Our story

Paccard-Balmat is an executive search and coaching firm specialising in the healthcare and luxury sectors. A subsidiary of Serendip , its story began with the inspiring story of the first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786.

On 8 August 1786, Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel Paccard became the first men to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe (15,774 ft high). It was a feat of daring that brought together a crystal hunter (Balmat) and a doctor (Paccard), and thus the luxury and healthcare industries.

Celebrating their victory on the summit of this previously unconquered mountain, the men had earned their place in history as the first mountaineers.

Gaston Rébuffat would later describe them as « men who drove their bodies to the spot where their eyes once rested ».

And similarly to Paccard and Balmat’s ascent of Mont Blanc, our consultants’ advice acts as a support rope for executives working in the life sciences and luxury industries, as they guide them on towards the highest heights of professional accomplishment. They help managers assemble the teams that will allow them to forge their own path to success in Europe.

Like a group of mountaineers supporting each other as they climb, our consultants work with candidates and employers so that, together, they can reach the highest summits of success.

“A rope links these two individuals who now have but one life; for a few hours, the guide is strapped to an unfamiliar person who will become a friend, for when two men share the best and the worst, they are no longer strangers.”

Gaston Rébuffat

Engagement

Avant de vaincre le Mont Blanc, le docteur Paccard avait déjà fait deux tentatives infructueuses. Il avait passé des journées entières à essayer de trouver la voie en observant le massif depuis la face opposée du Brévent. Jacques Balmat avait été le premier à revenir vivant d’une nuit passée sur le glacier des Bossons. L’aboutissement du 8 août 1786 s’était fondé sur un engagement sans failles du guide et du médecin.

Chez Paccard-Balmat ce sont tous nos consultants qui aiment s’engager.

Constituée d’associés et de salariés reconnus pour leur professionnalisme, notre équipe est focalisée sur la réussite. Nous aimons l’effort et recherchons avant tout le plaisir du travail bien fait. La gouvernance de notre cabinet est donc une évidence qui s’inscrit dans notre appétence pour l’excellence : Paccard–Balmat est une entreprise libérée animée d’holacracie.

Altruism

Whether in their private life or at work, our consultants are always looking for ways to help others.

They see the duties they perform for their clients as something similar to the role of a guide in a race to the summit. Just as Jacques Balmat guided Dr. Paccard to the highest point of Mont Blanc, our consultants are there to support their clients for the duration of their time working together. With understanding, attentiveness and words of advice, they determine areas of risk and work with both candidates and employers to overcome them. Over the weeks they spend together, our consultants form ties – like the support ropes connecting a mountaineer to their guide – with potential candidates and the teams recruiting them.

What’s more, just as candidates are overjoyed to be chosen for that coveted position, and companies are thrilled to welcome a new member to their team, our consultants are delighted when they can help make business dreams a reality. They take pride in assisting individuals and firms in achieving their professional goals.

Courage

It was Lionel Terray, a French mountaineer whose many achievements include an expedition to Annapurna in 1950 and the first ascent of Makalu in 1955, who said: “The secret to having the richest experiences, and knowing the greatest joys life has to offer, is to live dangerously.”

At Paccard-Balmat, we believe that both when climbing a mountain and ascending to the summit of your career goals, pessimism in the face of reality gives way to the optimism of determination.

The experience gained by our consultants in their previous operational or HR roles means that they are able to make ambitious yet realistic suggestions. Their understanding of industry, business models and psychology, as well as familiarity with the big industry players, feeds into their advice and allows them to think outside the box, be daring even. For us, courage is the backbone of a successful business.

Commitment

Before finally conquering Mont Blanc, Dr. Paccard had made two failed attempts. In his bid to find a passable route up to the summit, he would spend days at a time observing Mont Blanc’s slopes from the nearby mountain of Le Brévent. Jacques Balmat, meanwhile, was the first man to return alive from a night spent on the Bossons Glacier. The fact that these two men achieved their goal on 8 August 1786 is thanks in no small part to their unfailing commitment and determination.

At Paccard-Balmat, our consultants put all their commitment at the service of their clients.

With professionalism as their watchword, our team of employees and associates is driven to achieve success. We relish in going above and beyond for the benefit of our clients, and our ultimate satisfaction is a job well done. What’s more, how our firm is governed is further proof of the way in which we strive for excellence in everything we do: Paccard-Balmat is a liberated company based on a system of holacracy.

Exploration

As they set out from Chamonix on 7 August 1786, Paccard and Balmat didn’t yet know how they would reach the summit of Mont Blanc.

Following a route known as the Grands Mulets, they nonetheless had to forge their own unique path: skirting crevasses, dodging falling blocks of ice, and avoiding avalanches. Thanks to both men’s determination, and Balmat’s intuition, they reached Europe’s highest peak on the evening of 8 August.

And just like Paccard and Balmat, we like to go where others haven’t. Coaching is all about discovering the untrodden paths that will ultimately lead to a positive result for everyone involved. Step by step, and with attentiveness and forethought, we guide our clients and candidates through the recruitment process, and on to success.

Serendipity

At Paccard-Balmat, we don’t like to dismiss the role of chance encounters and the unexpected. Our experience, insight and intuition give us the confidence to try out new things, leading us down avenues we might not otherwise have taken. And as the old saying goes, fortune favours the bold.

Paccard-Balmat is a subsidiary of Serendip, a company specialising in recruitment for the healthcare industry. Founded in 2011, its guiding motto is : « Looking for skills, finding personality »
www.serendip-consulting.com