Interview: Harold Parisot of the Chinese Business Club talks to Paris Select
Paris Select meets Parisian luxury industry players. Designers, businessmen and influencers all play a major role in the city’s economy and influence. Today, Paris Select takes you to the prestigious Crillon Hotel for an exclusive meeting with Harold Parisot, founder of the Chinese Business Club. This network man has attracted the country’s most influential business and political leaders. Discover the career of this visionary who embodies Parisian elegance and excellence, and how he is helping to shape the luxury landscape in Paris.
What is your professional background and what motivated you to found the CHINESE BUSINESS CLUB?
Harold Parisot: “I created the Chinese Business Club in 2012 in Paris at first nobody believed in it because I don’t speak Chinese, I’ve never lived in China and I didn’t know a single Chinese person, but when I understood that there were Chinese bosses who were interested in French brands and who were looking to meet French bosses and politicians, I said to myself that there was an opportunity to be seized and so that’s how the Chinese Business Club was born in 2012 in Paris.”
What are the Chinese Business Club’s main objectives, and how do you go about achieving them?
H P : “The Chinese Business Club has been 90% Franco-French since the covid, bringing together around 130 member companies. There’s a high rate of loyalty, with 90% of member companies renewing their membership every year, which is a real pleasure! Entrepreneurs, business leaders and brands come to do business. We organize around fifteen events a year in Paris in the form of networking, cocktails and lunches every month, always in beautiful Parisian locations. There are always guests of honor from the media, either a head of state like Emmanuel Macron, Nicolas Sarkozy, Albert of Monaco, or a CAC 40 boss: Total, L’Oréal, Accor, Club Med, Pernod Ricard… lots of fine French groups! What’s more, we’re welcoming successful entrepreneurs who are at the origin of French unicorns. I believe there are around thirty French unicorns. These are the famous start-ups valued at over a billion euros. So far, we’ve been lucky enough to welcome the heads of BlaBlaCar, Qonto, Ledger, back market, Doctolib and aircall, so it’s true that these are great success stories. They’re often entrepreneurs who start from scratch and go on to become billion-dollar companies! Wow effect guaranteed!
What are the profiles of club members?
H.P: “At the Chinese Business Club today, there are more than 130 member companies, with a growing number of start-ups, VSEs, SMEs, ETIs… The aim is to provide entrepreneurs with contacts to which we don’t have easy access. Meet people you don’t meet on every street corner. Today, there are a multitude of small companies, start-ups and VSEs that are thriving all over France. The message I want to get across is that with this network, with this high-level address book, you can grow your business and your sales exponentially. I think there’s a lot more added value for a small company rather than a large group which, with or without the club, you can be sure, would continue to exist and do business.”
How to become a member
H.P: “So to get in touch with us at the Chinese Business Club, it’s very simple either LinkedIn or Instagram or simply the contact section of the Chinese Business Club website. There are club photos, club videos, a full listing of member companies.”
As founder of the Chinese Business Club, what are your general impressions of Paris as a business center?
H.P : “Personally, I see Paris as a business city and a tourist city. After that, I think we could improve a lot in Paris. I don’t always agree with the policies in place. I’m not sure that killing car travel is a good idea. I think we could be much more attractive to foreign companies, foreign investors and foreign tourists. I’m not sure that everything is in place. Personally, for example, I’d be in favor of creating a casino in Paris. Today, there are casinos all along the French coast. I think the law needs to be changed to allow a casino in Paris. And why not, for example, transform the Petit Palais, which I think is under-used, at least in my eyes, and turn it into a casino! That would generate absolutely phenomenal revenue for the city of Paris, for the Île-de-France region, for the State… And what’s more, it would be a new attraction for the tourists who come to Paris from all over the world!”
You must have entertained a lot of celebrities. Which meeting particularly impressed you?
H.P : “At the Chinese Business Club, we’ve been lucky enough to welcome some great personalities, heads of state, captains of industry and successful entrepreneurs. Of course, many of them have made an impression on me. Particularly Emmanuel Macron in 2015, and since then the Chinese Business Club has been a huge success, so that’s a pleasure. We’ve had several visits from President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is due to return to the club in 2025. And then there’s one meeting that really stood out for me, that of Jean d’Ormesson, whom I met and who, without even knowing me, accepted my invitation to come to the club. So that was quite a moving moment, because he was a great gentleman and obviously all club members felt privileged to be able to meet him, have lunch with him and chat with him!”
As a frequent traveler, what sets Paris apart from other major cities?
capitals?
H.P I’m lucky enough to travel a lot. I think that when you travel, you really open your mind to other civilizations, other cultures, other customs. It’s true that when you come back to France, you’re lucky to realize that we’re well off. There’s a lot of help, and crèches, schools and universities are all free. When we become unemployed, the State gives us money. When you retire, the State gives you money. When we fall ill, we get free treatment, etc. So it’s true that when you travel more, you realize that in France, you’re living in a paradise! With a pretty nice climate, where there’s security on the whole, and so on. So there you have it, I think there are obviously a lot of things that can be improved, but objectively speaking, we’ve got nothing to complain about!”
How do you feel about the Olympics?
H.P : “So, we’re lucky enough to be hosting the Paris Olympics in July 2024 I think it’s an opportunity. Like everyone else, I obviously hope that everything will go smoothly, with no incidents or attacks. Of course, it’s a great showcase for France. It’s a great showcase for France, for French brands and French products on the international stage, and for our city. I hope that France will win a lot of medals, of course. The idea and the objective is for there to be a return on investment because all this has a cost, so I hope that in the medium and long term, it will be beneficial for us French.”
Your preferences in Paris …
Do you prefer the Palace atmosphere of the Golden Triangle or the Arty ambience of the
left bank?
H.P : “So personally, I prefer the atmosphere of the palaces. At the Chinese Business Club, we’re lucky enough to have some very fine hotels as members. The Hôtel de Crillon, where we are today, but also the Fouquet’s, the Prince de Galles, the Shangri-La, the Royal Monceau, the Peninsula, the Plaza Athénée, the Brach etc…. All the bosses of these beautiful hotels are members of the Chinese Business Club and take part in all the club’s events, so it’s true that I have a preference for the beautiful Parisian hotels.”
Would you prefer a Dinner Cruise on the Seine or a Rooftop Table?
H.P : “I prefer the rooftop table, because I get seasick on the water, even on the Seine! And I like rooftop tables because I think they’re high up. The unobstructed views are absolutely breathtaking in Paris. There are a lot of great rooftop restaurants. I’m thinking in particular of restaurants in the Paris Society group, such as Mun, suite girafe. Where there are views absolutely with the wow effect as they say.”
Would you rather visit the Louvre or the Centre Georges Pompidou?
H.P: I prefer the Louvre, where there’s obviously the permanent collection and then, from time to time, ephemeral collections. But I admire the Louvre.”
Gastronomic restaurant or traditional bistro?
H.P: “As I was saying earlier, I’m more of a gourmet restaurant guy. I’m not very sporty, but I’m very greedy!”
On weekends, do you like to escape Paris or, on the contrary, do you love Parisian life?
H.P: “On weekends, it’s quite simple, it’s either I work because I work a lot, I don’t count my hours, so I either work on my computer all weekend, or I take a break outside Paris”.
What are your three favorite spots for optimizing a business meeting in Paris?
H.P: “As I was saying, all the beautiful hotels in Paris are great spots for business meetings. Frankly, they’re all perfect places for business breakfasts, lunches or dinners.”
3 visits you’d recommend to someone visiting Paris?
H.P: “So, for a tourist coming to discover Paris, I’d obviously recommend the Eiffel Tower first, followed by the Louvre, and then I’m a big fan of the Grand Palais. I think these are really the first three places I’d recommend to a tourist discovering Paris for the first time.”
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