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Interview of the Month – March 2004:
Interview of the Month: Vincent Toesca (ESSEC 99)
Q: What is your background?
I am Co-founder and Director, Client Services for Antepo, Inc. We provide
Instant Messaging software to telecommunication companies, financial
institutions and diversified companies in the US and internationally. The
company is New York-based. We started it more than four years ago.
Although we signed our first customers in Europe, we decided to focus on
the North American market in 2002. We relocated everyone here in New
York, including myself! We have been pretty successful doing so, logging
marquee customers such as Comcast, Merrill Lynch and Sprint over the
past year. Prior to this, straight out of ESSEC, I worked as Consultant for
the META Group in France and Belgium. And before graduating from ESSEC
as AST, I had received a BA in Political Sciences from Institut d'Etudes
Politiques in Strasbourg.
Q: Why did you decide to come and stay here?
It is a combination of opportunity, timing and... luck as well, because I
really enjoy living here. The primary driver was to grow our business here.
North-American companies are far more receptive to the software solutions
we market than anywhere else. Then, other Antepo co-founders were
already established in New York and the US had proved to be businessfriendly
to us. Eventually and personally, I had spent some time in New
York before, liked it a lot and my gut feeling was I would settle down here
at some point. Done.
Q: What advice would you give to ESSEC graduates who would like
to come to work here?
Take your chance. Don't be shy! It may be intimidating at first but you can
make your way here. The hardest part is certainly to find a company,
French or not, that can sponsor you for a visa. Then it's up to you. I think
working and living here is pretty binary: you like it or you hate it. I had
previously worked for a US organization so I was familiar with the mindset:
tough, competitive but rewarding. The rules are clear, if not blunt, but you
can achieve more in less time than in Europe.
Q: How do you think your ESSEC background helped you to be
where you are?
I think ESSEC helps think out of the box. That's something I already liked
about it: it gives much more room than other schools to the individuality,
sense of initiative and endeavor while delivering excellent education and
promoting the values to teamwork. I remember ESSEC as a spirited
community.
Q: What do you consider as your role in the ESSEC family?
Frankly, my role has been pretty limited so far, essentially due to tight
schedules. However I must confess I am delightfully surprised by the
activity of ESSEC USA. I just need to find more time to get involved!
Thank you Vincent…
To find more about Antepo
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