then its children, who were educated at the “HEC” School of Management, at the “ENA” (National School of Administration) or at “Sciences Po” (Political Science University)… all these brilliant people who are proud of their parents haven’t seen anything, surrounded as they were in their soap bubble, occupied with making it grow… It is them that I am speaking to!

“We are sick and tired of your mistakes and your conservatism. I demand to be told the truth and I want the other French people to hear it, as well.

Personally, I have the means to react. If I add up taxes and other deductions, you have demanded almost 65% of my gross revenue during these last two years, and I accepted it of my own free will, even though I have been spending more than 183 days a year outside France for a long time! But, considering the risks that the economy, and even French society, is faced with, due to the lack of reaction, I have decided to no longer pay and to expatriate my personal income, to match my personal tax practices with the reality of my agenda and my interests.

In fact, our company declares in France more than 50% of its global income and it is here that it willingly subjects it to tax at more than 35%, which is the highest tax level in Europe to date. If we were to take the activity into account… only 10% would be declared. This is also a deliberate choice. I am worried by the state’s lack of reaction to the crisis. What is it going to pull hastily out of the hat when it is too late? Our company needs capital in order to develop. The best way to finance investment is through profit. The choices that we have made both personally and as a company cannot face so many uncertainties. We cannot be a state which already has the highest level of taxes and professes COLLECTIVE and DELIBERATE blindness for the future. Due to the lack of a precise discourse and a detailed programme, it is as if everything were all right, fueling the companies’ fear.

Therefore, as a first step, I am going to give up the strange choice I have made until now and I am going to become a resident of the European state in which I spend most of my time. Thus, I am going to reduce my tax ratio by 50%, waiting to see what measures my country is REALLY going to take. This is serious.

But what are we going to do afterwards as regards our choices concerning company tax? Indeed, we have offices in Germany, where company tax has been reduced to 25%, in Romania, where it is 16%. In Israel, where we have just opened an office, it has just decreased to 25%. Pentalog doesn’t make more than 50% of its sales in France and only 5-10% of its production is done here. It has complete freedom in the field and its loyalty has been constant until now, but it needs a credible and reasonable state which would enable it to flourish.

“More justice” are words that send chills up the spine of all those who enjoy even the slightest amount of success and who already support 80% of the direct French taxation. Dear politicians, allow me to suggest that you should tackle all the injustices that you have created from scratch, the famous niches that you have arranged for your dear families and for placing their inheritance, often in outrageous real estate tax fantasies. A modern state that wants to have a future must begin by taxing inheritance and annuities and by exempting work and creation. Inheritance is an iniquitous transmission of wealth from one generation to another. Some people were born in well-to-do families, while others were not. Does this sound like a republican idea? Inheritance in France is nevertheless less taxed than in the USA! As regards annuities, they are an exploitation of the wealth created in the past which make no contribution to the nation’s destiny. Tax them! But stop disdaining the work and the creation of new wealth like you are doing now! Do you know that French software R&D is less developed than the one in Israel? We are sixty million inhabitants against six, but all you are doing is use nice words about the economy of knowledge and the research tax credit! Aren’t you asking yourselves why?

Apparently, 3,000 people leave the country each year. That is 3001 including me and maybe 3002 including Pentalog. If this only lasts a few years, it will “only” amount to a few million euros, which is insignificant compared to the gap created by a political generation and its clientele… but now I am quibbling.

As promised, I am inviting you to view the Pentastock photos taken by our professional photographers.

Pentalog knows how to party!

To be continued…

Dear colleagues, dear friends, dear partners,
The image that I used to have of Romania before the year 2000 and before coming here for the first time was represented by a few images from 1989, Brancusi and Ionesco. A few years later I found out that Cioran, whom I had studied in high school, was actually “Cioran”, a Romanian-born author. As regards the Republic of Moldova, I used to have in mind a few images from the war in Transnistria and vague ideas about the German-Soviet pact.
The beginning of Pentalog in Romania brings us back to a cold winter, when three musketeers landed in Brasov: Eric, Aymeric and myself. The first images showed me a bleak and sad country, where restaurants (which are a primary reference for a Frenchman) were almost empty and had almost nothing available from the menu… Today, everything has changed and, whenever I talk about Romania, I never miss the opportunity of mentioning the extent to which cities have changed for the better and have become pleasant… and of saying that in Romania I feel like home. Actually, for me this is like a second home. And, despite all the countries that I have visited, this feeling cannot change.
Pentalog started out with a team made up of a few people at the heart of the Carpathians. Today, we are the leading consulting, computer engineering and outsourcing company in Romania and Moldova. We set off on this adventure as a 100% French-speaking organization and today we have become an international company; however, France and the French language have always remained an important reference.

As far as the company is concerned, we can say that today Pentalog has paved the road for new business models, both in the East and in the West, for the companies in this field of activity. We have internationalized production and sales. We have obtained important projects, both in terms of volume and technology. The projects of Pentalog Romania and Moldova are possibly some of the most important projects in these countries and they represent in Romania, for instance, 5% of the IT services GDP. Thanks to their size and complexity, these projects are also assets for your personal development. Today, Pentalog is gaining projects in France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Romania, Moldova… and soon in Vietnam and Israel.
What we are seeking every day is to be at the forefront of software production methods and innovation. This vision is conveyed through the launching of PENTALOG LABS, which will implement breakthrough strategies. Maybe Eric, as the PENTALOG LABS manager and recruitment officer, will talk with some of you today in order to create his team.
Since we have mentioned the field of innovation, we have to say a few words about People Centric. XPC is the clear proof of Pentalog’s will to be innovating both as regards the methods and the social organization model, because 49% of the capital is owned by the employees of the Pentalog group. Things have changed. Raluca and her associates: Andra, as well as Eric, Virginie, Monica and myself, own and manage a start-up based on a true Californian model, in which associates show a great deal of commitment and enthusiasm, while Pentalog offers them a financial support necessary for fulfilling a great destiny. The organizational structure is reversed: the mother company is based in Romania, the first subsidiary is in France and the next
will probably be in Vietnam or in Israel.
The employees’ participation in the company’s capital is a guiding principle that the management has applied right from the moment the company was founded, in 1993. Even though it is difficult to put this system into practice from a legal, managerial and property point of view, the system has never been interrupted. Currently, 5% of the Pentalog group’s capital is owned by our Romanian and Moldovan colleagues – approximately 10 people. In a few months, this level will reach 10%, i.e. between 1 and 2 million euros.

I would like to make an announcement to our colleagues from Chisinau, which I hope is good news. Last year we were affected by the political and social conditions in Moldova. Pentalog suffered because of this, as many colleagues chose to flee the country in search of a better life… in some cases at more than 10,000 km away from their families and friends. If you remember, we talked about these matters both in the media and in the different political spheres in Moldova and France and with other companies. But, in the meantime, we searched for and found solutions to some of these problems. Thus, we signed a partnership with the Mobias Bank which will enable all the Pentalog employees to have access to mortgage loans with preferential interest rates. Of course, this is just a first step, which will be followed by others. But we had to have a starting point.

In conclusion, I would like to say a few words on the Romanian and Moldovan IT industry in the context of the global crisis. For the last 10 years, I have been travelling the entire world in order to find the best markets for the Pentalog offer. Generally, I can say that the Romanian IT industry is not particularly threatened at present and that it still has potential for progress. In fact, I didn’t join in the collective hysteria of the Romanian IT sector after the different announcements related to the elimination of the tax exemption. Although it is justified from a civic point of view, this measure comes at an inappropriate time as far as the economy is concerned. I think that this measure will be applied one day, because no democratic state can sustainably support an already strong industry through corporatist agreements. However, if we want to believe in a better future for Romania, both companies and employees need to understand that they must pay taxes. By paying taxes you gain rights.
Today, it is essential to be part of a company which has a firm order list for at least 2 years, a company which has a strategic development plan and genuine European principles, which has the best productivity improvement strategies and a fantastic international team, which is inspired by the best that your culture and our culture have to offer.
Thank you for showing up in such a large number and for your daily contribution to the success of Pentalog.
And now: let’s party!
………………..

I am Romanian, so I am going to begin in Romanian:

Dragi colegi, dragi prieteni, dragi parteneri,
Imaginea Romaniei pe care o aveam, inainte de 2000 si inainte de a veni pentru prima data aici era reprezentata de cateva imagini din 1989, Brancusi si Ionesco. Cativa ani mai tarziu am aflat ca Cioran, pe care l-am studiat in liceu, era de fapt « Cioran » si de origine romana. In ceea ce priveste Republica Moldova, aveam in minte cateva imagini de razboi din Transnistria si idei vagi ale pactului germano-sovietic.
Inceputurile Pentalog in Romania ne duc catre o iarna friguroasa, in care 3 muschetari au debarcat la Brasov : Eric, Aymeric si eu. Primele imagini mi-au adus in fata o tara sumbra, trista, unde restaurantele (ceea ce pentru un francez este un reper primordial) erau aproape goale, cu meniuri din care nu era aproape nimic disponibil….Astazi, totul este schimbat, si nu ratez nici o ocazie cand vorbesc despre Romania, de a mentiona masura in care orasele s-au schimbat, in bine, si au devenit agreabile …De a spune ca in Romania ma simt ca acasa. De fapt, ca este o a doua casa pentru mine. Si in ciuda tuturor tarilor pe care le-am vizitat, acest lucru nu are nici o sansa de a se schimba.

Pentalog a plecat la drum cu o echipa de cateva persoane in inima Carpatilor. Astazi suntem prima companie de consultanta, inginerie informatica si outsourcing din Romania si Moldova. Am plecat in aceasta aventura ca o organizatie 100% francophona, pentru ca astazi sa devenim o companie internationala; insa francophonia si Franta raman in continuare un important reper.

Din punct de vedere al companiei, putem sa spunem ca astazi Pentalog a aratat calea catre noile business model-uri, atat la Est cat si la Vest, firmelor din acest sector de activitate. Am internationalizat productia, vanzarile. Am castigat proiecte de anvergura atat in volum cat si din punct de vedere tehnologic. Proiectele din Pentalog Romania si Moldova sunt posibil printre cele mai mari din aceste tari si reprezinta in Romania, spre exemplu , 5% din PIB-ul IT services. Aceste proiecte , prin dimensiunea si complexitatea lor, reprezinta si atuuri pentru dezvoltarea voastra personala. Astazi Pentalog castiga proiecte in Franta, Elvetia, Austria, Germania, Romania, Moldova…si in curand in Vietnam si Israel.

Ceea ce cautam in fiecare zi este de a fi in avangarda metodologiilor de productie software si a inovatiei. Aceasta viziune se traduce prin inaugurarea PENTALOG LABS, care va pune in practica strategii de breakthrough. Poate ca Eric, din pozitia de responsabil al PENTALOG LABS si sergent recrutror, va discuta astazi cu cativa dintre voi, pentru a-si crea commado-ul de lupta.
Pentru ca suntem in aceasta zona a inovatiei, se impun cateva cuvinte despre People Centric. XPC este o dovada clara a vointei Pentalog de a fi o firma inovatoare atat in ceea ce priveste metodele cat si modelul de organizare sociala, pentru ca 49% din capital este detinut de catre angajati ai grupului Pentalog. Lucrurile s-au schimbat. Raluca si asociatii sai : Andra, dar si Eric, Virginie, Monica si eu, detinem si dirijam un strat-up care functioneaza dupa un adevarat model californian, in care asociatii furnizeaza nu doar un volum de munca suplimentar, dar mai ales un extraordinar entuziasm. Iar Pentalog le aduce un suport financiar necesar pentru indeplinirea unui destin extraordinar. Schema organizatorica este inversa , in sensul ca firma mama este in Romania , prima filiala e in Franta, iar urmatoarea posibil in Vietnam sau Israel.

Implicarea salariatilor in capitalul companiei este o regula de conduita pe care conducerea a aplicat-o inca de la crearea firmei in 1993. Chiar daca in practica este dificil de a aplica acest sistem, atat din punct de vedere juridic, managerial si patrimonial, sistemul nu a fost niciodata oprit. In prezent 5% din capitalul grupului Pentalog este detinut de catre colegii romani si moldoveni – vreo 10 persoane. Iar in cateva luni va ajunge la 10%, adica intre 1 – 2 mil €.

As vrea sa le dau colegilor nostri de la Chisinau o veste, sper buna. Anul trecut am fost impactati de conditiile politice si sociale existente in Moldova. Pentalog a avut de suferit din aceasta cauza, multi colegi alegand sa paraseasca tara pentru a gasi o viata mai buna…cateodata la peste 10 000 km distanta de familiile si prietenii lor. Daca va aduceti aminte, am vorbit despre aceste subiecte atat in media, cat si in diverse sfere politice din Moldova si Franta si cu alte companii. Insa in acelasi timp am cautat si gasit solutii pentru o parte din aceste probleme. In acest sens am semnat un parteneriat cu Mobias Banca, care va permite tuturor angajatilor Pentalog un acces la credite ipotecare la dobanzi preferentiale. Desigur, nu este decat un prim pas, care va fi ulterior completat. Dar trebuia sa existe un punct de plecare.

As vrea ca incheiere sa va spun cateva cuvinte asupra situatiei IT-ului romano- moldav, in cadrul crizei globale. In acesti 10 ani am parcurs intreaga lume pentru a pozitiona cat mai bine oferta Pentalog. Pot sa va spun din punct de vedere general ca IT-ul romanesc nu este in mod particular amenintat astazi si ca dispune inca de o marja de progres. De altfel nu am fost partas la isteria colectiva a sectorului IT romanesc, in urma diferitelor anunturi legate de eliminarea scutirii de impozit. Aceasta masura, chiar daca este justa din punct de vedere civic, vine intr-un moment economic nepotrivit. Cred ca intr-o zi aceasta masura va fi aplicata, pentru ca nici un stat democratic nu poate sustine durabil o industrie deja puternica, prin acorduri corporatiste. Insa daca vrem sa credem intr-un viitor mai bun in Romania, atat companiile cat si angajatii trebuie sa inteleaga ca trebuie sa plateasca impozite. A plati da drepturi.

Ceea ce este esential astazi este de a fi intr-o companie care dispune de un registru de comenzi ferme pe cel putin 2 ani, intr-o companie care dispune de un plan strategic de dezvoltare si de o adevarata coloana vertebrala europeana, care dispune de cele mai bune strategii de ameliorare a productivitatii si de o fantastica echipa internationala, inspirate de catre ce este mai bun din cultura voastra si din cultura noastra.
Va multumesc pentru prezenta numeroasa, pentru participarea zi de zi la reusita Pentalog.
Si acum : let’s Party !!!

As you have certainly already read in the previous entries posted by Monica and myself, last weekend PentaStock gathered together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pentalog Romania and the 5th anniversary of Pentalog Moldova. Iris, which could be regarded as the Romanian equivalent of the rock group Téléphone, and Bere Gratis (Free Beer) created a great atmosphere. The 260 frenzied Pentalog members drank countless liters of beer and champagne. The images taken by the professional photographers and video makers will be made available in the following days. For now, you can see a few photos here.

Pentalog Group is launching its Israeli branch and, from now on, it will offer its services on the local market. This operation is assigned to two experienced professionals of the Israeli High Tech sector. The first-one is Lina Jackont, the Director of Operations who will be responsible for coordinating projects. Lina has some of the most impressive achievements of the Israeli high tech sector to her credit, having managed 30 to 120 man-year projects. The second-one, Eli Friedmann, is a seasoned manager with over 12 years experience in offshore hi-tech operations. He managed numerous teams servicing IBM, AMD, Microsemi, Gilat and many others. Eli is also one of Eastern Europe’s offshore pioneers. Indeed, he set up his first Integrated Circuit and Embedded Systems R&D and support centers, more than 13 years ago in Romania and later Moldova. Those centers serviced the USA, Germany, and Israel. The scope of his offshore and nearshore operations reached 120 employees.

In Israel, Pentalog will offer R&D services to a particularly innovating market which is under pressure in terms of human resources. Israel is indeed very interested in forging relations with Eastern Europe. With its 6 French and English speaking development centers in Romania, Moldova and Vietnam, Pentalog meets the cultural and linguistic expectations of a country which has around 1 million people who speak French, the same number of people who speak Russian and 500,000 people who speak Romanian.

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We have a company in Tel-Aviv, in Israel, that is certain. The same thing is happening as has previously happened everywhere else. From now on, Lina and Eli are our friends. I wouldn’t be surprised if we announced one or two important clients before autumn. We have indeed had some very interesting meetings in some of Israel’s technological nuggets and a few needs have been identified. The Israeli economy is a lot more successful at this moment than all the western economies. Therefore, we arrived in this country at a key moment, when Europe is going through the greatest confidence crisis since the Second World War.

I am learning a lot in Israel through contact with my new friends. I am particularly learning the fact that, as Jean Gabin puts it, “I know that I don’t know anything”. Israel entirely consists of social, economic and cultural specificity. I will no longer let anybody utter final statements regarding this population, united by common dynamics, placing innovation at the heart of everything, talking all the languages possible and driven by the same taste for work and action.

I talked to an Arab and Muslim American-Israeli woman, a capital risker in the US, Eli and Lina. I drew a conclusion for myself: “Listen!” The situation is so complex that the remote control of my TV set doesn’t allow me to understand it. The same goes for the writers of the best newspapers. Israel is not simply a sour-tempered religious nation. All the European media and now all the American media, as well, are focused on territorial questions, on the one hand, and religious questions, on the other hand. But what the people are also defending is a way of life, a democracy, a right to technological and social innovation which simply do not exist elsewhere in the Middle East. All the average Israeli person does, is to defend what the ordinary European doesn’t even imagine losing (but still…). I will also have to go and see the other side of the matter. I will go.

This context generates a strong desire for life which is pleasant to see and which creates opportunities for everyone. Together with our friends, Lina and Eli, we are going to contribute to this generation of opportunities and make the entire Pentalog group benefit from it.

In the last six months, Pentalog has received a great deal of invitations to participate in numerous competitions and rankings in France, as well as outside our borders. This is the sign of a certain recognition of our business model, of our performances and our positioning. Through these requests, it is our brand awareness and our capacity for innovation that are emphasized. Here is a brief retrospective of the last few months during which we have prepared application files, answered strategic and technological questionnaires:

- Entrepreneur of the Year Award: in April 2010, Frédéric Lasnier was personally nominated for the Top 100 – Entrepreneur of the Year Award, organized by L’Entreprise magazine, Ernst & Young and the French newspaper les Echos. The regional jury will meet in July and Frédéric will be at the Garnier Opera next September or the awarding of the national prizes.

- Business Strategy Award: in May 2010, Pentalog was a finalist of the 4th edition of the Business Strategy Award under the sponsorship of the French Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment. Among the 137 candidate companies, Pentalog has qualified to the national final for the award of prizes. We thank the ESSEC students who are accompanying us. Pentalog will be at Bercy on June 9th for the awards ceremony.

- Deloitte Technology Fast 500: in November 2009, Pentalog was a laureate of the 2009 European Deloitte Technoloy Fast 500. This is the first time that Pentalog enters this prestigious ranking which is made up of the 500 technological companies of the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) with the highest increase in sales figures over the last five fiscal years, from 2004 to 2008. Pentalog had a 391% rate of growth during this period. In 2008, Pentalog had obtained the “Coup de Coeur” special prize of Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for the Western part of France. We are going to compete again this year for Fast 50 and Fast 500.

- Innovation Trophies: November 2009, 5th edition of Innovation Trophies organized by Syntec informatique and Orange Business Services. Pentalog distinguished itself among 40 projects and was one of the 16 candidates chosen for the trophy awards.

- Enterprises and the Information Society Trophies: in May 2010, the 10th edition of Enterprises and Information Society Trophies organized by Le Monde informatique and CIO, which reward the best IT projects of 2009. Pentalog was chosen on the list of winners and nominated for one category. Aymeric Libeau will be present at the awards ceremony on May 20th.

- European Business Awards: April 2010, Pentalog was invited to the first selection round to represent France at the European Business Awards 2010, whose objective is to promote excellence, best practices and innovation within the European business community. Seven thousand companies are assessed for this selection, from large multinational companies to growing small and medium-sized enterprises.

Of course, we will communicate the results as soon as they are announced. Finally, one should also keep in mind that Pentalog has been a member of Croissance Plus for three years and of the IE Club beginning with 2010. Frédéric Lasnier has also accompanied the French Prime Minister François Fillon to Vietnam last November together with a large delegation of French business owners.

In short, Pentalog has put technological, financial and social innovation at the heart of its practices and today, this profitable strategy receives the recognition of the high business spheres; we are delighted.

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Of course, this was unexpected and it wasn’t a meeting that had been planned a long time in advance… but when I saw him yesterday morning at the check-in counter for the Paris-Bucharest flight, I couldn’t help myself and invited him for a coffee (bu he only drank water). Then, we stayed together for the next six hours. At first, I could simply not hide my admiration, globalist as I had become, for the man he is. When I was 20, I used to stop everything I was doing at the moment to listen to his special voice… which has been speaking only to me during this very long fortunate moment.

At first, I didn’t know how to approach him; I would have liked him to evaluate me after only three sentences and one look, but, of course, this man is a lot smarter than that. Then, undoubtedly in a clumsy manner, I began to tell him what I do, so that we could initiate a dialogue. It wasn’t difficult, as we even found several points on which we didn’t necessarily agree, but on which our analyses converged.

I told him that, out of passion for development, by choice of lifestyle and due to financial interests, I was a globalist. I like the determination of emerging populations. I told him what I am rarely able to say, namely that I do not see any valid reason other than a client’s commercial consent, why the French should be less expensive than the Swedish and more expensive than Romanians or Vietnamese. I also told him that I was passionate about competition, but sensitive as regards the destiny of humanity.

Maybe it is because I wasn’t actually looking for a controversial debate at all that he answered “planetarization”. We quickly agreed. I always knew when I was in school, regardless of what my teachers said, be they liberals or Marxists, that Malthus had to be right, that our terrestrial universe is necessarily finite and that it was all a matter of time. Marxists and liberals, in an incestuous political relationship, did nothing else but struggle as they could with the “increase and multiply” concept. The planet is a natural and tangible entity for those who have large hands, whereas the world is a concept that can be used freely in various contexts: the world of education, of finance, of ecology… Thus, globalization is deemed to be nothing but the maximization of commercial relations, of politics and of communication within an intellectual space which doesn’t bear any natural or food-producing richness. Automatically, globalization becomes nothing but pure speculation on what living beings need to accomplish their destiny. There is no competition with Albert Jacquard, but at this moment I have the clear feeling that he has just scored a point against me.

“- But Mr. Jacquard, you will easily admit that wherever development conditions were met, often thanks to globalization, war, violence, but also high birth rate decreased.
- Yes, that is correct, that has happened in Iran, Turkey or now in Morocco and in many other countries.
- Globalization could thus help planetarization by contributing both to a better distribution of resources and to a better birth rate control.
- I hadn’t even thought about it that way and it is right.” At that moment, I admit I refrained once again from smiling.

Otherwise, he surprised me a great deal by his open-mindedness. This man is not at all dogmatic. We spoke about the pay-as-you-go pension scheme, which relies on an exponential increase as well, a scheme which is meant to cause bankruptcy. “That resembles Bernard Madoff’s system, doesn’t it, Mr. Jacquard?” “Certainly, but we cannot say it just like that, because social democracy has its semi-religious dogmas that cannot be challenged, it’s like that.” For the surprise that he causes in me and because there is no competition with Albert Jacquard, I secretly give him another point.

I will try one day to write again on his remarks about the distribution of wealth, which are very similar to what my friends have always heard me say. I have never liked annuities, rents, economic rights and inheritances. I am not very sure, because this discussion was eventually too short, but I think he feels the same way.

I thank chance once again…

This word has kept coming back to me over the past few days, at the office, during my jogging, while driving and eventually I asked myself, why? Was it only because of the bill concerning parity between men and women on companies’ board of directors? Or was it the constant media attention over the past few weeks with its constant and painful repetition that has kept bringing back this idea… but finally I realized, why.

Indeed, without using this word myself, for several years now this concept of parity, naming it or not, has actually been central to my business concepts and to some of the most important decisions that I have made. Possibly it has been one of my goals, not necessarily secret, but something I cannot always explain easily to my professional colleagues, partners or even to myself. It is like something we need to do without knowing exactly why.

I confess that I am constantly looking for new means to improve Pentalog’s performance levels in growth and in profitability that our competitors have not been able to attain. In the past six years Pentalog has outperformed the market 6 to 20 times in terms of organic growth and 3 to 4 times as much in terms of profitability (only in the past 3 years as regards to this last parameter). For a long time, I did not accompany this development with specific risk management (as we do now), but I always wanted to manage multiple sorts of equilibrium that could be called… parity:
- Parity between salaried shareholders and non-salaried shareholders, because I believe it is essential to associate our employees with the company in order to obtain a sustainable performance and at the same time to have associates whose expectations are purely financial.
- Parity between provincial cities (which offer us stability) and capitals, which bring us business opportunities and exceptionally skilled people.
- Parity between the $ zone and the € zone which also helps mitigate the currency risks. I have already expressed my thoughts concerning this subject in the past and I will soon touch on it again.

Now we will add new requirements. I would like to see the various departments of the company functioning with a minimum of multiculturalism. We are now working on it:
- 10% of the capital is now Romanian, German and Moldovan (100% of the 10% is owned by the employees). I want to increase this figure in the future. This is unavoidable if we want to meet the founding principles of Pentalog in continuing to associate our best employees with the company. It’s now between 1 and 2 million euros that have changed nationality. It is very inadequate, but the GA (General Assembly) is no longer completely French and I am very proud of this.
- Our Steering Committee has been insufficiently Romanian. Romanians are nevertheless the first nationality of our group but up to now only Monica Jiman represents them in the most operational committee of the group. She will now be joined in the Presiding Committee of the group by Raluca Otelea, the boss of PeopleCentric. This other board which brings together the Presidents and Vice Presidents, develops the business strategy and transforms it into tactics and it is also in this committee that is established the list of corporate risks facing the Group. Here the Romanians represent 33% of this committee. That’s better! There is to date no Romanian on the Board of Directors. This is something we need to improve.

I think the principle of managing multiple parities is ultimately essential for the behavior of any society, whether it is a company or a state. Thus the best means to protect ourselves from the emergence of major risks is through the diverse expression of different sensibilities, and which mobilize the forces that would otherwise remain untapped. In the latter case, this parity becomes an excellent means of leverage for the company.

More importantly, considering the debate on gender equality on administrative boards, a point which I believe we have already surpassed, I believe as a general rule, this principle is essential in the accomplishment of a sustainable performance in any social organization.

Finally, I have two comments to make on gender parity in Pentalog. Our Steering Committee is 60% female, our Board of Directors 33% and the Presiding Committee is exactly at 50%. We are not far behind the legal calendar.

Last week, Virginie and I came back from a road trip to Avoriaz where we joined our friends of Croissance +. As usual, Frederic and his team had prepared things beautifully. The theme, this year was “Towards Full Employment” which seemed a bit esoteric, because basically I do not believe in it! For some time now, I believe that France has chosen the option of a society of unemployment. I do believe that societies which are too highly protective, will eventually accumulate high labor costs, which in turn will drive core employment outside their borders, and this is hardly avoidable. Of course, no one has ever looked at it from this point of view, but it takes quite a degree of productive innovation to afford the costs of integrating the best health system in the world, the best pension system, and one of the shortest work weeks. When you sell a satellite or a fighter plane (and you still must sell them), it’s ok. For automotive production and tee-shirts… it’s another matter.

Therefore, what have I learnt? First, I realized how our business leaders are experts in the French administrative system and that I am personally overwhelmed when it comes to these matters. I even wonder if this knowledge is healthy? Wouldn’t it better, if they could concentrate completely on their business model and the development of their business?

Secondly, and this represents one of the competitive advantages of Pentalog, I got well aware of all the difficulties that some are having, whether, it’s the legal work week, employee motivation, the amount of social costs or taxation. There is too much money being paid out to the different financial advisors and fiscal lawyers, to optimize this or that, in short, wasting time, resources, money, which is being taken away from their business development and the creation of wealth. These “system optimizers” are just parasites. Everyone is asking for more clarity, and simplification. Less aid, grants and more freedom, please! I learned, would you believe, that the amount of grants to French companies is greater than that of the sum of corporate taxes collected? How and why have we reached such a level of absurdity?
I must admit when I arrived in Avoriaz, in the back of my mind, I had the idea of finally relocating Pentalog Labs to France… but the debates of last week left me a little cold concerning this idea!!

Moreover, having lived in many developing economies, I had lost sight of the economic issues taking place in Europe and the U.S… Nicolas Bouzou, Jean-Marc Daniel (colorful!), Michelle?, in the discussions led by the extraordinary Nicolas Dauze of BFM and Frederic Bedin, President of Croissance +, put into perspective what it is meant by the word innovation in companies, gradually moving the cursor from “to have” to “to be.” A quick example taken from the public bike rental system, as a personal service, we have come to understand that beyond the bike itself, and the innovation and economic exploitation… what is more important, is the concept of the liberty to chose, this idea is more important than the bike. The bicycle I bought at Decathlon created no jobs, and generated no economy and is not there when I need it. Even MIT is studying this concept. It is the same for housekeeping services, child care or looking after the garden. I can not take care of everything, however, there are managers and tools, which in turn will generate innovation, management teams and skills and at the same time will ensure good quality services for the best prices.

This has ultimately nothing to do with sustainable development, and nothing to do with Grenelle, but there is no doubt that the economic crisis which is hitting the mature economies is also a crisis of “to have” instead of “to be”. It is clearly understood by our friends and customers from Nekoé, in Orleans… but also our co-workers in People Centric, who have already sold their time and skills management solutions and are advancing quickly in this sector. The worst, is that I have spent a great deal of time over the past 10 years looking for new means to optimize the Pentalog resources and expertise and I overlooked the needs of these new sectors which are ultimately very close to us… in terms of management issues. We need to accelerate faster in this direction because the innovations of the group might well be of interest to them!

Elaborate your Offshore project with the European leader in Offshore Outsourcing!

This afternoon, I can not be with the ESSEC students who have chosen Pentalog to participate in a major inter-school strategy competition. I hope I have met their expectations but I’m not sure. And if I can not be with them today, it is really because I can not be. Sophie, who is a founding partner, will represent Pentalog while they defend their case.

I would like to tell them that I am sure they have made the right choice, because the Pentalog strategy has brought over recent years between 10 and 20 times more organic growth than the rest of the industry, sales profitability has increased 2 to 3 times more, and the equity has continued to grow by between 50 to 100%, and this is not all by chance. This type of results is usually irreconcilable. This triptych is very defensible.

I would like to add that the volume of customers is normal, but also the contracts obtained by Pentalog demonstrates our adherence to an increasingly strong Business Model and represent the true expectations of a quality offshore / nearshore service provider in France and in Europe.

The last point that they must defend is Pentalogs’ commercial action plan, which is resolutely innovative and low cost. We want more commercial productivity through the increased use of the use of the web and the creation of a consulting and outsourcing administration service cloud. This strategy is already operating at full speed. Yet I am convinced that it is still in its’ infancy stage in the minds of many major buyers of intellectual services but in the near future it will be recognized to contain enormous possibilities for its future growth potential.

Good luck.

Elaborate your Offshore project with the European leader in Offshore Outsourcing!

Pentalog is used to participating each spring time in Jobshops, organized by an association of the 5 BEST Romanian university cities: Bucharest, Timisoara, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca and Iasi. Our goal is to communicate with students and graduates interested in career opportunities.

Our strong points are: the Pentalog training programme and our hundred available jobs. Those interested in our projects can talk directly with our local Branch managers.

We are presently looking to recruit new collaborators, including engineers in embedded IT for the new 3G Telecom project, that we have mentioned in previous articles.

In Bucharest, many students have come to meet with us and have submitted their CVs to become part of the Pentalog adventure.

In Timisoara we also have met other participating companies and continue to have a high number of candidates. We even went on local TV.

Come meet with us at our 3 other Jobshops which will soon be coming up in (Brasov – April 26-30 2010, Cluj-Napoca – April 19-23 2010 and Iasi – May 3-7 2010).

Elaborate your Offshore project with the European leader in Offshore Outsourcing!

Good news does not stop coming! We have just learned that Pentalog has been chosen for the first round of selections to represent France at the European Business Awards 2010, which aims to promote excellence, good business practices and innovation within the European business community. The selection was made from amongst 7000 companies studied… from large multinationals to SMBs, including gazelle companies .

Pentalog is already a member of of the French fast-growing company association “Croissance Plus” and has been integrated into the classification of the European Deloitte Technology Fast 500 in 2009. We also have participated in several “strategy” competitions recently. With the European Business Awards, we could still receive an award at the European level, for having maintained our strong growth in these times of crisis and for the effectiveness of our business model.

10 minutes to answer 10 key questions and get a quotation!

Tuan and I just returned from a long weekend in Singapore. Our mission was simple: launch a first approach into the Asian nearshore market for our Vietnamese subsidiary. I would like to note, however, that we didn’t see many companies and we are not about to make a quick decision on this matter. We have time and presently I am speaking only in terms of an exploratory approach. We will also soon go to Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei.

I had never been to Singapore and Tuan neither. Our impression is rather unclear. Is this truly Asia? This 100% English speaking population, this ultra clean city, incredibly monitored, with a crime rate near 0 confuses us, both in the same way, despite our differences.

Singapore is also an amazing construction site, worthy of the Kings of France or the Pharaohs of Egypt – I am thinking about the Sands Casino (the same as The Sands of Las Vegas) which is absolutely amazing – and the incredible density of skyscrapers. But something else surprised me. There is no trace of an embarrassing construction site. No mud behind the trucks, no piles of construction materials. Professionalism is the rule everywhere. This is remarkable and almost oppressive.

I would like to revisit Singapore with an architect and an urban planner to better understand how it works, how traffic can be so smooth, despite the incredible population density. But also to understand how the air can be also so breathable in a place so close to the equator and so populated. I could not help thinking of Voltaire… Singapore… is this, the place, of an enlightened dictatorship advocated by the French philosopher? In any case, what is certain is that Singaporeans do not want to change anything, especially not the political system. It is very surprising because we also visited an IT exposition where we were faced with the behaviour of people displaying collective madness, with people creating an ambiance of excitement, singing or screaming the prices, spontaneous auctions, and promotional papers thrown around the aisles of the show. In any case… this is Asia.

Elaborate your Offshore project with the European leader in Offshore Outsourcing!

3 days to present our services, contact potential clients and prospective suppliers, explaining the concept of Offshore, and how it works and discovering new products and concepts.

3 days is definitely too short!

Speaking of products and concepts, the main idea that I have retained from this trade show is that the Embedded business is turned resolutely towards the End User, to make his life and the use of new High Tech technology easier:

• The HMI has become very intuitive and clean: touch screens, motion sensors, acoustic sensors… Intel has built a wall dedicated to the customer in a store (clothing and shoes): half transparent allowing for the selection of an article in the store (as shown on the screen) and information concerning prices etc., all downloadable to your Smartphone, the other half is a touch screen to show you wearing the selected items by means of multiple cameras embedded in the wall.

• Robotics were also very present with flying cameras for video surveillance, mechanical spiders for hazardous environments, and robotic arms that can keep a stick balanced on their fingertips…

• Concrete applications in different sectors and occupations that will link computers and electronics with simplified applications (allowing the end-user to refocus on its core business and not on the need for technical knowledge of the tools): medical (patient monitoring, disability aids…), military (vision, guidance, and logistics), industry (assembly, logistics), M2M (communication and action)…

• Mobility: Smartphones were also very present at the show. All major manufacturers were fighting around the portability between Symbian, RMI, and Android. The iPhone was absent from this portability (strange isn’t it? ).

In short, Thomas and I got back on the road to our office in Frankfurt with our heads full of images and new ideas. It is now up to us to find some way to use them!

Hanover, 2-6 march 2010. Under the motto “Push your business”, CeBIT 2010 opened this edition with new forces despite the economical crisis that constantly threaten the well course of the exhibition. This year many participants confirm that CeBIT keeps its leader position in the classification of ITC fairs. The show covers all the latest IT and telecommunications products, services and solutions and highlight themes – Business IT, ICT Infrastructure and Future ICT. “Connected Worlds” is the keynote topic for CeBIT 2010.

… is it about innovation?
CeBIT is more than a crowded place full of executives and key people from big companies. CeBIT is a platform for IT companies from all over the world to exhibit their strategies, to innovate and discuss current and future trends in the industry. You have the opportunity to generate new business and consolidate your position in the ITC market. The lead “the more things you see, the more ideas you have” applies here more than ever. And you really see a lot of interesting things at CeBIT… .You see from USB keys in every imaginable shape to foldable pianos or dollhouses (don’t ask). It is what they called the Digital Fascination. Cloud computing and Green IT were read on everybody’s lips. “Is the cloud the second industrial revolution? Does it also mean the simplification of IT? “– were some of the main questions at the CeBIT conferences. But it is not just about technology… Maybe you can get an interesting marketing idea when you see the events – the actually salt and pepper of the whole show. The lights, the colours, the know-how … There are plenty of reasons why the prestigious exhibition attracts more than 700,000 visitors, every year.

… is it about opportunities?
This year, under the brand Romania IT, 14 Romanian companies participated to CeBIT. We noticed a growing interest from the Romanian companies for the German market (the most attractive destination for new business after the U.S), especially in outsourcing activities. The interest was reciprocal, because also many German companies asked for nearshore outsourcing in Romania and came to Romania’s stand with lots of questions. Here Pentalog had a big advantage because it was the only Romanian company that knew German. We were not only the largest company from Romania, but also to one with the most powerful business in Germany. We had some interesting discussions with German software houses but also with big companies like T-Systems and Kärcher. We were pleased to receive regards from our clients (DMailer, etc).

… is it about the glamour?
Every morning, before the exhibition starts, there are concerts organized for the participants. Giant exhibitors like T – System (only their stand cost about 33 mil euros) that prepared special events and contests for the visitors. Intel had a whole hall just for their products. Social networking activities were made between the participant countries (and we should not forget that almost all the countries of the world are represented at CeBIT) – for example between Romania and India, etc… Pentalog made new friends during the exhibition and was pleased to be surrounded by very powerful neighbors: in front by T-Systems, in the right and left by our competitors from India and Egypt.

So it’s not just the business that makes CeBIT so special. It’s an interesting mixture of innovation, opportunities and glance that makes CeBIT through definition one of the most glamorous events in the ITC industry. It is a place – as they well say- where you can push your business! See you next year at CeBIT!

This week was exceptionally busy. Yesterday evening, we arrived at an agreement with our Israeli partners to create a Pentalog subsidiary in Tel Aviv. As for today, I am writing this blog from Schiphol airport since we are studying the possibility of establishing a powerful commercial partnership in Holland.

Concerning Israel, we can say that this investment is justified by the insolent health of Israeli high tech and ultimately the entire economy of the country. Israel is the only non-Asian developed country to display a positive growth rate in 2009. This performance of 0.5%, although modest, is quite remarkable and demonstrates the incredible investment effort of an entire nation in the entrepreneurial and innovation sector. Not less than 6% of their GDP is invested in R & D when Europe displays an ambition of 2 and reaches a performance of … 1.

But more surprising still, Christine Lagarde, while attending a France-Israel gala dinner Tuesday evening, said that the amount of Israeli investment in new technologies was identical to that achieved by… France. Settling into the Israeli city that houses 50% of the total investment, would place Pentalog at the heart of an innovative center more than 100 times more powerful than that of Sophia Antipolis and much more comparable to Silicon Valley.

Knowing that Pentalog has become in recent years the leading provider of maintenance and R & D services for French start-ups, a French presence in the heart of this “Start Up Nation” is very strategic. I can not help but think at this very moment of Pentalog Lab and its’ strategy to break with the traditional world of IT services. To promote its products from Israel would be positive in terms of image and would help us to work our way into the U.S. market. Scouts of Uncle Sam did not hesitate to come here do their shopping, in this supermarket of innovation.

Our partners are very experienced people, and this just puts the icing on the cake, they have over 15 years of experience in offshore in Romania and Moldova. All the conditions have been met to do something great… let’s make it happen!