Nicolas Guibert: Speed junkie CEO not about to slow down in his 50s

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Nicolas Guibert, Chief Executive Officer at Mobius Motors as pictured on July 11, 2023 at Sameer Park Nairobi. PHOTO | BILLY OGADA | NMG

Nicolas Guibert's first car at 19 (a reward from his father for not smoking) was a Citroén GS. "It was blue, the horrible blue." His wife —for he was already married with two children — hated it.

But that vehicle ignited an interest in cars that set him off in his three-decade-plus journey in the automobile industry.

He graduated from university with a degree in mechanical engineering specialising in robotics and began his career at Peugeot Citroen.

At Peugeot, he was able to buy his first brand-new car — a Peugeot 309, big enough to carry his three children. He was 24.

He worked for Peugeot for 25 years, from France to South America, Argentina and Chile where he was industrial director, back to Europe as executive vice president at Toyota Peugeot Citroen in the Czech Republic.

In recognition of his contribution to the French car industry, Nicolas was appointed president of the North France Automotive Industry Association.

There was a stint in China where he was a member of the board of China Southern French Chamber of Commerce.

In 25 years at Peugeot, he drove almost 50 brand-new cars. Then he joined Jaguar Land Rover in January 2014 as operations director.

"First car was an XK convertible, 550 horsepower, four-litre engine. It was a monster," he says.

He was 48 years old, all his children flown off the nest, a shock of white, life a breeze. "My wife said, 'Nicolas, you are very handsome in that car." (His French tongue remains on his cheek)

After five years, he came to Africa to succeed Joel Jackson, founder of Mobius Motors, as CEO. He now drives the Mobius 3 and his hair remains white.

What kind of childhood did you have?

I was born in Lyon then we moved to Greece because my father took responsibility for a chemical factory in the North of Greece, in Thessaloniki.

And so we lived there for five years, a little paradise, probably the first paradise. The last one is Kenya…for the moment (chuckles). We are seven in our family, a big one for a French family.

My family was filled with a lot of us and cousins and travelling. Now I have a house south of Paris, which is Orléans, very frosty, lots of hunting. I'm French but I'm a world citizen because after my childhood and after my studies I moved to South America quite quickly.

We lived in various countries like Argentina, Chile, the Czech Republic, China, the UK, and now Kenya. I had some passions growing up, tennis, sailing, I love the sea, I have loved it since I was a child.

I did some training on very small sailing boats. Now I sail big boats, 50 feet is quite a big boat. Sailing is something that drove a lot of my life.

I was very lucky because despite us being seven children, my father had a good job of course, but even when you have many children, even if you have a good job, it's a bit difficult to raise everybody in a luxurious life.

So we had a simple life, but they were doing their best to make us discover everything we could.

Is white hair hereditary in your family?

Yeah, it is. Definitely. My dad and my mother both have white hair, they got white very early.

I had my first white hair when I was 19, a year before I got married and quickly got three children, my wife and I. By 25, I had three children.

What's the advantage of having such a shock of white hair?

Many women love it. (Chuckle). I mean in France it's not so important, but very often of course I had comments from women saying 'Ah it's so nice to see you with white hair.'

But the country where they loved it so much was China. In China when you have grey hair women and men all say 'Oh you are so handsome, it's wonderful, you're so lucky to have white hair.'

In Kenya also, they like it. I don't know what I feel, I mean white hair just makes you look a bit older, even when I'm 56, turning 57 next week.

Have your 50s been kind to you?

I mean yeah. It's midlife, and it's a bit strange because when you look back you say, wow, it passed so quickly. I don't feel different. I feel as if I was still 30 years old or 25 years old, my soul is still very young.

I like joking, I like enjoying things. Physically, you don't have the same condition. Things are more tiring and more difficult. You don't run as fast when I play tennis I get tired quite quickly, you know?

You don't hit the same strength. Otherwise, you still feel young inside, you try to follow the world as it is, with the Internet, yeah?

Do you find the world to be more complicated or simpler as you get older?

The older you become, the narrower your world gets. My wife's grandfather, died when he was 104 years old. When he died he was just living in his bedroom at the end, not moving anymore out of the bedroom.

My father is 90 years old now and he's playing video games. Of course, he's struggling but he's playing video games.

So, yes. The world, I think is becoming more complex. Whatever your age, the world is becoming more and more complex.

The world is becoming more complex, but your life is getting simpler, is that what you mean to say?

You want to apprehend this complexity, but when you get older, you don't have the same intellectual capacity, so you have to take what you can, and this is simpler, usually.

On the other hand, you become wiser, and being wise is also accepting this complexity and accepting that things are not black and white.

And put nuances in your appreciation of the things, in your thoughts. And you are more aware that you know you don't know.

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Nicolas Guibert, Chief Executive Officer at Mobius Motors as pictured on July 11, 2023 at Sameer Park Nairobi. PHOTO | BILLY OGADA | NMG

What do you wish you knew at 40 that you know now?

I think at 40 you are still convinced that your success comes from you. When I went to China to work, I was 40. I had a difficult time professionally because I suffer from perfectionism.

I was close to burnout — it was so stressful, so demanding and sometimes you have to accept that you cannot manage the full complexity on your own. That you have to rely on people. Success doesn't come from yourself.

From which job do you think you got the most learning?

I cannot answer this question because it's a progression. You are progressing your whole life. However, I had two strong career experiences — in my first job at Peugeot, I found myself managing a group of people at only 24 years of age. People who were a lot older than me. That accelerated my personal development.

Another one is when I went to Chile. I was in charge of a factory and I didn't have any environment to guide me to tell me what to do.

So I had to become an entrepreneur. And this is when I started developing this entrepreneurial mindset, which is in fact today driving me with Mobius Motors.

If you were a vehicle, what car would you be in and why?

Wow. I've never got this question before [chuckles]. A car? [long pause] An Aston Martin for two reasons.

The first one is the James Bond car who doesn't like James Bond and his cars and gadgets? Second, it's a fast car. I love speed.

I like driving on tracks, I like karting, I love driving really. Last, it's not the car that everybody has. So it's a car, which is a bit unique and has a very nice design, very pure design, close to the road, control, have the feeling of control.

A Ferrari? I'm not a Ferrari, it's a showoff car, not my personality. Plus, many people have Ferraris but not many people have Aston Martin.

Is there anything exciting you've learned in your 50s or are currently learning?

I'm learning to be a CEO now for the first time in my life. I have never been. I have worked in big groups all my career — Stellantis, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, hundreds of thousands of people. Then Jaguar and Rover, 40,000 people, a very big group.

I used to run factories of more than 3,000 people. But I was never a CEO, senior roles in manufacturing, yes. I'm learning that if you want to be a CEO, you have to accept being a CEO of a smaller company, which is for me even better because what I like in my life, I like to be on the shop floor.

What has surprised you most about being a CEO?

Not being in control of everything and accepting it. You give direction, inspire and trust people to do their best with the best tools you have given them, but you can't have control of everything.

I find dealing with the complexity challenging, strategic parts of it. I have to deal with politicians and the government and come back to the office and deal with quality issues on the line.

What car are you driving currently?

A Mobius 3. Do you know it?

The slicker-looking one.

Yes. The Mobius 3 is the largest UV, the premium one. Let me show you a photo [shows the photo from phone]. This was at Lake Elis, 3600 metres high, up Mount Kenya.

It's probably the first two-litre engine that goes to this altitude. I love Its versatility. I'm very comfortable in the city but I can go to Maasai Mara, or any very remote area in Kenya.

I like it very much and for a very good price — Sh5.8 million, brand new, three years warranty. At that price, you can compare it to a Fortuner, which is more than Sh10 million for a new one.

So this is what makes it successful today. This is why we are competitive and we are successful.

Is there one thing that you wanted to do in your life that you haven't done?

Many things. I mean, my life is full of desires. I mean, if I stop desiring something, I would be extremely unhappy. Happiness also comes from frustrations.

You must be frustrated in fact, to be aware of what you are enjoying. If you did not have any frustration, life would be so boring.

And I think very rich people, who have everything they want, I don't envy them at all. It's not my aspiration. Of course, it's good to have money, to live comfortably, and to be able to travel, but I reach a stage where I don't really need more than that. Money makes you happier, of course, but it doesn't bring you everything.

You married at, what, 20 or 19? What are the advantages and disadvantages of marrying early?

Yeah, so this is a very good question, yes. One of the disadvantages is that when you are in university and married with children you can't enjoy the same things your friends are enjoying; going out, parties.

You are also broke. I only started doing these things with my wife when I was 43 when we moved to China, just us two. We were able to live, you know, totally independently, freely, travelling, doing everything we wanted to do without any constraints.

The advantage of marrying early is that you become a grandfather very early. (Laughs). I have five grandchildren, the oldest one is 10 years old so I was grandfather at 46. And I love it. I really love being a grandfather. And I'm lucky that I have been married 37 years and we have constantly reinvented our lives many times.

I was lucky because my wife accepted to follow me everywhere, but she worked as well and she's still working, but it's been more difficult for her of course because she had to find opportunities whenever we moved.

I really thank her for this because we had a wonderful life together but also because she found a way to adapt herself to these different lives.

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