Testimonials

Interview

Adrien QUEGUINER, Head of Engineering Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I majored in Product – Process – Management and graduated in 2010. I got hired as a designer by the company in which I had done my apprenticeship. It was a company specialized in the design and production of automated production systems in the food industry. A few years later, as I wanted to get to know new activities, I worked for a company designing and manufacturing quarry conveyors, still as a designer. I had the opportunity to perform on-site installations. The interest layed in seeing the product installed on field. As a designer, it allowed me to see the results of my labor and think about optimizing it. When the design activity was less demanding, I asked to intervene in quarries during technical stops. I welded, I installed structures, I wired engines… This allowed me to acquire new skills.

Then, through a friend of mine in the region of Nantes, I seized the chance to work in different sectors, performing different missions ranging from head of a design office to site manager, including head of production of large machined parts. These numerous experiences allowed me to design a wide variety of machines, to develop my expertise and to join the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) group.

Indeed, I joined LDA ten years ago. With my wife, we had decided to leave Nantes in France. In March 2013, I embarked on the cable ship Ile d’Aix in Calais as a submarine pilot. Becoming a sailor was a major life change and I have really enjoyed sailing during all these years. In 2017, at the request of the technical manager, I joined the group headquarters as a designer for the Quintillion Alaska project. We identified the blocking points and enabled their resolution. To follow up on this mission, I went on board the ship to perform tests.

Quintillion Project

LDA performed a challenging installation during the summer of 2017 in Northern Alaska for Alcatel Submarine Network. This was the first fiber network around Alaska: The Quintillion Subsea Network. The 16km segment was to be installed during the open water season which lasts 3 months in this region.

 In January 2018, I was back at sea in Calais and took my first steps as a subsea department manager on the cable ship Ile de Batz. But this second episode at sea was shortened for the needs of the integration project of the new plough on the vessel Ile de Ré. In 2019, I returned to work in the technical department. It is at this time that the design office of the LDA group was created. In November 2021, I took the head of the design office and became its manager. Today, we are a team of 6 and we are involved in many study projects.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The diversity of the subjects we work on and the fact that we contribute to the optimization of industrial operations. This makes it possible to measure customer satisfaction.
The feeling of success through the collective is a powerful driver.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

The project that made the biggest impression on me was the Quintillion project mentioned above. This project was very complex technically and operationally. The deadline for completion was extremely tight.
We managed to complete it on time!

4) What is your motto ?

Together to see better, further…

Interview

Lucie MARRON , Documentalist in the Engineering, Projects, Innovation (EPI) department- LDA

1) Could you tell us about your education? And what motivated your choice of studies?

I attended several conferences given by oceanographers during the Fête de la Science in Paris, my hometown. It made me want to study the ocean after my scientific baccalaureate (highschool graduation). I followed the training of marine environmental engineering technician at INTECHMER, then I continued my studies in marine ecology, up to a master degree. During my studies, I interned within the research institutions of the University of La Rochelle, the University of Bordeaux, Ifremer and the Institute of Research for Development.

I also volunteered as a guide in the Bay of the Somme and in nature reserves in Gironde, Vendée and Loire Atlantique.

2) Could you summarize your career path and present your current position?

The job market in marine ecology research being very limited, I converted to information-documentation management.

I joined LDA a little over a year ago, in the Engineering, Projects, Innovation (EPI) department as a Documentalist. I manage the department’s regulatory and quality documentation – filing, formatting, subscriptions, updates -, participate in the monitoring and reading of innovative subjects, and feed the intranet section dedicated to EPI. Moreover, I am part of the cross-functional team that is preparing the company’s environment week in June.

3) What do you particularly appreciate in your job?

Learning and discovering a new sector such as the maritime transport.

4) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an outstanding fact to share?

During the internship at Ifremer in Brest, I embarked on the scientific vessel “La Thalassa” for a month for the PELGAS 15 fisheries campaign to determine the stocks of anchovies and sardines in the Bay of Biscay. I was in the team that identified and counted the fish eggs.

As a Fisheries Observer at the Oceanic Developpement research office, I embarked on coastal trawlers for the scientific program OBSMER of Ifremer. I took notes of the data on the fish caught and discarded: species, weight, size, number.

These two experiences allowed me to fulfill my dream of scientific adventures at sea.

5)  In the context of the Women in Science Day, do you have a message that you would like to pass on?

To overcome the fears that can self-censor us and to be ready to take a roundabout way. There is not only one possible way to live your passions, but several.

Interview

Augustin LIEBARD, Logistics Coordinator – LDA

1)  Could you summarize your background and present your current position?

After a scientific baccalaureate, I spent a year in humanitarian service in French Polynesia. After this enriching experience with the inhabitants of these islands, I came back to France for my undergraduate studies in transportation and associated logistics management. I had the chance to join Louis Dreyfus Armateurs as an apprentice as a Logistics Coordinator for a two-year cycle within the technical department.

The daily missions carried out at the logistics department are organized in two main areas. Planning and coordination for the shipment and transportation of parts to the technical vessels of the fleet. We draw up packing lists and determine the optimal mode of transport. Secondly, we take care of the administrative part by preparing the different transport documents, invoices, customs documents and in certain situations we deal with disputes.

Moreover, I had the chance to develop a website to facilitate the management of our stocks and the organization of our shipments. This in order to be more efficient during our multimodal transports to the ships of the fleet.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I appreciate many aspects of the job I’ve been training for over a year. Firstly, the international aspect of my missions is for me a very interesting point, allowing me to travel from one end of the world to the other in a few minutes. Secondly, close to the first one, being constantly in contact with people from different cultures and different languages, and having to adapt to the customs of each one to deliver our ships on time, all this allows me to acquire an open mind. 

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

One fact that stands out for me daily is that when I arrived at the age of 19, I couldn’t believe that I was at LDA, organizing international transports to support the needs of the sailors and the ships, I found it incredible. A year later, I am still in awe of the opportunity to be in the group and to be able to serve 20 LDA vessels.

4) What is your motto ?

“Straight ahead, you can’t go very far.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Interview

Cécile BELLORD , Head of Legal & Insurance Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I have been a maritime lawyer since 1999, when I took the oath. After 7 years in a law firm, I left the bar to join the world of professional organizations and institutional relations: first as a lawyer for the French Federation of Maritime Pilots then Deputy General Delegate of Armateurs de France.

In 2017, I decided to join a more operational area in the shipping sector by becoming the Legal and Insurance Director of the LDA Group. The support and the trust of the senior management have enabled me to build a comprehensive and professional team to serve the entire group. In addition to the traditional scope of work of a legal and insurance department : company law, group structuring, development and management of contractual activity, support for financing operations and purchase, sale of vessels, underwriting and management of all the group’s insurance policies, litigation management, etc … the Legal & Insurance team brought a real “Risk management” dimension by identifying and evaluating the risks that the group faces and by implementing the best tools in order to master them.

Now, the Legal & Insurance department has become the reference partner in risk management, strategy support and for the group’s commercial development.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

Legal structuring of commercial projects is extremely exciting and makes it possible to give meaning to an activity that supports the group’s commercial developments.

This position allows me to have a transversal look at the activities and strategy of the group, thus strengthening my sense of belonging.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

I had the opportunity to step in the Erika case as the firm I worked for at the time represented the charterer. Which “Maritimist” would not have liked to participate in such an emblematic and historic case ?

4) What is your motto ?

Have a sense of effort

Interview

Augustin VANDENHOVE, Offshore Solution Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I grew up not far from Dunkerque and the seafaring profession seemed to be an obvious choice.

I started sailing on the bulk carrier Pierre LD in 2009 as a student and, from 2011, on the cable ships as a deck officer, cable officer and sometimes subsea pilot. I was then lucky enough to take charge of the end of the construction of the daughter craft Speed of Change built in La Ciotat, with which I then sailed for a few months around the islands of Port-Cros and Levant. This experience enabled me to become second captain and I therefore returned to the cable ships.

In 2020, I accepted a position on land to work hand in hand with our client ASN. It is a very interesting and rewarding experience that will end in 2022.  I will then start sailing again.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The job of a sailor is not for everyone, it is a rhythm of life that has a big impact on the sailor and his family, we are on land for a few months and are completely available then we are not there at all, and often not easily reachable. I really like this rhythm, I appreciate the fact that I have a task to do in a given time and then I can manage my time as I wish. Fortunately, this rhythm also suits my family, who appreciate my availability when I am on holiday.

During this onshore experience, it is totally different, I am available much more regularly but much less often. This allows me to plan events on a long-term basis. As a previous contributor said, during our time at headquarters we have time to enjoy the seasons. I smiled a little when he told me that. A year later, I have come to realise the full extent of this sentence.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

At sea, there is a lot: an arrival in Sydney, the northern lights, the Atlantic swell that more or less rocks the crew for a few weeks, but also the encounters with all these people around the world who are often happy to receive us and share with us.

On land, the discovery of teleworking, one month after arriving, was not an easy experience but I found my feet.

4) What is your motto ?

A ship that stays in port is not in danger but is not going anywhere.

Interview

Louey JEDER, Administrator and IT Security Project Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Passionate about IT, I decided to attend a school specialized in IT and offering work-study training course in 2018. I then applied to LDA, hope and perseverance were my two allies. I was hired as a systems and networks technician apprentice. I had the chance to evolve during my 4 years of apprenticeship and endorse the role of Network and Database Systems Administrators then IT Security Project Manager. I have carried out numerous missions on the Group’s ships: in Dunkerque, Calais, Singapore, Poland, on the Canary Islands, in Turkey … Louis Dreyfus Armateurs allowed me to acquire a lot of skills such as technical, linguistic and project management. Today, I have the pleasure of joining the group on a permanent contract as Administrator and IT Security Project Manager.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I was fortunate to be able to work in the IT support for users, which allowed me to have direct contact with the various collaborators. I was also sometimes among the first people to welcome newcomers and participate in their integration into the company. What I like most about this job is the vast scope of IT, the constant evolution of IT technologies and the maritime world, which is a field that I really liked for its greatness and diversity. Over the past few years, I have been able to participate in the development of several projects on board ships, in particular the implementation of the IT infrastructure of SOV, Wind Of Change, Wind of Hope ships and securing the systems of information on the entire fleet.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

Most of the time we operate remotely, but it’s really once you’re on board that you understand the needs and our responsibility within the company. I have, on several occasions, put on the work outfit, the helmet and the gloves, and been able to put myself in the same working conditions as the sailors while doing my job as a computer scientist. It is really a chance to be able to participate and especially to witness the various operations of the ships from the front row.

4) What is your motto ?

We all help steer the rudder !

Interview

Adrien QUEGUINER, Head of Engineering Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I majored in Product – Process – Management and graduated in 2010. I got hired as a designer by the company in which I had done my apprenticeship. It was a company specialized in the design and production of automated production systems in the food industry. A few years later, as I wanted to get to know new activities, I worked for a company designing and manufacturing quarry conveyors, still as a designer. I had the opportunity to perform on-site installations. The interest layed in seeing the product installed on field. As a designer, it allowed me to see the results of my labor and think about optimizing it. When the design activity was less demanding, I asked to intervene in quarries during technical stops. I welded, I installed structures, I wired engines… This allowed me to acquire new skills.

Then, through a friend of mine in the region of Nantes, I seized the chance to work in different sectors, performing different missions ranging from head of a design office to site manager, including head of production of large machined parts. These numerous experiences allowed me to design a wide variety of machines, to develop my expertise and to join the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) group.

Indeed, I joined LDA ten years ago. With my wife, we had decided to leave Nantes in France. In March 2013, I embarked on the cable ship Ile d’Aix in Calais as a submarine pilot. Becoming a sailor was a major life change and I have really enjoyed sailing during all these years. In 2017, at the request of the technical manager, I joined the group headquarters as a designer for the Quintillion Alaska project. We identified the blocking points and enabled their resolution. To follow up on this mission, I went on board the ship to perform tests.

Quintillion Project

LDA performed a challenging installation during the summer of 2017 in Northern Alaska for Alcatel Submarine Network. This was the first fiber network around Alaska: The Quintillion Subsea Network. The 16km segment was to be installed during the open water season which lasts 3 months in this region.

 In January 2018, I was back at sea in Calais and took my first steps as a subsea department manager on the cable ship Ile de Batz. But this second episode at sea was shortened for the needs of the integration project of the new plough on the vessel Ile de Ré. In 2019, I returned to work in the technical department. It is at this time that the design office of the LDA group was created. In November 2021, I took the head of the design office and became its manager. Today, we are a team of 6 and we are involved in many study projects.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The diversity of the subjects we work on and the fact that we contribute to the optimization of industrial operations. This makes it possible to measure customer satisfaction.
The feeling of success through the collective is a powerful driver.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

The project that made the biggest impression on me was the Quintillion project mentioned above. This project was very complex technically and operationally. The deadline for completion was extremely tight.
We managed to complete it on time!

4) What is your motto ?

Together to see better, further…

Interview

Lucie MARRON , Documentalist in the Engineering, Projects, Innovation (EPI) department- LDA

1) Could you tell us about your education? And what motivated your choice of studies?

I attended several conferences given by oceanographers during the Fête de la Science in Paris, my hometown. It made me want to study the ocean after my scientific baccalaureate (highschool graduation). I followed the training of marine environmental engineering technician at INTECHMER, then I continued my studies in marine ecology, up to a master degree. During my studies, I interned within the research institutions of the University of La Rochelle, the University of Bordeaux, Ifremer and the Institute of Research for Development.

I also volunteered as a guide in the Bay of the Somme and in nature reserves in Gironde, Vendée and Loire Atlantique.

2) Could you summarize your career path and present your current position?

The job market in marine ecology research being very limited, I converted to information-documentation management.

I joined LDA a little over a year ago, in the Engineering, Projects, Innovation (EPI) department as a Documentalist. I manage the department’s regulatory and quality documentation – filing, formatting, subscriptions, updates -, participate in the monitoring and reading of innovative subjects, and feed the intranet section dedicated to EPI. Moreover, I am part of the cross-functional team that is preparing the company’s environment week in June.

3) What do you particularly appreciate in your job?

Learning and discovering a new sector such as the maritime transport.

4) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an outstanding fact to share?

During the internship at Ifremer in Brest, I embarked on the scientific vessel “La Thalassa” for a month for the PELGAS 15 fisheries campaign to determine the stocks of anchovies and sardines in the Bay of Biscay. I was in the team that identified and counted the fish eggs.

As a Fisheries Observer at the Oceanic Developpement research office, I embarked on coastal trawlers for the scientific program OBSMER of Ifremer. I took notes of the data on the fish caught and discarded: species, weight, size, number.

These two experiences allowed me to fulfill my dream of scientific adventures at sea.

5)  In the context of the Women in Science Day, do you have a message that you would like to pass on?

To overcome the fears that can self-censor us and to be ready to take a roundabout way. There is not only one possible way to live your passions, but several.

Interview

Augustin LIEBARD, Logistics Coordinator – LDA

1)  Could you summarize your background and present your current position?

After a scientific baccalaureate, I spent a year in humanitarian service in French Polynesia. After this enriching experience with the inhabitants of these islands, I came back to France for my undergraduate studies in transportation and associated logistics management. I had the chance to join Louis Dreyfus Armateurs as an apprentice as a Logistics Coordinator for a two-year cycle within the technical department.

The daily missions carried out at the logistics department are organized in two main areas. Planning and coordination for the shipment and transportation of parts to the technical vessels of the fleet. We draw up packing lists and determine the optimal mode of transport. Secondly, we take care of the administrative part by preparing the different transport documents, invoices, customs documents and in certain situations we deal with disputes.

Moreover, I had the chance to develop a website to facilitate the management of our stocks and the organization of our shipments. This in order to be more efficient during our multimodal transports to the ships of the fleet.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I appreciate many aspects of the job I’ve been training for over a year. Firstly, the international aspect of my missions is for me a very interesting point, allowing me to travel from one end of the world to the other in a few minutes. Secondly, close to the first one, being constantly in contact with people from different cultures and different languages, and having to adapt to the customs of each one to deliver our ships on time, all this allows me to acquire an open mind. 

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

One fact that stands out for me daily is that when I arrived at the age of 19, I couldn’t believe that I was at LDA, organizing international transports to support the needs of the sailors and the ships, I found it incredible. A year later, I am still in awe of the opportunity to be in the group and to be able to serve 20 LDA vessels.

4) What is your motto ?

“Straight ahead, you can’t go very far.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Interview

Cécile BELLORD , Head of Legal & Insurance Department – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I have been a maritime lawyer since 1999, when I took the oath. After 7 years in a law firm, I left the bar to join the world of professional organizations and institutional relations: first as a lawyer for the French Federation of Maritime Pilots then Deputy General Delegate of Armateurs de France.

In 2017, I decided to join a more operational area in the shipping sector by becoming the Legal and Insurance Director of the LDA Group. The support and the trust of the senior management have enabled me to build a comprehensive and professional team to serve the entire group. In addition to the traditional scope of work of a legal and insurance department : company law, group structuring, development and management of contractual activity, support for financing operations and purchase, sale of vessels, underwriting and management of all the group’s insurance policies, litigation management, etc … the Legal & Insurance team brought a real “Risk management” dimension by identifying and evaluating the risks that the group faces and by implementing the best tools in order to master them.

Now, the Legal & Insurance department has become the reference partner in risk management, strategy support and for the group’s commercial development.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

Legal structuring of commercial projects is extremely exciting and makes it possible to give meaning to an activity that supports the group’s commercial developments.

This position allows me to have a transversal look at the activities and strategy of the group, thus strengthening my sense of belonging.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

I had the opportunity to step in the Erika case as the firm I worked for at the time represented the charterer. Which “Maritimist” would not have liked to participate in such an emblematic and historic case ?

4) What is your motto ?

Have a sense of effort

Interview

Augustin VANDENHOVE, Offshore Solution Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

I grew up not far from Dunkerque and the seafaring profession seemed to be an obvious choice.

I started sailing on the bulk carrier Pierre LD in 2009 as a student and, from 2011, on the cable ships as a deck officer, cable officer and sometimes subsea pilot. I was then lucky enough to take charge of the end of the construction of the daughter craft Speed of Change built in La Ciotat, with which I then sailed for a few months around the islands of Port-Cros and Levant. This experience enabled me to become second captain and I therefore returned to the cable ships.

In 2020, I accepted a position on land to work hand in hand with our client ASN. It is a very interesting and rewarding experience that will end in 2022.  I will then start sailing again.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

The job of a sailor is not for everyone, it is a rhythm of life that has a big impact on the sailor and his family, we are on land for a few months and are completely available then we are not there at all, and often not easily reachable. I really like this rhythm, I appreciate the fact that I have a task to do in a given time and then I can manage my time as I wish. Fortunately, this rhythm also suits my family, who appreciate my availability when I am on holiday.

During this onshore experience, it is totally different, I am available much more regularly but much less often. This allows me to plan events on a long-term basis. As a previous contributor said, during our time at headquarters we have time to enjoy the seasons. I smiled a little when he told me that. A year later, I have come to realise the full extent of this sentence.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

At sea, there is a lot: an arrival in Sydney, the northern lights, the Atlantic swell that more or less rocks the crew for a few weeks, but also the encounters with all these people around the world who are often happy to receive us and share with us.

On land, the discovery of teleworking, one month after arriving, was not an easy experience but I found my feet.

4) What is your motto ?

A ship that stays in port is not in danger but is not going anywhere.

Interview

Louey JEDER, Administrator and IT Security Project Manager – LDA

1) Could you summarise your career path and present your current position? If you have evolved within LDA, could you please specify it?

Passionate about IT, I decided to attend a school specialized in IT and offering work-study training course in 2018. I then applied to LDA, hope and perseverance were my two allies. I was hired as a systems and networks technician apprentice. I had the chance to evolve during my 4 years of apprenticeship and endorse the role of Network and Database Systems Administrators then IT Security Project Manager. I have carried out numerous missions on the Group’s ships: in Dunkerque, Calais, Singapore, Poland, on the Canary Islands, in Turkey … Louis Dreyfus Armateurs allowed me to acquire a lot of skills such as technical, linguistic and project management. Today, I have the pleasure of joining the group on a permanent contract as Administrator and IT Security Project Manager.

2) What do you particularly like about your job?

I was fortunate to be able to work in the IT support for users, which allowed me to have direct contact with the various collaborators. I was also sometimes among the first people to welcome newcomers and participate in their integration into the company. What I like most about this job is the vast scope of IT, the constant evolution of IT technologies and the maritime world, which is a field that I really liked for its greatness and diversity. Over the past few years, I have been able to participate in the development of several projects on board ships, in particular the implementation of the IT infrastructure of SOV, Wind Of Change, Wind of Hope ships and securing the systems of information on the entire fleet.

3) About your job: would you have an anecdote or an important fact to share?

Most of the time we operate remotely, but it’s really once you’re on board that you understand the needs and our responsibility within the company. I have, on several occasions, put on the work outfit, the helmet and the gloves, and been able to put myself in the same working conditions as the sailors while doing my job as a computer scientist. It is really a chance to be able to participate and especially to witness the various operations of the ships from the front row.

4) What is your motto ?

We all help steer the rudder !