Jacques Chibois: laureate of the Victoire des Autodidactes

They succeed without any diploma ! Jacques Chibois (La Bastide Saint Antoine in Grasse), Riviera prize with the Victoire des Autodidactes (award for self-taught people) and two special prizes of the jury, Mr and Mrs Benielli (Diffazur in Saint-Laurent du Var) and Raymond Minghelli (modern serigraphy at La Trinité): these company managers of the French Riviera have shown that with will and stubbornness you can become an excellent manager and take part in the vitality of the French economy.

Jacques Chibois, 49, holds a vocational training certificate in cooking. Today, he is at the head of a gastronomic restaurant (2 stars at the Michelin) which generates an annual turnover of 7.5 million francs with 53 employees. Mr and Mrs Benielli (A-level for the first one and junior high-school certificate and two years of business studies for the second one) have started in 1974 in water treatment and they launched themselves into the pool business later. Diffazur generates a turnover of 156.7 million francs with 170 employees. As far as Raymond Minghelli is concerned (vocational training certificate), he started in 1970. His printing plant has generated in 2000 a turnover of 22.4 million francs with 38 people. Last year, the french Riviera prize had been awarded to Gérard Rodriguez, the CEO of the Rodriguez Group. Another example of success without any diploma.