The Career Rockstars Podcast

Create a Life that Needs no Vacation with Maurice Philogene

What a challenge Maurice has set out for us in this 1st Episode, Season 2 of the ©Career Rockstars Podcast!

I can try to introduce Maurice Philogene based on his career positions and achievements but he’s much larger than that!

I see Maurice as a Multidimensional Freedom Explorer, someone who has designed their lifestyle to ensure not only Financial but also Time, Geographic, Relationship, and Purpose Freedom!

In this episode, we dive deep into Maurice’s intentional pathway to Freedom, where he shares his journey, his blueprint, and his ultimate passion.

We also explored some common career challenges, like competition and the rat race for upward mobility and how they can impact our lifestyle.

There are so many precious nuggets in this episode that I don’t know how to express them briefly!

You’ll just have to listen to this wonderful person who helps to move the needle in people’s life, supporting people all over the world, our little blue marble.

Listen to learn all about how you too can create a life that needs no vacation…

Get ready to take notes…

Thank you, Maurice!

You can find Maurice Philogene on

I feel so grateful to all my Guests and Listeners of the Career Rockstars Podcast, Season 1. In the finale, episode #10, I was lucky to have a Career Coach with over 20 years of experience as my guest...

Meet Steve Preston, The Career Catalyst, and Managing Director of SMP Solutions (Career & People Development). Steve has written several books on career coaching, he’s a keynote speaker, course creator, and trainer for aspiring career coaches, and supports companies with redundancy and outplacement management. In my eyes, Steve is Career Rockstar, not only in terms of his own career but also how he supports others on their career journeys!

To all career coaches, and those seeking career coaching, get those headphones on as Steve takes us on his journey, his lessons learnt, his advice, and maybe we’ll peek into the future to see what he’s up to. Steve shares how technology has impacted the evolution of career coaching and its consequences. There is something for everyone, some focus on Job search strategy and execution, some on tangible services- resume, Linkedin profiles, and some on classical career transition. There is something for everyone, just know what you’re getting into, especially with the explosion of online courses.

Join us on this episode of the ©Career Rockstars Podcast as Steve takes us on his career journey from redundancy to running a successful career coaching business helping people all over the world to unlock and fulfill their potential, simply helping them to find and do what they love. We explored his 6 step coaching methodology and once again into “knowing thyself”, a crucial step that many job seekers/holders and coaches overlook until it’s too late. Listen to find out what makes Steve Preston a Career Rockstar, his advice to those seeking career coaching, and to aspiring career coaches.

My Guest today is Renuka Ayre, a versatile, certified, multi-lingual global project manager with extensive international experience. As a freelancer, she helps organizations to achieve their goals by leading their projects to success. Renuka believes in continuous learning and holds a PMP certification. More importantly, she puts her knowledge and experience to use. She is so passionate about Project Management that she’s been an active volunteer to the PMI, Belgium Chapter since 2010. A commitment to support others on their journeys.

Renuka, a graduate of Delhi University, moved to Belgium in 1984 and since then has held various roles at The European Commission, Hewlett-Packard, and now at Tractabel. Renuka has had some steep turns in her career, which I’m sure you can’t wait to hear about!

Join us on this episode of the ©Career Rockstars Podcast as Renuka takes us on his career journey starting in Delhi, giving up her glamorous job, getting married, moving to Belgium, starting a family, and succeeding in her passions…! We talked about her conscious choices on giving up her glamorous job, committing to an arranged marriage, stepping down with pride only to learn to fly high again. We openly spoke about coping with work, home, and conscious sacrifices in bringing up children. Renuka shared what it takes to be successful in any job, from secretary to leading projects in Fortune 500 companies. We also explored “knowing thyself”, a crucial step that many job seekers/holders overlook until it’s too late.

Listen to find out what makes Renuka a Career Rockstar, her advice to young Project Managers and anyone facing job challenges.

You can find Renuka on:

My Guest today is Mouloud Boukhachab, currently the Head of Regional Operations, Africa, Middle-East and Turkey at the 2nd largest laboratory in the world, Pierre Fabre group. I see and respect Mouloud as a Leader ever since we worked together on a Vaccine launch at GSK. Mouloud has a truckful of expertise, experience, and skills in Marketing and Sales and as a General Manager. He believes in supporting others in their development and describes himself as a Servant Leader.

Join us on this episode of the ©Career Rockstars Podcast as Mouloud takes us on his career journey starting in Morocco, exploring the UK and Europe, and back to Africa…and it doesn’t stop there!

We talked about what it’s like to be the Head of Operations with more than 600 employees, and his Leadership style and philosophies. He openly shared his WHY and how it motivates him to get out of bed every single day! Noting that “you make your job great!”.

We discussed what it takes to build a career, from dreams and ambition to challenges and managing rejections. He believes that your time will come, but you’ve got to put in the work. And, we spent some time on the importance of Value Creation for the Company, your Team, and yourself…We even steered into Employee engagement/retention and the role of HR and Hiring Managers.

Want to learn about what hasn’t changed in Marketing and Sales from an Expert? Then tune in to hear all the inspiring content from Mouloud Boukhachab, his book recommendation, and how to build your own career.

You can find Mouloud on:

My Guest today is Loig Le Graet, currently a Professional coach (ACC) and Corporate Consultant. Loig holds a Masters in IT and Computer Science from the INSA, Lyon, France. He has more than 15 years experience in multiple environments, and has held several different posts from IT engineer, to project management, to entrepreneur, transitioned to Human Resource and is now an independent certified Coach with a worldwide clientele.

Join us on this episode of the ©Career Rockstars Podcast as Loig shares his dynamic career path with switches from Corporate IT, Project Management and HR, and 2X Entrepreneur. We explored the internal and external drivers for career transition and the importance of paying attention to our emotions. The beliefs we hold and difficulties on switching careers, especially when you’re good at your job, yet you feel frustrated, angry, and there is a loss of meaning.

Loig stressed the importance of self-assessment/inventory and how it has helped him in being ready for new opportunities. He also highlighted how a dedicated investment in his personal and professional development supported his career switches while he used the Eisenhower matrix to keep focussed. Beyond Loig’s impressive corporate career track he also shared his entrepreneurial experiences, and what it was like to leave his first business behind.

Some golden advice for those starting to get the itch to switch careers included the value of having a vision and connecting with your emotions. He also touched on the importance of values alignment and a growth mindset for proactive career management and growth. Tune in to hear all the juicy content from Loig Le Graet, his book recommendations, and how to explore the Career World.

You can find Loig Le Graet on:

It's a pleasure to introduce Severine Vercruysse, a passionate commercial executive with 20+ years of international experience – She has launched not 1 but 3 blockbusters and 7 other amazing brands in B2C and B2B environments. And she believes in working Together with High-Performance Teams! After dedicating several years to working in the vaccines domain for a multinational biotech company, Severine has been making some well-thought-through moves in her life…She makes things happen! Severine has countless skills but what stands out is developing strategy and launch excellence, and her belief in developing people and self…And for me her enthusiasm and excitement!!!

Join us as Severine shares her career journey from deciding on a career path at 18 to all the intentional swerves she has taken. She shares: *what it’s like to launch 3 Fortune 500 Blockbusters internationally; *the importance of knowing yourself, your strengths, fears, and weaknesses, and building trust with your matrix team. *She speaks passionately about the power of feedback, which can be transformational, and how listening can help to create real synergy. Having branded several products, she reminds us that we’re all a work in progress and the *power of personal branding. On a personal level, Severine practises journaling as part of her personal development journey. On the professional side, she tells us about her decision to upskill to become a *best-in-class Digital Marketeer ready for the next phase of her career…And you must listen to discover what makes Severine Vercruysse an *International Career Rockstar…

You can find Severine Vercruysse on:

Say hello to Patrick Kamba, MBA, PMP, a Project Management Lead and CEO of PKPharmaConsult, based in Belgium. Patrick strongly believes that any project can be planned, organized, executed, and monitored so that it can be completed as successfully as possible despite a Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous environment. Patrick has followed a Project Management Career Trajectory, so all Listeners, and current & aspiring Project Managers, Program Managers and Project Management Office Leads, tune in to learn what it’s like to be a Career Rockstar in Project Management. 

Patrick shares his story from his early days as a Process Improvement Engineer to becoming a well-known and highly sought-after Project Management (PM) Lead in the Pharmaceutical sector. We talked about his passion for project management whether it’s about trains or vaccines! It all revolves around people, processes, and plans. He expressed his long-awaited desire to join the Pharma world and shared the career story that got him there. For a crash course on project management roles, listen attentively to the differences between PM and Project Management Office. He also shared his secret about having a "Campaign Team" who supported and helped him to overcome his fears as he went from Zero to CEO of his own company in 3 weeks! Patrick believes in using curiosity and learning to support career growth, and the importance of a career plan, which can change!

Disclaimer: The views or opinions expressed by Patrick Kamba belong solely to him and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that he may be associated with personally or professionally.

You can find Patrick Kamba:

Meet Laurent Zecchinon, who has survived 3 job losses by practicing adaptability and decision making. Laurent specializes in transforming individuals and organizations through a systemic and personalized approach inspired by best-in-class practices in business, military, sports, and politics. Laurent holds a Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences and 2 Masters from the University of Liege, Belgium. With more than 20 years of experience in multiple environments holding several different posts from Science teacher to Lab Manager to Project Manager, it will be interesting to unveil his career path, which was certainly not a linear one. Whether you're a Corporate Professional, Academic, or Entrepreneur, listen to find out what makes Laurent a Career Rockstar!

In this episode, we discussed whether a Ph.D. is overrated, especially in today’s self-education movement. The dilemma of choosing a career path, is there a right one? What to consider when transitioning from full-time employee to Entrepreneur- financial security or freedom to operate, and other pros/cons. What it takes to survive being fired not once but thrice! Laurent also stresses the importance of starting to invest early in your personal and professional development for accelerated results in both your career and overall quality of life. And listen to the end for some amazing celebrities he has met on his journey…

Thank you for listening and sharing your feedback and comments!

You can find Laurent Zecchinon:

Meet Arlene Derbaix, a woman who believes that we can love our lives as well as our jobs. Arlene is a Leader inside, and outside the corporate world. Starting with studies in Latin and Ancient Greek, she moved on to a Ph.D. in Finance Management. She currently holds a senior position in a leading Pharmaceutical company and is also the co-Founder of Bliss, a company focusing on women’s well-being… And by the way, she loves numbers!

In this episode, we talked about her ambition and challenges in being a leader inside and outside the corporate world. She highlights the importance of believing that everything is possible, however, there is no magic wand; she explains how our careers can be seen as a series of decisions, a succession of challenges driven by innate ambition. We discussed how to consciously and deliberately develop your career, and her philosophy “Build your own McKinsey”. She also expressed the importance of having a Career Coach to help you step back and re-evaluate your worth beyond your resume; women in leadership; and how the Power of the Network is key…

You can find Arlene Derbaix on:

Meet Andrew Parker, a Corporate Survivor with >25y experience in Sales, Marketing, and Strategy; an Australian who has lived and worked in the USA, Europe, and Asia, currently based in Singapore. When the time was right, Andrew decided to put his skills to the test and founded Wasabi Consulting and The Anxious Executive Initiative. He’s also a Certified Leadership & Business Coach, a University Lecturer, and Podcast host. Let’s find out what makes Andrew a Career Rockstar!

Andrew and I explore not only successes but also the importance of acknowledging our failures and scars and how they can help us to grow. Andrew shares how he dealt with boredom and the importance of saying YES to new challenges; the Superpowers of Introverts; and the importance of your MBTI profile for you and others. He also unveils the importance of cultural intelligence in career management especially in our virtual world of work, and in figuring out what’s right for you. We even have input from Andrew’s furry friend (no edits)! 

Reach Andrew:

Welcome to the Debut Episode of The ©Career Rockstars Podcast. 

Be Bold Enough to Change

My very first guest is Rhonda A. OCHA, Director, Customer Delivery Lead at MASTERCARD, Europe

With over three decades of business experience with leading global companies, including 20 years with Mastercard Europe, Rhonda has lead cross-functional global and virtual teams to deliver innovative, complex, multi-market products, services, and digital payment solutions in the Benelux, France, the Nordics, and Baltics. Her career includes management roles in business development and key account sales in the US and Europe within the courier, internet, airline, and payment technology industries. Rhonda is a Speaker, Mentor, and Organizer, and promotes gender balance, diversity, and inclusion.

In this Premiere episode, we discussed what makes Rhonda a Career Rockstar! We talked about her career path from a BA in French Language and Literature (University of Michigan) to being the Head of Customer Delivery at Mastercard (Europe); how she manages change and career challenges; believing in yourself and the role of trust, curiosity and emotional intelligence; advice to job seekers on the grief process; the role of effective communication in interviews; assessing job profiles; the importance of a plan; the super powers of networking, and so much more…

You can find Rhonda on: