My Story2 - Vincent Lagarde

360° minded

Vincent Lagarde, a trained Plastics Engineer, is the Founder, Chairman and CEO of NATEC Medical Ltd. After a scientific baccalaureate and advanced Math preparatory classes (referred to as a prépa) he enrolls in the Ecole Nationale des Arts & Industries with a focus on Plastics Engineering.

He specialises in polymer, discovering this substance during an innovative time period, which enables him to create his first coronary dilatation catheter in 1993.

From 1993 to 1998, he is a Senior Project and Development Manager at Nycomed Amersham, where he develops patented technologies still used today.

In 1998, he founds NATEC Medical LLC in Boston (United-States). Lacking the funding necessary to kick off his project in France, he moves to the United-States where, for several years, he essentially develops catheters for interventional cardiology.
Spurred by his industry experience in the field of medical technology, he relocates his operations to Mauritius in 2000 along with ten employees. NATEC Medical Ltd has successfully transitioned from a start-up to an innovative and dynamic enterprise with more than 215 collaborators.

The enterprise is specialised in the manufacture of cutting-edge percutaneous interventional devices and minimally invasive medical technology. It conceives and manufactures angioplasty balloon catheters destined for interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, gastroenterology, and urology.
He is a member of the Club APM (Association for the Progress of Management) and of the CCIFM (Chambre de Commerce Franco-mauricienne)

My Achievements

Group of Companies

1998

Natec Medical

2003

Maeva Centre

2003

Ecole Paul & Virginie

OSE

Maurister

Tobili

The House ( Ipole properties)

Umbrella Corp

Abiolabs

Xtruline Medical

Five Senses Lodge

Marline

Fondation Dunes de Mer

Vincent Lagarde

PERSONAL BRANDING

Why cultivate a personal brand?

Personal branding consists of building and managing one’s own image (values, skills, vision…), and persuasively communicating this brand to the community at large (clients, collaborators etc.) Personal branding came into my life at a time when I could take a step back and meditate on my career path and personal life. It enable me to find my real self in the process, but also to acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses. Thanks to the guidance of a coach, I have come to understand - with acute clarity - who I am, what I wanted and who I was. Knowing myself is a strength I rely on when taking professional and personal decisions.

But not only.

It also consists of an authentic intangible heritage founded on personal, humanist, and professional values, convictions and beliefs and the vision that spurred NATEC and that will determine its future. It is important to leave one’s mark.

For my children and collaborators

It is essential to me that my children exert themselves inasmuch as they develop a strong sense of responsibility. That they know about my career path and draw inspiration from it, like I did with my own grand-father’s. That I pass on my values, my convictions. That they understand my choices and, at times, my absences. That a strong work ethic, perseverance and compassion be the foundations of their adulthood. The idea of addressing personal branding is in part linked to the restructuration of the NATEC Group. The diversified and restructured firm contains a Talents&Culture department, which reflects our aspiration to be a liberated company. It is essential that our collaborators understand and adhere to the values stated here. My goal is, ultimately, to liberate myself from the constraints of work and the company in order to set aside time for personal endeavours; it is therefore paramount that my commitment to self-development and rigor is transmitted to my collaborators. Personal branding is an original platform that sensitizes my clients, collaborators and others, who may better understand and share my work ethic and values.

My Inspiration

I quite like Sheth, Mittal and Newman’s (1999) definition of an opinion leader as "a giver of information and counsel that impels the person on the receiving end to accept the suggested viewpoint."
Regardless of their background, role models are a source of inspiration, a driving force that pushes me to evolve - that is, a long as you stay truthful to yourself and understand the ways in which you may be influenced, and what these role models help you achieve.

My greatest source of inspiration is my grandfather. Coming from a large family, he was able, with the help of his sister, to enroll in the Ecole des Arts et Métiers of Aix en Provence. After spending a few years doing public works and chemistry, he purchased a shipyard in Toulon. He supplied the French navy and even cared for Calypso, Captain Cousteau’s (another one of my inspirations) legendary ship! My grandfather was an extraordinary man, constantly creating and inventing. Yet, family always came first. In order to have his seven children by his side, he built a large family home on the hillside in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. As a child, I spent all my summers there, which undoubtedly shaped my values and my love for nature.

My father, him, inculcated me the values of simplicity which continue to inspire my actions and my life. These patriarchal values are the compost of my companies.