Tony Parker - Basketball player and ambassador of the Bridge

by The Bridge on 22 Sep 2016 This important meeting took place last Saturday morning on 17th September in Nantes, between Tony Parker, godfather to the Bridge, and the companies which support this Franco American initiative, which will celebrate 100 years of fraternal exchanges between the two countries.

Tony Parker, the basketball player with an exemplary sporting career, took advantage of visiting France to launch the 100 Club, the cornerstone of this outstanding event, also becoming an honorary member. This group aims to bring together all the leaders and key players in the Great Western region, based around the Queen Mary 2’s participation in this special race against the largest multihulls in the world.

On the 25th June 2017, this steel giant and the fastest sailing boats will head to New York, following in the footsteps of the first American soldiers who returned to New York after the Normandy landing in 1917. This is very symbolic and establishes bridges between the key players of the event and their leading ambassador.

Tony Parker, Ambassador: 'France, the United States, basketball, this project attracts me. It’s also a nod to history to say thank you to all that has gone before. It’s logical for me to commit myself to The Bridge, I see myself in this project”.

The 100 Club aboard the Queen Mary 2 with the ocean as their workshop

Tony Parker, ambassador of the fraternal and friendship values that inspire The Bridge and proud of his double Franco-American culture, also embodies the entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the 100 Club. This high-level club is the driving force behind this project and brings the companies embarking on The Bridge together, to participate in a reflecting forum on the Queen Mary 2 between Saint-Nazaire and New York. Round tables, conferences and written workshops will mark the itinerary which includes a unique closed session with the ocean as their workshop.

Patricia Brochard, co-president of Sodebo and godmother to the 100 Club:

“We are experiencing an incredibly innovative period marked by change. The Bridge event is very ambitious, particularly in its entrepreneurial dimension. It offers executives and decision makers the opportunity to turn off for six days - which is quite exceptional - to reflect on the position of business in a fast-moving world and experience major developments. With the collaboration of experts, young people and visionaries, we will build the foundations for a joint project about the position and role of the company's future.'

Alongside these business leaders who joined The Bridge with a sense of co-building, Tony Parker willingly demonstrated his entrepreneurial spirit and his desire to continue his sporting career in the business world, with a prevailing common interest in transmission and learning. Today, this professional sportsman not only leads the ASVEL club team, but has also launched a clothing line and is involved in developing and producing a film.

Tony Parker, entrepreneur: 'My dream has always been to be a professional basketball player, to go to the NBA, and after my career to lead a club. I love having a vision and putting together a team that will accompany me. We can’t achieve anything alone and only by working together can we move forward. We must know how to delegate, give a role to everyone in order to achieve the objective, the mission we have given ourselves. I love working with a team, it's very rewarding.

I am very attracted to the business world. I am very interested in marketing and everything related to the development and promotion of basketball.

I learned a lot with 'Magic Johnson', he had a great career. I hope that I will keep learning through all the business leaders I meet”.

Réauté Chocolat, new official partner

Today, four months after the decision to charter the Queen Mary 2, over 50 companies, representing 700 key players of the Great West region in France, have already joined the 100 Club. The recent accession of Réauté Chocolat reinforces this entrepreneurial momentum. This chocolatier from Mayenne joined the group Réalités to be among the official partners of The Bridge, alongside the CIC who are the founding partner.

The fruitful discussions about entrepreneurship, between Tony Parker and the initial decision makers involved in this adventure confirm that all indicators are on green. The momentum is building, with the aim for the prestigious ocean liner to cross the Atlantic sold out, as part of an event that returns to the past, to live the present, and build the future.