LuxUnplugged Podcast

Thierry and Adrien are warmly welcomed by Sophie Weber in the context of a live event at the Luxembourg Embassy, organised by the Luxembourg Society in London. Celebrating the second anniversary of the podcast, they dive into the history of the venture and discuss the motivations that led to the launch of the project back in 2019. Having rarely talked about themselves in great detail since the sta...

Adrien welcomes Claudia Hitaj, Research and Technology Associate at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), to the show. A seasoned environmental economist, Claudia walks Adrien through the various conclusions of the COP26 conference and what it means regarding future commitments of developed nations vis a vis emerging countries in the climate change context. Unlike previous edi...

Thierry welcomes back Gérard Hoffmann, CEO at Proximus Luxembourg, to the show. The last time Gérard appeared on the programme, the world had just entered into a lockdown period when a lot of companies had to adopt teleworking (or working from home) setups at an unprecedented pace. This hugely benefitted a company like Gérard's in the ICT space. 18 months down the line, Gérard acknowledges the ben...

Thierry welcomes David Gray, General Manager at the CK Group, to the show. An avid believer in technology, David looks back at the last three decades and discusses how technological changes and the internet have revolutionised the way companies structure their business processes. Then, Thierry wonders how the two key business lines from the CK Group, an established group in Luxembourg offering off...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission, to the show. A globally known figure in political affairs, Jean-Claude Juncker dives into his early days in Luxembourg politics which he preferred to a legal career. They then discuss the political and economic situation in Luxembourg and how the country has evolved from a global financial centre to a more...

Thierry and Adrien welcome back Tokyo Institute of Technology's Kim Schumacher to the show. After briefly discussing his experience as a lecturer in Japan at the height of the covid-19 crisis, Kim extensively explains the purpose of the IPCC report, a paper issued by a body within the United Nations, and what the conclusions of the latest report mean for all the involved stakeholders. Thierry then...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Pascale Junker, Head of Luxembourg Strategy, to the show. After walking them through her extensive years in development aid in emerging economies, Pascale discusses the concept of territorial and urban planning and how human infrastructure has become so important on Earth that it's capable of influencing the ecosystem as a whole. Adrien then enquiries about her papers de...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Marie Louise Ashworth, President at The Network, to the LuxUnplugged Podcast. They discuss the importance of having women-only clubs and how such environments can greatly enhance professional opportunities and promote better values. An impassioned feminist, Marie Louise walks them through the principles underpinning The Network and how her association supports its member...

REPLAY - Thierry welcomes Mike Reiffers, Managing Director and co-founder of Skeeled. They discuss the genesis of Mike's company that he co-founded with his business partner straight after university. Then they dive into how this Luxembourg-based business leverages artificial intelligence, allowing his clients to make better hiring decisions whilst promoting their brand. Finally, Mike shares his t...

In this short episode, Thierry and Adrien wrap up Season 2. After another very exciting year, they briefly reflect upon the recent changes in the Luxembourg podcast environment. Then, they give away a few bits and pieces that are currently happening within the LuxUnplugged team and, of course, they talk about the upcoming events pertaining to the podcast. Watch out, a lot of important announcement...

Thierry welcomes back Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, to the second installment of this two-part session. After discussing the roadmap on how the Luxembourg economy should be rebuilt in a forward-looking fashion, they dive into the pillars that will underpin new growth areas, namely space, cybersecurity and supercomputers (also referred to as high performance computing, HPC). Minister Fayot...

Thierry welcomes Franz Fayot, Minister of the Economy, to the first installment of this two-part session. A passionate social democrat, Franz walks Thierry through his socialist and green roots, and what motivated him to join the government just before the coronavirus crisis broke out in early 2020. They dive into the various challenges that he has faced since the outbreak of the pandemic and how...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Rolf Sorg, Founder and CEO at PM International, to the show. An entrepreneur running a multi-billion dollar revenue business across the globe, Rolf discusses the genesis of his direct sales company in the early 90's after dropping out of university in Germany. He then explains why nutritional supplement products, PM International's flagship product suite, were less popul...

Adrien welcomes Fernand Ernster, CEO at Librairie Ernster, to the show. A very acute entrepreneur running an established bookstore brand in Luxembourg, Fernand walks Adrien through the family business history and how it's grown over generations for more than 100 years. Adrien then enquires about the secret ingredients for a brick and mortar bookseller to stay competitive at times when digital mark...

Thierry welcomes Malik Zeniti, Director at the Cluster for Logistics in Luxembourg (C4L), to the show. Dubbed "Mr Logistics of Luxembourg", Malik walks Thierry through his time at DuPont, a global US chemicals company, and how this enriching experience laid the foundation for his passion in logistics. They then discuss the C4L's mission and how the whole supply chain ecosystem operates in a landlo...

Adrien welcomes Enrique Sacau, CEO at Kneip, to the show. They discuss Kneip's role in the Luxembourg ecosystem and how it has been discreetly acting behind the scenes whilst servicing asset managers globally. Enrique then walks Adrien through the importance of being deliberate in the workplace in the context of diversity and inclusion, which goes beyond practices many businesses have adopted so f...

Thierry welcomes Rachel Kent, Partner at Hogan Lovells in London, and Pierre Reuter, Managing Partner at Hogan Lovells Luxembourg, to LuxUnplugged. At a time when a lot of businesses are re-evaluating their strategy when it comes to operating from the UK, Thierry enquires about the decision of Hogan Lovells, a global law firm, to open a new office in Dublin. Then, Rachel and Pierre debate the key...

Adrien welcomes Alberto Dalmasso, CEO and co-founder of Satispay, to the show. They discuss the genesis of Satispay, an Italian electronic money institution, and how Alberto and his co-founders came up with an idea aimed at solving the high transactional cost problems for merchants to process small payments, whilst encouraging end consumers to use their phones to facilitate transactions as opposed...

Thierry and Adrien welcome back Steve Collar, CEO at SES, to the show. In this timely follow-up conversation, Steve discusses the huge importance of connectivity in a world where a great number of people have been separated from their loved ones due to Covid-19. Also, he talks about the increase in demand for linear broadcasting (i.e. continuous content streaming) from public broadcasters, especia...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Luc Provost, CEO at B Medical Systems, to the show. After discussing the recent history of his company following the management buyout, Luc dives into the enormous success he's recently experienced since the first Covid-19 vaccine announcement. He discusses the importance of having an optimised cold chain distribution in light of the disruption that the pandemic has caus...

Adrien welcomes back Jacques Pütz, CEO of LUXHUB, to the show. In this follow-up conversation, they briefly discuss the exponential growth that LUXHUB has enjoyed over the last year as banks consuming its services are slowly embracing the benefits of cost mutualisation. In the same vein, Jacques also talks about the strategic partnership established with SIX, the Swiss financial infrastructure pro...

Thierry and Adrien welcome Joe Hoffmann, COO at 4Elements Esports and President of the Luxembourg Esports Federation, to the show. A highly driven esports practitioner, Joe explains how the fastest growing online industry has evolved over the last few years in a global context. Then, he walks them through the launch of Forward with his brother to accelerate the promotion of esports in Luxembourg w...

Adrien welcomes Stéphane Pesch, CEO at the Luxembourg Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (LPEA), to the show. In the context of the growing influence that the private equity (PE) industry exerts in Luxembourg, they discuss the role of the LPEA in underpinning this trend. A strong ESG proponent, Stéphane walks Adrien through the various initiatives that the LPEA has launched to help its...

Thierry welcomes Pierre Thein, Director at the Hein Group, to the show. A seasoned ambassador of the Luxembourg industry, Pierre talks about how the Hein Group, a state-of-the-art oven manufacturer, has successfully expanded its brand and reputation beyond Luxembourg since 1882, the year in which the company was founded. He then discusses the key ingredients for an industrial company to thrive in...

After a very successful year, Thierry and Adrien get together to look back at 2020. They discuss how they adapted to new conditions linked to the pandemic and how they maintained the pace given their high ambitions for the podcast. Finally, they talk about the outlook for 2021 and set new objectives for the coming months.