Bruno Dubois appointed Team Manager for Groupama Team France

Bruno Dubois (right) appointed as Team Manager for Groupama Team France © Yvan Zedda

A month on from its launch at the Hôtel de la Marine attended by the Defence Minister and the Minister for Cities, Youth and Sports, skipper Franck Cammas and his partners Michel Desjoyeaux and Olivier de Kersauson announce the recruitment of Bruno Dubois as Team Manager.

In Portsmouth for the first event of the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series, the former manager of North Sails Europe and more recently Team Manager for Dongfeng Team in the Volvo Ocean Race, explains to us the reasoning behind his involvement and his objectives within Groupama Team France.

Bruno, at 55, what are your motivations for joining Groupama Team France?

It will be the fourth America's Cup I've been involved in. For the first three, it was naturally in the domain of sails with North Sails. Today, just back from the Volvo Ocean Race, where I had the role of Team Manager for Dongfeng, this seems like a natural development, even if it's all happening a little faster than I'd imagined. The Groupama Team France project appeals to me as it's an exceptional race and the human and organisational aspects greatly appeal to me.

I've been living in France for fifteen years and I've been developing my career here for some 15 years. As such, on a personal level it's a way of laying out on the table everything I've learnt so far.

This dual culture, French and Anglo-Saxon, is it an asset for this role?

I hope so. I worked in Canada and in North America for 15 years before returning to Europe, to Scandinavia and to France in 2000. One half of my family is North American, the other French. Naturally I have the ability to reflect on things in both languages and I really hope that will prove to be an asset. However, I won't be the only one in Groupama Team France to have this distinctive characteristic. Even though France has numerous assets to offer in its game plan, it's important to have a good understanding of what's happening around us. In the Cup, this other world is Anglo-Saxon.

What type of management style do you intend to apply?

My aim is to surround myself with the best people. Groupama Team France's success won't be down to me. However, I'll be the one responsible for putting the right people in the right posts, whether it's in the Design Team, in the marketing, in the communication or the hospitality, and also to assist Franck in the sports domain. If we manage to have competent people in all these different areas, that would be great. My role will be to oil the cogs and to ensure that the whole team is working as one. All the members of Groupama Team France have to enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work; they have to want to win together, leaving egos to one side, because it's a team which goes to the front, not a sum of people.

Do you think Groupama Team France is in a position to win the Cup?

In the Cup, time is an incredibly important factor. Money too. Basically though, the most important thing is the objective you set yourself. In this particular area, things are very clear for Franck: it's about performance and nothing else. By approaching this challenge with a long-term objective, there is no reason why Groupama Team France cannot get itself into a position to win the Cup. Whether it will be the 35th, the 36th or the 37th, only time will tell!

However things pan out, dockside in Portsmouth, the presence of the new Team Manager for Groupama Team France leaves no-one impervious to his charm. The whole team wishes Bruno a very warm welcome.

www.groupamateamfrance.fr