Over my 20 years in the sports community, I’ve observed that sports serve as a means of social integration and personal development. Sports cultivate values—what we now call soft skills—such as teamwork. These qualities contribute to social integration and cohesion. It's a virtuous circle. 

I have numerous examples. We organized a cycling race between store employees and individuals with reduced mobility. They cycled together for two hours, and at the end of those two hours, I had made two hires. 

Sports, physical activity in general, are accessible to everyone. It's a way for people from different backgrounds to spend time together, to learn about each other, and to dispel prejudices. That's what interests me: creating connections with people to break down barriers and affect societal change. 

That's really my job today; I'm the Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Impact Leader for Belgium at a sports products company. But I haven't always done this. Like many, what contributed to changing my career path was my personal life. My "aha" moment was meeting my wife. It was in Lille. She was there because her visa to London had been denied. I knew intellectually that people applied for visas to move from one country to another, but I had never been confronted with it in real life. I had never truly grasped that some people couldn't go where they wanted. I thought, "Wow, there's a reality around me, completely different from mine, of which I was unaware."

That made me very curious to explore people's realities, to understand the barriers they faced; obstacles that as a white European, I hadn't encountered. Today, I'm married to this woman who is Kenyan. Our 13-year-old daughter is from the United States, and we live in Belgium. We're right in the midst of multiculturalism! 

It took me a while to get to where I am now, in this position. There was a lot of lobbying involved. That's actually why I moved to Belgium. I had a discussion with the CEO at headquarters, explaining my project and my interest in diversity and inclusion, giving all employees equal opportunities.

I myself didn't pursue higher education, and I was fortunate to be hired by this company - to work in many different roles. Not having a degree was never a hindrance. When I talked to the CEO, expressing my desire, he immediately advised me to leave headquarters. I began my exploration. I met with the head of Belgium, telling him my project was to give every employee equal opportunities for advancement within the company. Immediately, he said, "Come join us." 

Today, I have the opportunity to work in a job with impact, removing barriers to sports and employment. My work directly affects the daily lives of young people, older individuals, and society's collaborators. Initially, the social aspect came naturally, but for diversity, I had to reach out to communities because they weren't coming to us spontaneously. And that's also where I connect the two, diversity and social impact. 

When I arrived in Belgium, I was able to implement many initiatives, including diversity and inclusion meetings open to all, internally and externally, to other companies, even our competitors. The message we wanted to convey was that diversity concerns us all, and we need to address it together. It's not a subject where we compete. Last year, we saw the creation of an international diversity service! We started small in Belgium, and it grew into a major issue within the company. That's very rewarding. 

We recently opened a boxing gym in Brussels that offers young people an hour of free sports. Seeing teenagers arrive 30 minutes early to warm up and ensure they get their free hour of sports -not wasting a moment - seeing them having fun, brings me real joy. They progress very quickly, both technically and in terms of self-confidence. In particular, we have a group of girls, and while I can assure you that we see physical changes, we also witness the impact on their personal development. 

Another example: we did a lot of work around the hijab and the prohibition of wearing it in stores. Today, I have a collaborator who was hired because we managed to change things. Before, she would have been told no, but now, she's been told yes. It's been six months since she started, and she's doing wonders, and most importantly, she's thriving in her work. We can directly see the impact on someone who didn't have access to work because of her religion and who now works with us and is doing very well. These are very concrete examples, but they're what pleases me - seeing that things change; that we're having discussions we weren't having five years ago. People are starting to open up; minds are expanding. 

I also work on beliefs, these ideas that are ingrained in us even though they have no legal basis or other justification. For example, there's no need to wait until 18 to have a student job. These are beliefs that need to be overcome because they hinder young people's access to employment. 

The values of inclusion and integration spreading throughout the group, that touches me deeply. For example, I just ran into an employee from another store who told me he had hired a former inmate. He needed advice to see what he could do in terms of adaptation and how to facilitate the return to work. It's a step he took spontaneously, which shows that all it takes is setting a good example to be repeated later. The little drops that eventually form rivers. 

I would say there are two levers that everyone can activate in favor of inclusion and diversity: curiosity and listening. Here's another example. We recently launched a swim cap for afro hair. The idea came from talking to a person of color who couldn't go swimming because she couldn't find a swim cap big enough to contain her hair. Actions rarely come from me; they come from the people affected.

My job is just to listen, be curious, reach out to others, and they're the ones who give me ideas. Patience and education are also necessary. When I informed my teams about the launch of this XXL cap, they said, "We're not open in Africa." I had to explain things to them. Change is happening, but it's long-term. Resilience is important. 

On topics as vast and complex as diversity and social impact, being very concrete is crucial. I try to talk to people, taking their situations into account, where they are. I'm passionate. I've learned a lot over time. I have a certain level of knowledge on these subjects. But, there are people who aren't even aware they exist. So, being very concrete helps to engage these people as well because they immediately see the relevance of the topic.

And I also try to do things that resonate with the teams they're in. For example, with sales directors, I talk about product, client... It's a bit political. I explain that what we do changes people's lives but also the company's: more people doing sports = more revenue for us. And, I'm not afraid to say it, we need to be transparent about that too. We're still a business. 

I'm confident about the future, both for businesses and society. Seeing young people so happy at the boxing gym and seeing what the company can offer them makes me very happy. It's very satisfying. 

It is a generation, to which my daughter belongs, that is much more advanced than us in terms of "awareness." This makes me think that deep down, humans are good.  

I am a bit more worried about our planet. My daughter is also extremely concerned. But the more I meet people, the more my confidence grows. It’s also important to network with people who are trying to make a difference. This reduces the anxiety one can feel when reaching a certain level of awareness. It is comforting to see that we are not alone in wanting to change things.  

There are still many challenges to overcome. Especially on these types of topics, the main barriers are beliefs. That’s the most complicated part: beliefs and having difficult conversations. People, especially in Belgium, do not like to talk about what is wrong or divisive. Difficult discussions are a big part of my work, and overcoming these beliefs, whether my own or others', is what I need to tackle.  

For example, many still consider social impact as charity or philanthropy and do not understand the link between business and social impact. Regarding environmental impact, especially in our context, it’s quite clear, and I think people have understood it well. We have business activities, so we have an environmental impact to minimize. However, the social impact of business is still seen by many as philanthropy, and thus the topic gets relegated to the background. These are also beliefs that need to change, but in fact, it’s an entire culture that needs to change. That’s the most complicated part.  

What boosts my confidence is also seeing positions like mine being created regularly in other countries. We have gone from 6 or 7 countries to 25 or 30 countries that have someone either full-time or part-time, or committees, on diversity and inclusion. There is a beautiful replication, and it’s great to see all the projects that are emerging in different countries. That makes me happy. Then it was taken up by international teams, which is really good.  

For example, the international DEI leader is the former HR director of India, who attended my conferences, and it really spurred him into action in a country where they launched an entire program, particularly around the role of women, which is a crucial issue in India.  

Another thing I am very proud of is having established open meetings for everyone. This has inspired actions in other companies, including one of our suppliers who attended the meeting. As a result, they thought, "Why don’t we do something for the women working in the factory?" These are topics on which we all need to move forward together. Therefore, it is important to be transparent about what we do. I’m not saying we are exemplary or perfect, far from it, but we are trying to take action and set an example.