Arnaud Couvreur
Assess · Design · Build · Govern · Lead
What I Bring to Your Organisation
Perspective That Sector Specialists Cannot Offer
Most executives specialise in one sector. I lead across multiple.
I've founded national employers' organisations, managed hospitality operations, directed chamber of commerce initiatives, and led commercial enterprises. This isn't scattered experience. It's the ability to bring profit discipline to mission-driven organisations and stakeholder sophistication to commercial operations.
Value: Fresh perspective that challenges "we've always done it this way" whilst respecting what works.
Competing Interests Resolved, Not Just Managed
I thrive when navigating multiple competing interests.
From negotiating with five trade unions and government ministers in France to coordinating ministerial events and managing member commitment in Australia, I understand how to build consensus without compromising outcomes. Cross-cultural fluency (French-Australian) adds another dimension to stakeholder navigation with fresh eyes.
Value: Strategic relationship building that creates advantage, not just manages conflict.
Strategy That Holds When It Meets Reality
I connect strategic vision to operational reality and excellence.
Whether founding organisations from scratch (UNIDIS, AFIFOR, OTOOL, Tricore Tech), transforming existing operations, or managing P&L across different portfolios or sectors, I bridge the gap between strategic thinking and practical implementation. I possess aDBA-level strategic rigour paired with hands-on operational experience in non-profit and profit organisations.
Value: Leadership that delivers outcomes with the integrity that makes them sustainable.
Technology Adopted With Accountability, Not Just Enthusiasm
Most executives adopt new technologies. I govern their transformation.
Value: Strategic technology leadership that enables confident innovation while managing accountability risks.
Why My Journey Matters to You
Most careers move in one direction. Mine has moved in several, and that is the point.
Twenty years ago I was negotiating collective agreements in Paris on behalf of 80,000 employees, managing relationships with government ministers, five trade unions and a board that rarely agreed on anything. Today I am based in Perth, where I have founded restaurants, led an ERP startup, directed a bilateral chamber of commerce and built an AI governance practice from the ground up. The sectors change. The underlying challenge does not: how do you build something that holds under pressure, across competing interests, in conditions that were not in the plan?
What this path gives the organisations I work with is not a long list of sectors visited. It is a specific kind of diagnostic. Someone who has sat at a negotiating table, run a kitchen at midnight, signed off on a supply chain contract and presented to a board in two languages develops a pattern recognition that does not come from a single industry. I see where Strategy, Systems and Structure are misaligned before the organisation does. And I know what it costs when that misalignment is left unaddressed.
The cultural dimension is part of this too. Fifteen years inside French institutional life, then a decade building in Australia: the gap between European governance discipline and Australian operational pragmatism is real. Bridging it is not a soft skill. It is a capability that organisations working across cultures, sectors or stakeholder groups draw on every time we work together.
Track Record: Leadership Across Sectors
Twenty years of building, transforming, and leading organisations across two continents.
Non-Profit & Association Leadership
- Founded and led UNIDIS, UNIDIS Stratégie & Avenir, AFIFOR national employers' organisation representing 2,450 companies and 80,000 employees
- Negotiated 40+ national workplace agreements with five trade unions and government ministers on employment conditions, training, workplace safety, and diversity
- Co-founded and supervised €100M+ professional training fund (OPCA 3+) with joint governance ensuring transparent administration and regulatory compliance
- Served as board and committee member across 13+ national and European organisations including MEDEF, GFI,INRS, CNAM-TS overseeing strategic direction
- Led FACCI WA Chapter coordinating ministerial and diplomatic events, developing France-Australia business initiatives
- Volunteer work with TriCore Tech's AI Ethics and governance practice
Commercial Operations & P&L Management
- Co-founded ERP technology company (OTOOL) with complete business development, international team management, and client acquisition
- Managed hospitality operations including dual-venue F&B leadership (CEO Institute Skylounge, Wild Bakery) with full P&L accountability
- Financial auditing leadership at Accor Pullman resort processing $25M+ annual revenue across accommodation, dining, spa, and events
- Restaurant ownership (Par L'Ouest) with brand development, team leadership, and complete operational management
- Sales & supply chain management (Profluid) in mining/energy sector ensuring ISO compliance and operational excellence
Strategic & Cross-Cultural Initiatives
- Doctorat in Business Administration (DBA) focused on hospitality and business management, demonstrating commitment to continuous learning
- Google Project Management Professional Certificate (Google Coursea 2026)
- AI and the Rule of Law (University of Oxford / UNESCO, 2026) | Responsible AI governance in judicial and organisational systems
- Mater of Science (MSc) Tourism & Hospitality Management (UNWTO TedQual certification) supporting career transition and market expertise
- Industrial Relations expertise with national certification and 15+ years practical experience in complex negotiations
- Bilingual leadership (French native, English fluent) with proven ability to bridge European and Australian business cultures
My Leadership Approach
What follows from that diagnosis is not a template. It is a program built for this organisation, this culture, this moment. And the measure of whether it worked is not what happens while I am present. It is what holds after I leave.
What Colleagues Value About Me
What colleagues also say: that I take problems seriously without taking myself seriously. That I stay calm when the situation is not. That I am honest about what I do not know. These are not leadership virtues I would have listed twenty years ago. They are things I learned the hard way, across two countries and more setbacks than I planned for.
My Core Values
- Integrity: I do what I say, including when it costs something. Fourteen years negotiating collective agreements taught me that credibility, once lost, rarely returns.
- Empathy: I rebuilt a career from scratch in a new country, in a new language, in sectors I had to learn from the ground up. I know what it costs to start over. That knowledge is useful when I sit across the table from someone navigating their own version of that.
- Optimism: I believe in what is possible, particularly when others have stopped looking for it. This is not temperament. It is a working method.
- Respect: For every culture, every person, every perspective formed by experience I have not had. Non-negotiable for someone who has lived between two countries and worked across many sectors.
- Determination: I finish what I start. The doctoral dissertation, the venue opening at midnight, the collective agreement that took three years to land. The form changes. The standard does not.
Education & Professional Credentials
The qualifications below were not collected. They were each a response to a specific professional moment: a gap identified, a discipline needed, a standard to meet.
Certifications and Professional Development
- ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer, Artificial Intelligence Management Systems | In progress, 2026
- Google Project Management Professional Certificate | 2026
- AI and the Rule of Law: Responsible Use of AI in Judicial Systems | University of Oxford in partnership with UNESCO, EU-funded | Certificate of Completion, 2026
- Odoo ERP Functional Certification V16 | 2023
- Industrial Relations Certificate, INTEPF | Ministerial National Institute, Lyon | 2012
Academic Qualifications
- Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) | European City University, Paris | Major: Hospitality and Business Management | 2024
- Master of Science (MSc), Tourism and Hospitality Management | Excelia Business School, La Rochelle | UNWTO TedQual Certification | 2016
- Master in Law | University of Nantes | Major: French and European Labour Law | 2000
- Master in Human Resources | Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Nantes | Major: Sociology of Organisations | 1997
Academic Qualifications
- French (native) | English (professional fluency)
- Dual French and Australian citizenship | Perth-based | Open to relocation
For detailed career history and achievements: View my full professional journey →
I Would Welcome the Conversation
The organisations I work best with are navigating genuine complexity: competing stakeholder interests, a gap between strategy and execution, or a structural moment that requires someone who has been in the room before.
If any of the following sounds familiar, it is worth a conversation:
- A strategy that is clear on paper but not translating into how the organisation actually operates
- A transformation program that has stalled because the systems or the structure were not built for what the strategy now requires
- A cross-cultural or cross-sector context where standard executive experience does not quite fit
Alongside the core practice, I am developing specialised capability in AI ethics and governance: accountability frameworks at TriCore Tech, the University of Oxford and UNESCO program in AI and the Rule of Law, and ISO 42001 Lead Implementer certification in progress. Not a recent interest. The extension of a career spent managing how technology reshapes organisations and the people inside them.
Target sectors: not-for-profit associations, industry bodies, chambers of commerce, hospitality, bilateral trade organisations, government, technology governance.
If that sounds like your situation, I would welcome the conversation.
Or simply reach out if:
- You're building France-Australia connections
- You value leaders who've navigated both profit and purpose
- You're curious about how diverse executive experience might solve your challenges
Ready to connect?
Or simply reach out if:
- You're building France-Australia connections
- You value leaders who've navigated both profit and purpose
- You're curious about how diverse executive experience might solve your challenges
I'd welcome the conversation.
Or simply reach out if:
- You're building France-Australia connections
- You value leaders who've navigated both profit and purpose
- You're curious about how diverse executive experience might solve your challenges