Spain-based Betranslated hired Frédéric Spie, an industry outsider, as Global Business Development (BD) Manager in the third quarter of 2018. “After years of experience in foreign trade, most of them in the street furniture, playground, and outdoor fitness industry, I decided to move to a different sector following [Betranslated CEO] Michael Bastin’s proposal,” Spie said.
Spie, who is fluent in Spanish and French, is based in Spain, “where I have been living for many years — half my life now after being born in France. I own both nationalities.” He reports to CEO Bastin.
“I am not a translator by training, but my general knowledge, my [being] a frequent traveller and a big reader greatly facilitates my adaptation. The main challenge for me is to quickly get my competence recognized by translators under my authority,” he said. As for his BD role, Spie said he plans to further develop the French- and Spanish-speaking markets.
On industry trends, he said that although advances in technology and consolidation are noteworthy, he is “far from worrying about it.” Spie explained, “Nothing can ever replace the fine judgement of a human translator. It is a question of making it clear to the various companies likely to use our services that [even as technology advances] if one of their documents to be translated is important, its translation deserves and needs to be performed by a human — a qualified and experienced translator.”
Meanwhile, he said the ongoing industry consolidation “gives a traditional agency like Betranslated its place” as a company focused on the quality of its translations and the relationships between the people working together on any given project. |