Francois Gauthier
Talent Acquisition Manager, Ubisoft

1. Do you remember a time when you were happiest as a child? Where were you, who were you with and what were you doing?
Weirdly, it involves the smell of gasoline.
As a kid I grew up in the French Alps and I went skiing every winter weekend with the ski club. After every session we had a strawberry or chocolate donut, and a carton of apple juice with a straw. The bunch of random kids, my sister and I were snacking on the side of the bus, on a parking lot, while looking at the city down below. We were exhausted from the ski session, and happy to have a snack before sleeping in the bus that will bring us back home.
Every time I smell a mix of gasoline and snow, I think about these snacks on the parking lot, and it makes me happy.
2. Who was your favourite teacher at school? What did you learn from that person?
I’ve learned the importance of telling a story when I was 14.
My favorite teacher was Mr Hudry, he was my history and geography teacher. I wasn’t passionate about history and geography, but he was. He was vibing when we gave us lectures. He transmitted his thirst for knowledge, and every lesson was a show to me. He had a talent for narration. He knew how to make basic history facts exciting. With Mr Hudry, I’ve learned that every topic can be interesting to listen to if the speaker is passionate enough about the topic he is speaking about. Narration is everything. It’s all about the story you’re telling the audience.
3. What habit or behaviour or belief have you recently acquired? Why is it now in your life?
I decided to drastically limit my exposure to screens.
My phone is tracking the time I spend on each app, and I realized I can spend up to 2 hours per day on social media, doing nothing but scrolling! I’ve uninstalled all social media apps from my iPad. I’ve uninstalled Facebook from my phone, and I added a timer to Instagram and Twitter to limit my consumption of social medias to 20 minutes per day.
During workdays, I stay away from screens when I take breaks: I drink water, eat a fruit, clean the dishes, listen to the news on the radio… I’ve added a Chrome Extension named Go Fucking Work to my internet browser to help me get more productive. It also helps me take breaks away from screens.
It had a big impact on my daily life: at work I am more productive, and in my personal life I’m less tired. Scarcity makes every little moment on social media more enjoyable. Opening social media apps is now a pleasure and not a bad reflex when I’m bored.
4. What are the three books that you would unhesitatingly recommend to others? Why?
Surprisingly, there are two comic books amongst the 3 books I would recommend to anyone.
Calvin & Hobbes from Bill Waterson.
These comic strips were published in newspapers during the 80’s and the 90’s, and it is an inexhaustible source of wisdom, even today. You see the world through the eyes of a 6 years old kid and his stuffed tiger, and everything becomes simple and absurd and poetic and chaotic at the same time. Every panel is smart and beautiful. It feels good to be a kid again. Bill Watterson published long-format, colorized panels every Sundays, these are my favorites.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters, from Emil Ferris.
It is a graphic novel about a young girl solving a crime in Chicago during the 60s. The art is sublime. The story is captivating. I’ve always wanted to live in Chicago (I’ve seen the Blues Brothers movie at least 20 times when I was a kid, that may have had an impact) – with Emil Ferris’ book, I could almost feel the ambiance of the city, that’s awesome work and I can’t wait for her 2nd book!

If you really don’t like comics and graphics novel, then you’ve got to read The Prophet from Gibran Khalil Gibran. It is a short and poetic book that speaks directly to your heart. Don’t miss it.
5. If you wrote a ‘user manual’ for how people should interact with you, what would be the most important point in the manual?
I am a conflict averse person. If you try to start an aggressive argument with me, I will just stand up and leave the room. Then I will overthink our conversation for 7 years straight, trying to find what I did wrong, blaming myself for turning you angry, even if you were just a random jerk.
6. What’s one misconception people generally have about you?
I am not an extrovert. Because I’m a Recruiter and I am always enthusiastic, people think I’m an extrovert. I am very shy and introverted. Large meetings are making me nervous, I hate crowded places, I’ve been living alone for 10 years, sometimes I leave parties to go back home and do nothing, I think holidays are stressful, I can spend weekends alone speaking to no one and it does not bother me, I love eating alone at restaurants… despite the appearances, I’m a false extrovert.

7. On what topic would you never make a joke?
“You can laugh about everything but not with everyone” is a famous Pierre Desproges’ sentence that really sums it up. I will make a joke on any topic if I know my joke is not overly offensive to the person I am speaking. Know your audience, always.
8. Have you always had the same political beliefs? If so, why do you think you have held them so long? If not, what event caused you to change your view?
My political beliefs changed overtime – they soften.
As a kid I repeated what I’ve heard the night before at the dinner table. Then, as a teenager I got politicized by my friends, went to protests, went to political meetings, it was some kind of rite of passage to adulthood. Then I started working, I had new people around me, I realized things are more complex and it is OK to think differently.
When I take a step back I realize I am not the same person I was 5 years ago when I was a student, not the same person I was 10 years ago when I was a teenager, not the same person I was 20 years ago when I was a kid. I’ve realized I’ve changed, my views changed, what I believed was the truth was only a matter of perspective.
I started doubting my political views around 20, because who knows what I will be thinking in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years? I decided I didn’t want to be stuck with the same views my all life. Today, I still expect my views to change in the future – otherwise it means I’m stuck in the same environment for too long.
9. What’s the last image on your camera roll? Can you explain?
A bunch of branches in wooden boxes.
