Hugo Bonjean was
born in Antwerp, Belgium on February 8th, 1965. As the oldest of
four kids he grew up with a strong sense of human rights and justice. He
vividly recalls his emotional experiences during his childhood when at times he
was confronted with stories, news or movies about the oppression of indigenous
peoples and the poor in developing countries. "It wasn’t like I was just
observing their pain and suffering, I could feel it. It hurt deep in my heart,
almost like I had been there, like it had been done to my family and me."
During his teenage years he was lucky to have a number of mentors, including a Catholic priest, a provocative Jesuit, a nurturing history teacher and an atheist Math teacher, who all stimulated his questioning and challenging nature.
As a critical thinker with a strong sense for humanitarian issues he decided to study Social and Political Sciences at the University of Louvain. However when he realized that a world revolving around money could only become sustainable through understanding and adjusting its driving economics, he changed direction and graduated in Antwerp with a B.S. in Accounting and completed his M.B.A. at the European University. While studying, Bonjean worked full-time as an account manager for De Ster, an international plastic manufacturer. Just before he finished his graduate work, Holiday Inn Worldwide asked him to help them with their European expansion. Holiday Inn was the beginning of a career that would eventually take Bonjean all over the world.
The fast pace, challenges, successes and losses of the real life monopoly game that we call business, totally consumed Bonjean. His joy and skill for the game were reflected in his fast paced career during which he managed to obtain one victory after the other. But while accumulating wealth and glory, he had forgotten his humanitarian values—the reason why he had entered the business arena in the first place. At the age of 26 his 18-year-old brother died in a car accident, which was for Bonjean the start of a new search for the meaning of life. In his spare time he studied different philosophical and religious works, and ultimately found himself most comfortable with the ancient Chinese philosophy of Tao which was pragmatic and based on universal principles that could be observed in nature. When he started to apply Tao principles as part of his leadership style his business success improved even more. Following an urge to get closer to nature, he moved with his family in 1997 to Calgary, Canada. From there he managed the West American and Canadian franchise service division of Holiday Inn.
After his ten-year-long career for Holiday Inn and Bass Hotels & Resorts, Bonjean was offered the position of Vice President of Operations & Development for one of the divisions of Marriott International, Inc. in Latin and South America. Firsthand experiences with poverty there rekindled the humanitarian values of his teens. He decided to commit the rest of his life to the integration of ethics into the economic fabric of society. His strong sense for social justice and his passion for bringing out the best in people are reflected in his leadership coaching and strategic consulting services. In this way he helps companies, individuals and communities to develop sustainable business models and become more socially and environmentally responsible. Bonjean is a frequently invited speaker at universities, social justice conferences and corporate venues.
Bonjean currently lives in the foothills near Calgary, Canada, with his wife of twenty years and three children. He spends much of his free time promoting Fair Trade business practices, developing youth leadership skills in his community and helping rescue injured wildlife as a volunteer for the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. He recharges his batteries while riding his horse in the Rocky Mountain foothills or dancing with his beloved wife to vibrant Latino music.
The author can be contacted by e-mail at info@intheeyesofanahita.com and you can learn more about his thoughts and interest at www.hugobonjean.com