UP CLOSE … with Laurent Hoareau, management consultant with Ernst & Young in Perth, Australia |26 November 2019
Laurent Hoareau
‘Have realistic goals, believe in yourself, keep pushing no matter how hard’
Aged only 25 years old, his journey to a successful career has been through tough university studies and lots of personnel sacrifices. Faced with all manner of challenges, he remained focused, determined and motivated, and is a great inspiration and an example to follow by other young people.
He is Laurent Hoareau, currently working as a management consultant with Ernst & Young in Perth, Australia and I was really curious to know more about him after someone put me in touch with him last week noting that his story was a really interesting and inspirational one.
Memorable childhood years, school days and university studies
Laurent grew up at Au Cap on Mahé, the only place he said he has known as a child.
“It was a great place and as a kid I spent my days playing football with my younger brother and dad or we would go fishing on the rocks – it was the best childhood I could ask for. I’m from a family of 5, with two younger brothers and we grew up as a close-knit team for most of my childhood. Looking back, I would say that my parents instilled some good values in myself and my brothers. As kids, my mom taught us how to think with our hearts and my dad taught us how to think with our minds – it’s a perfect balance that I employ in my day-to-day life,” said the young man.
Laurent, who attended mostly Independent School, said he was never a very bookish student.
“I remember studying a day or two before exams and you can imagine how that went. I was always looking for the right ways to do the wrong things throughout school. I went to boarding in India at the age of 15, and I must say that I learnt mental toughness there. Boarding school really taught me how to face adversity, rise and keep moving forward which I think is important to highlight because I still use the same mindset today,” said Laurent.
“I would say my determination and attitude towards school changed at the age of 17 after a promise I made to myself and a special person back then. I went to Sals (School of Advanced Level Studies) and managed to make conditional grades to get into Actuarial Science at university – I had to maintain an 80% grade average to remain on the course, which somehow, I managed to do. The Actuarial Science course had only a 25% pass-rate back then, which means that most students would drop out towards the end given the rigorous nature of the exams – it is considered one of the hardest degrees to take on at university,” Laurent recounted.
Actuarial Science is the discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to assess risk in insurance, finance and other industries and professions.
Laurent still recalls the kind of student he was.
“I was always getting into trouble and liked to joke around more than being serious. I carried that mentality till I was 17 – I think it is important to highlight that anyone can have a shift in mindset and change his or her life and attitude. As for me I only started applying myself more seriously as I neared the end of my studies at Sals and I am really glad I did,” he mused.
Childhood dreams and career interests
“Growing up I was always fascinated by the stock markets and how people could make a fortune over stocks.
“I maintained the interest and I invested heavily in the stock markets. I enjoy reading this is how I find my inspiration and I am really fascinated by ancient history. But more recently, I’ve started to develop an interest in politics and foreign policies,” Laurent said.
Like any young man Laurent also enjoys playing football but he likes to work out in the gym every morning.
Laurent explained that his short life, education and career journey has not been a straight and even one and it has taken a full 360° turn on many occasions.
“It’s been full of pivotal events that shaped me into the person I am today – I’m grateful it all happened the way it did. I decided I wanted to move to Australia at 17 for university (six months before my A-level exams). As I mentioned, it was through a promise I made to a person and myself that really got me working towards moving to Australia and starting university there which I did in February 2013. I developed a passion for mathematics and found myself to be relatively good at it in a short period of time, so I told my father that I would like to be like him and do what he did (he was a banker at that time), so my dad suggested Actuarial Science and said that it’s a lot better than what he studied and the career opportunities are plentiful and that its one of the highest paying professions (not that money was my goal, it was more my love for maths).
My dad also warned me it was going to be a challenge and an extremely difficult course,” Laurent recalled.
“But I’m always up for a challenge and I enjoy hard work, so I didn’t back down. I used my boarding school days to push me. I remember telling myself that if I had gone through boarding school, then I could go through anything. So, after graduating with great grades at university, I started working at the largest National Health Insurer in Australia as an actuarial analyst and I was fortunate enough to be selected for a young leadership programme that helped me raise my profile in the organisation. I did two years in insurance before moving to Commonwealth Bank (Australia’s largest bank) as a fraud analyst. I was later approached by the insurer to come back – the conditions were right, so I moved back for a year. I decided at some point that I would like to get into consulting. Consulting is extremely hard to break into but once you’re in, it’s like you’re part of a little exclusive club, so my challenge was finding out how to get into that circle. Through strategic hard-work, I was fortunate enough to land a position at Ernst & Young (big four professional services firm) in September this year and that’s where I’ve been since,” Laurent recounted.
Ernst & Young is a global private top-tier consulting firm and Laurent is primarily based in Perth but travels a lot as part of his job.
“In addition to my full-time job, I’m also the treasurer for Perth Young Professionals – the largest not-for-profit organisation responsible for connecting young professionals in Perth. It’s an extremely interesting thing to be a part of and I’ve learnt so many skills. I’ve moderated events with over 200+ attendees and it has definitely helped my career. It’s really a great position to be in and I’m extremely blessed,” Laurent admitted.
He admitted though that as a student in Seychelles he never really took part in many activities, something he said he should have done. But in Australia he is very active in all aspects, especially in business-related projects.
A firm believer that everything plays out for a reason, Laurent believes it was his dream as well as circumstances that landed him where he is today.
“I miss my family so much but I busy myself with hard work.”
Consultant for Ernst & Young
As a consultant at one of the big four firms, Laurent said this can be extremely stressful.
“I’m usually on clients’ sites and helping them solve some of the most complex organisational problems relating to data and finance. The job stretches me a lot and keeps my mind sharp. Being a consultant for Ernst & Young is highly regarded in the western world, so there are high expectations in the quality of work you deliver, everything is scrutinised; from the way you talk to the way you walk. It is something I had never experienced or seen in my life but I’m learning a lot on that and the truth is I am enjoying it.”
Laurent explained that consulting requires you to get across a lot of information in a relatively short period of time and have a solution for the problem which is something he enjoys doing.
“I run presentations and design thinking sessions regularly and my team and I are often presenting information to executives of global companies across Australia. Alongside having my full-time job, I maintain the budget for the other organisation I work for and often moderate panel events and host networking events.”
The young man says he is usually up at 5am for a gym work-out before getting ready for work where he clocks in at 7:30am and leaves office at around 7pm.
“I’d usually get to the office, have a cup of coffee and from there I head to whichever client site I’m working on. There is no ‘normal’ day at work, every single day is different and there is always a new problem to solve – something I enjoy. I try to get the most important meetings and clients’ work done in the morning and I leave the afternoon for smaller tasks.
“I work long hours and I’m part of many things outside of work, so I try to get to the gym at 5am. I do boxing on Wednesday nights and I try to make some time for football on Monday nights. Physical activity is very important to me because a healthy body means a healthy mind,” he remarked.
Laurent, who enjoys his work very much, believes he is on the road to happiness.
“In terms of my professional life, I am fulfilled and satisfied. I know there is a lot more to come and that keeps me grounded.”
An extremely ambitious person with a competitive nature he says his father has always been his biggest model, the person he benchmark himself with.
“I also think that every adversity I face fuels me even more. I’ve got big plans for my family and people close to me, so that is certainly a motivation factor for me and drives my ambition.”
Plans for the future, social life
From a professional stand-point, Laurent said he would love to stay with Ernst & Young for a while. “I’m in a great space and I’m learning a lot, so I hope to remain there. I’d love to do some travelling with the organisation before returning to Seychelles in a few years. I’d like to establish a few businesses here in Perth alongside work but I won’t go into too much detail about that. I’ll let it kick-off first before publicising,” he remarked.
Laurent said he would love to bring his experience back to Seychelles.
“I have big plans for Seychelles, and I’ve got ideas that I hope to implement back home. However, I think the biggest challenge back home is finding the right team; it’s difficult to find a team that is trustworthy, hardworking and open to new ideas in Seychelles. At the moment, I’m going to focus on my goals here in Australia – there are many things I would like to accomplish here first,” he highlighted.
“Eventually, I would like to move back to Seychelles – I have a lot of ideas and experiences that I think would benefit the business scene.”
He noted that he has a lot he would like to accomplish in his life. “I think if I keep doing what I’m doing, then the future looks promising.”
A serious and hardworking young man, Laurent admits he does not have a huge circle of friends.
“I prefer it that way. I have people I talk to and occasionally go out with. I’d say I have one close friend who, although lives in Seychelles, is someone I can rely on when going through difficulties and vice versa and is someone I can call whenever I need to talk.
“But I’d say I have a great support system here in Australia, people who I can rely on for honest feedback, who have my best interest at heart and motivate me to do better – that’s very important to me,” said Laurent.
Laurent admits he has developed a great enjoyment for reading.
“I have learnt many things about life through books, and it’s something I prioritise whenever I have some spare time. I would encourage it to everyone. I enjoy reading ancient history. I think we can learn a lot by reading history. I also enjoy languages and take a few Spanish classes here and there, but nothing major. I cannot recall the last time I watched TV,” Laurent remarked.
He said he does not have much time to laze as he works most weekends. He tries his best to talk to members of his family in Seychelles every evening.
“They’re the most important persons in my life and most of my decisions are based around them. We’ve gone through a lot as a family and I would say they’re the reason I get up in the morning and do what I do. I’m extremely fortunate to have my brother in Australia with me, but we’re both very busy so we don’t hang out as much as I’d like to.’’
Even though he is only 25, Laurent said he does not socialise much but he does enjoy having a good time every now and then and to celebrate success.
With regard to family values and marriage, Laurent believes they are extremely important, if not the most important values for him.
“The quality of your life is heavily influenced by the quality of the relationship you have with your kids and your spouse. Marriage is meant to be a lifelong commitment and is probably the biggest commitment you’ll ever make to another person. It has a lot to do with the values, integrity and morals your parents instilled in you as a child. It’s a sensitive topic but it’s essentially those three things that dictate the strength of a family. I think not many people are willing to fight for a relationship, and when things get a little hard they give up – this might have been a little different with the older generation.”
By Marie-Anne Lepathy
