From Montpellier to Nouméa, and then onwards to Brisbane. This is the journey of our co-founder Chris. Epicurean by nature and genuinely optimistic, Chris has an undeniable passion for people and a knack for surrounding himself with the best experts wherever he goes. Originating from the field, his strong technical background gives him sought-after engineering knowledge. Combining these two passions, now he builds lasting partnerships with engineering and technical companies worldwide. His special talent is helping companies to supercharge their technical teams to shape the future. Let’s see how he arrived here.
As Chris confesses, it’s in his genes. Growing up watching his father launch and run two successful companies made a big impact. He saw the first-hand passion and drive. “My dad’s ambition always impressed me. He has truly inspired me as a role model,” Chris shares. It turns out it was contagious a bit later. When it came to choosing his academic pursuit, Chris followed a more technical path choosing his engineering studies at the famous French University, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers.
With a thirst for knowledge, Chris knew there was more to learn. Inspired by his roommate in Paris who studied abroad for one semester in Australia, he applied to Bond University on the Gold Coast to study business and entrepreneurship. There he caught up with his New Caledonian friends studying abroad. As we all know happiness comes before success, and it was important for Chris to round out his skills so that he could make a big impact. While he expanded his mind, he also pursued his passions for kitesurfing and windsurfing. The beach lifestyle of the Gold Coast was a dream come true.
By 2008, the engineering skills gap was a major issue in Australia. When Chris entered the job market, he found his engineering Masters degree a great door opener. Chris spent seven years working as a project civil & construction engineer across LNG, mining, and infrastructure. Since large-scale mining and LNG projects are often located in remote areas, he had the opportunity to discover Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia. “Although I absolutely loved the variety I faced with each assignment, a recurring challenge was staffing the team with the right people in the right seat from a limited talent pool,” he states.
Finding the right experts to work on the projects was extremely difficult. It was a constant challenge on every project. A highly competitive talent market combined with remote locations and unusual rosters (5 weeks on with 2 weeks off) made it even more challenging to attract the required skilled engineers. “As the project lead, it was a real struggle to deliver projects on time without the right skills in my team,” he explains. Willing to do whatever it takes, Chris took it upon himself to source the qualified technical talent he needed himself to avoid project delays. And he found his superpower.
As a field engineer, Chris knew better than anyone the right experts required for his team. With an extensive network of engineers from his academics in France, Chris mobilized several European engineers to join him. “Having the right team means delivering a project safely and ahead of schedule,” explains Chris. He also helped other contractor companies across Australia to source the right people for their projects, free of charge. And he earned a reputation for infallible delivery and creative solutions to a serious challenge. This is how he began accelerating his leadership skills and building entrepreneurial muscles. And this is how the essence of Easy Skill began.
As a social soul, Chris took a holiday to Australia and New Zealand with his University friend, Pierre Bussy. In their exciting road trip adventure, they discussed everything from life to business. And they shared one clear idea: companies around the world were struggling to find the right technical and engineering talent and solutions to deliver their projects. And so together they made a bold choice - they launched Easy Skill in 2014.
Since its humble beginnings to bridge the skills gap, Easy Skill has evolved into a full suite of solutions to help companies unlock more people. Supercharging teams is more than just finding the right players, but moving them around the world and providing practical knowledge to help teams level up their skills. “The company is evolving thanks to the diversity of its people and shaped by the challenges we overcome together,” states Chris. “Now we can add power to client teams or extend their teams with outsourced engineering. The choice is theirs.”
Chris is excited to open to new horizons and support many large industrial projects waiting to happen. Easy Skill is gearing up to enable peak productivity when projects begin like the Papua LNG in PNG, the mining Lucy project in New Caledonia, and assorted projects in Africa. “In the future, I’d like to see Easy Skill expanding to emerging markets and establishing roots beyond the countries where we operate,” shares Chris. Learning and growing so we can help clients shape a better future is part of what makes our business exciting.