"1 Woman, 1 Passion" podcasts - Episode#4: Sophie Sidos, President of the Louis Vicat Foundation and of the Medef Isère
Valérie Bokobza: Hello everyone. I am Valérie Bokobza, Head of Development at Societe Generale Private Banking and I am delighted to present a new episode of "1 woman, 1 passion". The objective is to share the story of an inspiring woman who is moving the lines. Today, I am hosting Sophie Sidos. Hello Sophie.
Sophie Sidos: Hello Valérie.
Valerie Bokobza: You are president of the Louis Vicat Foundation and you represent the seventh generation of descendants of Louis Vicat, the inventor of artificial cement. Passionate about entrepreneurship, you were be appointed Head of the “Medef” employers’ union(1) for the Isère “department” (South East of France). In 2020, you received the Legion of Honor(2) for your unwavering commitment to the inclusion and professional integration of the most vulnerable. You are a woman of commitment and struggle. Can you tell us why you decided to create a foundation and what causes are important to you?
Sophie Sidos: Yes, thank you. The reason is the bicentenary, the 200th anniversary, of the invention of artificial cement by my ancestor, Louis Vicat. Louis Vicat invented this process in 1817. He did not patent it, he gave it to the community, and 200 years later, I realized that it was important to turn a page and create a foundation. A foundation with three objectives: to make Louis Vicat's scientific work known, to preserve our heritage, and finally, and this is the most important one for me, to show solidarity with the most vulnerable and to promote education, particularly in the field of disability and cystic fibrosis.
Valérie Bokobza: What are the passions that drive you and that you would like to share with us?
Sophie Sidos: My first passion, obviously, is that of my profession, of concrete, of cement, and I like to share it. I like my commitments, my commitment to Medef: I am convinced of the role of companies in meeting the challenges of a modern world. In fact, everything interests me. I am naturally very curious, I am very altruistic, I love others, I love people, I especially love the most fragile. For example, I like Café Joyeux(3), I like to share with them. I like sports, I like women's sports, we are lucky in Lyon, we have an exceptional women's OL (Olympique Lyonnais) football team, they are great champions. I like to go and see them, I like to go and see them with my colleagues. And I love music, I love my festival, the Berlioz festival, on my territory. Moreover, last Summer, with Brigitte Chagneau, co-president of the Benvenuto club, we I tried to attract a maximum of young people far from employment, and a maximum of collaborators of my group and notably of female collaborators, on this superb festival.
Valérie Bokobza: Beautiful. What accelerated your success and who are the women who inspired you?
Sophie Sidos: Wow... Well, there are lots and lots of women! Already, in my family, Solange Merceron-Vicat, who was the sister of my great-grandfather, who was involved in women's trade unionism in Isère even though she came from a family of entrepreneurs. And then great women such as Marie Curie, a great scientist who has a lot in common with Louis Vicat, who did not patent, who received two Nobel Prizes, who fought, above all, to make science discover, to advance science, and also, humanly, who saved thousands of people, millions of people... Moreover, afterwards she, herself, opened the way for us, with her daughter. I like this succession of women who leave a trace... who leave a trace, a legacy, a heritage to their children.
Valérie Bokobza: What advice do you wish someone had given you, as a woman at the beginning of your career?
Sophie Sidos: Well… Dare, dare, dare, dare! Too often, women imagine a glass ceiling, because they are women, which prevents them from acting. Fortunately, things are changing. Nothing is ever taken for granted, you have to dare, you have to move forward.
Valérie Bokobza : Thank you for this beautiful message, Sophie. What has Covid fundamentally changed for you?
Sophie Sidos: It brought a different way of working, of course, with the increased use of digital tools. For us at Vicat, it means strengthening our attachment to the region, because we have closed our Paris headquarters, relocated, moved, and returned to our home region of Nord-Isère, to Isle-d'Abeau. And I am very proud to be in my area, to be active in my area. I am also very sensitive to issues of health and well-being in the workplace, all these CSR(4) issues, which I support through the foundation, and which are essential today.
Valérie Bokobza: And finally, what are your wishes for the 21st century?
Sophie Sidos: Well, to take up the challenge of climate change, by building a more united world, by overcoming our individual or collective egoism. A world with less carbon, more biodiversity, more altruism!
Valérie Bokobza: Thank you very much for this wonderful program and see you soon for a next podcast of "1 woman, 1 passion".
Sophie Sidos: Thank you to Societe Genearle Private Banking, thank you for this great opportunity!
(1) Medef means “Mouvement des entreprises françaises » ; it is an employers’ organization representing French companies.
(2) The highest French decoration
(3) Café Joyeux is a family of coffee shops that trains and employs waiters and cooks with mental or cognitive disabilities.
(4) Corporate Social Responsibility
GENERAL WARNING:
Societe Generale Private Banking is the business line of the Societe Generale Group operating through its headquarters within Societe Generale S.A. and through departments, branches or subsidiaries, located in the territories mentioned below, acting under the brand name "Societe Generale Private Banking" and distributing the present document.
This document is an advertisement and has no contractual value. Its content is not intended to provide an investment service, nor does it constitute investment advice or a personalized recommendation on a financial product, nor insurance advice or a personalized recommendation, nor a solicitation of any kind, nor legal, accounting or tax advice from any entity under the responsibility of Société Générale Private Banking.
The information contained herein is provided for information purposes only, is subject to change without notice, and is intended to provide information that may be useful in making a decision. The information on past performance that may be reproduced does not guarantee future performance.
The private bankers of Société Générale Private Banking entities are available to provide potential investors with further information on the variations of the themes presented in this document within the Société Générale Private Banking entity concerned.
This document is confidential, intended exclusively for the person consulting it, and may not be communicated or brought to the attention of third parties, nor may it be reproduced in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the Société Générale Private Banking entity concerned.
No Société Générale Private Banking entity can be held responsible for any decision made by an investor based solely on the information contained in this document.
Societe Generale Group maintains an effective administrative organization that takes all necessary measures to identify, control and manage conflicts of interest. To this end, Societe Generale Private Banking entities have put in place a conflict of interest management policy to manage and prevent conflicts of interest. For more details, Société Générale Private Banking clients can refer to the Conflict of Interest Policy available on request from their private banker.
S ociété Générale Private Banking has also implemented a policy of d he processing of claimsmade pa available on request from their private banker or on the Société Générale Private Banking website.
SPECIFIC WARNINGS BY JURISDICTION
France: Unless expressly stated otherwise, this document is published and distributed by Société Générale, a French bank authorized and supervised by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, located at 4, place de Budapest, CS 92459, 75436 Paris Cedex 09, under the prudential supervision of the European Central Bank ("ECB") and registered with the ORIAS as an insurance intermediary under the number 07 022 493 orias.fr Societe Generale is a French société anonyme with a capital of EUR 1 066 714 367,50 as of August 1, 2019, whose registered office is located at 29, boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, and whose unique identification number is 552 120 222 R.C.S. Paris. Further details are available on request or at www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
Luxembourg: This document is distributed in Luxembourg by Société Générale Luxembourg, a public limited company registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B 6061 and a credit institution authorized and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier ("CSSF"), under the prudential supervision of the European Central Bank ("ECB"), and whose registered office is located at 11, avenue Emile Reuter - L 2420 Luxembourg Further details are available on request or at www.societegenerale.lu. No investment decision of any kind should be made on the basis of this document alone. Société Générale Luxembourg accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or otherwise of the information contained in this document. Societe Generale Luxembourg accepts no responsibility for any actions taken by the recipient of this document solely on the basis of this document, and Societe Generale Luxembourg does not represent itself as providing any advice, in particular with respect to investment services. The opinions, views and forecasts expressed in this document (including its annexes) reflect the personal opinions of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions of any other person or of Société Générale Luxembourg, unless otherwise indicated. This document has been prepared by Societe Generale. The CSSF has not carried out any analysis, verification or control on the content of this document.
Monaco: This document is distributed in Monaco by Société Générale Private Banking (Monaco) S.A.M., located at 11 avenue de Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco, Principality of Monaco, regulated by the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières. Financial products marketed in Monaco may be reserved for qualified investors in accordance with the provisions of Law n° 1.339 of 07/09/2007 and Sovereign Order n° 1. 285 of 10/09/2007. Further details are available on request or at www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
Switzerland: This document is distributed in Switzerland by SOCIETE GENERALE Private Banking (Suisse) SA ("SGPBS"), headquartered at rue du Rhône 8, CH-1204 Geneva, Switzerland. SGPBS is a bank authorized by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ("FINMA"). Collective investments and structured products may only be offered in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (Collective Investment Schemes Act, CISA) of June 23, 2006, and the Guidelines of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) on Information for Investors in Structured Products. Further details are available on request from SGPBS or at www.privatebanking.societegenerale.com.
This document is not distributed by the entities of the Kleinwort Hambros Group that operate under the brand name "Kleinwort Hambros" in the United Kingdom (SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank Limited), Jersey and Guernsey (SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank (CI) Limited) and Gibraltar (SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank (Gibraltar) Limited) Consequently, the information communicated and any offers, activities and financial information presented do not concern these entities and may not be authorized by these entities or adapted in these territories. Further information on the activities of Societe Generale's private banking entities located in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Gibraltar, including additional legal and regulatory information, is available at www.kleinworthambros.com.
In the galaxy of works and objects circulating on the art market, in painting, what is meant by the name “Ancient...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking at Societe Generale Private Banking, with Nathalie Obadia,...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking at Société Générale Private Banking, with Nathalie Obadia,...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat. Nathalie Obadia is a gallery owner specializing in contemporary art, with galleries in...
The 2023 French wine futures campaign — Bordeaux En Primeurs 2023 — held in late April 2024, presented a vintage...