Having started out in hotel management in Switzerland, Bruno Fournet was expecting a career in general management level in some of the worlds’ biggest hotel groups. However, new opportunities arose from an interesting project which emerged to bring Disneyland to Europe – and it made him think twice. Consequently, he joined Disneyland Paris as a project manager and has now spent 34 years at the company, working across the then new and now established resort, rising eventually to his current position of HR Director – Learning & Development.
“My original role was linked to the hotel,” Bruno admits. “But I moved around a lot, from general services, security, project management and then, 15 years ago, into HR.” Even in HR he covered many different roles – health and safety, employee housing, operations training, assuming his current position five years ago.
Broadening experience
He’s been open to new challenges and positions within the business across his time at Disneyland Paris, and notes this isn’t something everyone would do. While others have stayed in their line of business, he has chosen to take on new projects and challenges wherever they may lie. Some of those challenges – such as preparing for the opening of the resort’s hotel – were directly linked to his past career, but others were entirely new and have broadened his experience of working for the business and his understanding of how a company of that size and type operates.
It’s an element which has stood him in good stead with colleagues as he’s undertaken subsequent HR tasks: On the one hand the people he works with know that he understands what it’s like to be working on the frontline (and elsewhere) in the business. On the other hand it has informed his own approach to the HR function.
I understood that it was paramount for leaders to keep up to date with the latest skills and developments in their areas.”
Bruno’s view from his current position is that it’s not just about training people but also about developing great leaders. He feels his own experience has effectively guided him to work towards his full potential, addressing certain aspects of his skills, undergoing training and building experience before moving forward with more responsibility. Throughout this development he has appreciated the time he’s been given to achieve more: “I always had the time to develop myself through projects and assignments,” he says. “I understood that it was paramount for leaders to keep up to date with the latest skills and developments in their areas.” Unsurprising then that when Bruno made the move from operations into HR he took an HR course with a Paris business school in order catch up with the key concepts he required.
