Interview with Catherine, a Kedger and the founder of Lifefulness

KEDGE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Tell us what you did after your studies were finished. What positions have you held? What did you learn in those positions? 

My years working at Decathlon while attending KEDGE gave me what I needed to follow the company’s international career path and move to Spain in 1994 when Decathlon began to open its first shops. I fell in love with that country, which is so alive, so warm, and so authentic that I lived there for almost 10 years, in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Sebastian. 

Each city - with its culture and traditions - was a change of scenery and a new opportunity to get to know the unknown, the people, and myself. I left Decathlon to work in the industry, a sector so concrete, populated by passionate entrepreneurs and exciting products and applications, and that interconnects with so many other activities. I returned to France in 2003 and still work in the sector as a sales manager.

The points that have guided me in my career are:

• Open-mindedness towards the world and others;
• Teamwork and collective intelligence;
• The desire to build the world of tomorrow;
• A taste of challenge and performance; and,
• Adherence to the values and culture of the business. 

What are you doing now? What is your situation today? What gave you the idea and the desire to do what you’re doing today? 

Fascinated by people, I’ve travelled, discovered other cultures, and explored different approaches to life. Naturally, I became interested in the oriental philosophies and their application of a "no violence" philosophy to all areas of life. Practising mindful meditation and non-violent communication has been a turning point for me. Not only have I gotten to know myself better, but I’ve also learned how to identify and nourish my essential needs, take care of the relationship with myself and with others, and to live fully.

I became aware that living is an art that is cultivated deep within. By combining the timeless wisdom of ancient traditions, a practical vision of today’s world and its challenges, as well as the latest advances in cognitive and neurological sciences, I’ve taken the path towards greater fulfilment, harmony, and balance. Through workshops and practice circles that are accessible to all, the aim of Lifefulnessis to broaden our consciousness, to sharpen our attention, and to tap into our intuition. Practising calmness, openness and clarity naturally leads to better communication (with ourselves and others), improvement of skills and talents, and provides an unshakeable inner strength.

Today, I’m a mindful meditation teacher, accredited by the AOM (Altruistic Open Mindfulness), and trained in non-violent communication. I’ve created Lifefulness, a non-profit association whose vocation is to share my experiences and knowledge through initiation workshops and practice circles in mindful meditation and communication, as well as in individual or group sessions.

LIFEFULNESS

What are your goals for the future? 

I aspire to share my experiences and what I’ve learned, no matter the environment: personal, professional, associative, etc. But I also aim to create bridges between the worlds of the workplace and neuroscience, philosophy and management, etc. In short, reconciling and uniting all living energies.

If you were to give advice to any KEDGE graduate who wants to do something similar, what would it be?

Trust yourself and listen to your gut feelings!

My decision to study at KEDGE corresponded to my thirst for openness to the world and to others, which was sated by the presence of foreign students, the ability to do university exchanges, and the diversity of the teaching, specialisations, and courses. You only have to look at the diversity of the graduates' backgrounds. I remember the richness of a course on the history of religions in my first or second year which fascinated me and explained the reasons behind the current situations in many Oriental countries in the Orient.

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