From January 2,
bpifrance
has a new executive director of communications.
Julien Noronha
succeeds
Patrice Begay
. He was one of his predecessor’s key men to orchestrate the public investment bank’s four-year-long events, content and digital strategy. The house, he acknowledges, “left me a lot of freedom to develop the division I was responsible for”. Under his leadership, his department has grown from 6 to 40 people responsible for the multiplication of events and tours to promote entrepreneurship throughout France, including in popular districts.
It was the hub of
Great
, a working day that brings together 50,000 people at the Acor Arena every year to participate in hundreds of workshops or conferences. Significant memories for the 39-year-old promoted who also piloted the restyling of the websites bpifrance for reasons of clarity and ease of access to information. “Developing a series of topics that were proposed to me or that were requested of me, I experienced a real entrepreneurial adventure internally”, she says with satisfaction.
Entrepreneurship in the blood
This taste for entrepreneurial freedom has its origin in the family history of Julien Noronha. Father of Indian descent, mother Italians, they started buying in the early 80s a restaurant where they had started as waiters. Gradually they formed a small group of festive establishments in Paris. “Entrepreneurship is in my blood. When I was two, I was already hearing TVA talks at dinner! laughs this hiking enthusiast who has already covered the 930 kilometers of the road to Santiago de Compostela.
At 16, he dropped out of school, just a zip code in accounting, to run a family dinner show. Realizing his shortcomings in the business world, he resumed his studies to earn a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from the Novancia Business School. As a work-study student, he did not abandon the professional field, however, chaining positions in various companies. His adaptability is his strength, says Julie Galeski, head of “Web content” at Bpifrance: “Easy to approach, he knows how to communicate with people from different backgrounds. He is a good manager, calm and determined, who inspires confidence because he masters many subjects ”.
The taste of transmission
In 2010, Julien Noronha fulfilled his dream by throwing a box with three schoolmates, Alexandra Bekka, Thomas Benzazon and Mustafa Curlu.
Widoobiz
is a web radio dedicated to the world of startups. Him and his Associates having their 750 euros of unemployment as their only resource, they initially had nidea clear on economic model. To ensure a decent income, Julien Noronha conducts entrepreneurship seminars at Novancia, which has noted his ability to convey messages. Discovering a real taste for teaching, the startupper lectures at IFAG Paris and at Telecom Paris Tech, in particular. At the same time, he advises young people through the associations 100,000 entrepreneurs, Entreprendre pour Learn and
Moovjee
. So,
Business France
(ex Ubifrance) identified him and offered to develop web radio and other communication channels. This contract leads to others of the same nature.
After finding its model, Widoobiz takes off and employs up to 20 people. In 2017, the four partners
resell the company to the PeopletoPeople group
, of which Julien Noronha assumes the vice presidency. A year later, he negotiated his departure to join Bpifrance, which offered him a position of responsibility within the communications department. We know the rest. A man in the industry, committed to concrete results, he is ready to take on his new role: to promote entrepreneurship to a large audience, and especially to those who, tempted to start up, need the right support to take the plunge. . The public bank changes its director but not its communication strategy.