Discover L’Escale, a company whose mission is “to support men and women on their life journey and help them find the job that’s right for them,” through this interview with founder Gaelle Brouat.

Hi Gaelle, to begin, can you tell us about your academic background — what did you study at KEDGE and before joining the school?
I joined KEDGE after completing a preparatory HEC program, with a rather vague career goal: working in the healthcare sector (not surprising, as I come from a family of doctors and pharmacists!). At KEDGE, I didn’t specialize but tried to align my activities with my goal by joining associations like Boud’choumins (which promotes blood and bone marrow donation for leukemia patients) and Handimed (which supports the inclusion of people with disabilities, especially in schools). I also did an internship at a hospital in Switzerland.

My best memories from KEDGE are the people I met — both faculty and fellow students — many of whom remain my closest friends today.

Tell us about your career after graduation — what roles did you hold, and what did you learn from them?
After graduating, I tried to join a healthcare strategy consulting firm I had discovered during my internship. The classic response: I was too junior! So I decided to follow my then-partner, who had been hired by a financial audit firm in Luxembourg. It wasn’t the job or location I had dreamed of, but I saw it as an opportunity to step outside my “Marseille” identity and continue exploring the world, something I had grown fond of during my exchanges at school.

I spent three years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers Luxembourg. It was an amazing experience — great people, a pleasant country. The job taught me organization, rigor, teamwork… all of which were incredibly helpful later on. But after three years, I hit my limits and couldn’t keep pretending to enjoy a job that didn’t truly interest me.

I applied to the consulting firm I had long admired — Antares Consulting — and was hired. Based in Paris, I got to explore the hospital sector in depth and worked on projects across France and Europe, especially Belgium. My role: helping reorganize hospital departments from economic, material, and human perspectives. I was living my dream — working in healthcare, contributing to meaningful missions, without being a doctor!

However, I quickly became frustrated by the theoretical nature of the work and the lack of direct engagement with medical staff. That led to a period of doubt. Eventually, I was offered a chance to try recruitment consulting — still in healthcare! After a few months of testing, I joined Michael Page, which was expanding its healthcare division.

While recruitment firms aren’t my favorite environment, I have fond memories of this experience because it allowed me to dive deeper into a sector I’m passionate about — this time working with medical device companies and pharmaceutical labs.

Three years later (yes, again three years!), I left Paris to return to Marseille with my husband and our soon-to-be-born daughter. I joined Badenoch & Clark, which was opening a Marseille office. I had to build a network and client base from scratch in a city where I had never worked before. But I got to recruit for some fantastic companies and work with people who taught me a lot.

In 2018, as I began questioning my next steps, I had a chance encounter with the founders of a healthcare startup. Two months later, I joined their team. The experience was a failure — but it was the trigger (among others) that pushed me to launch my own venture!

What is your current project/situation? What inspired you to do what you’re doing today?
I founded L’Escale, a coaching startup that helps people find the job that suits them best. The idea came from my own journey — navigating different roles, sectors, and doubts — and realizing how many people struggle to find meaningful work.

What are your development goals for the future?
So far, dozens of people have tried our programs, and the feedback has been very positive. My top priority is to build a real community around L’Escale through groups, workshops, and events. The next step is to offer our services to companies — especially recruitment firms and schools — that need online solutions to boost the employability of their candidates and graduates.

How did your education at KEDGE Business School help shape who you are today, and how did it support your project’s development?
I’ve maintained strong ties with KEDGE over the years: I serve on Be-U thesis juries annually, I’ve led workshops for students, and I’ve organized a recruitment event (Trumarseille) at the school for the past seven years. I was also selected this year to be supported by the Business Nursery.

Ultimately, more than the coursework, I owe a lot to the people I met at KEDGE — they’ve been true supporters throughout my journey.

If you had one piece of advice for KEDGE graduates who want to follow a similar path, what would it be?
I think students aren’t taught enough to understand who they really are — how they function, what they enjoy, how they learn best. Too often, we choose a path just because it “opens doors,” without asking whether it aligns with our values or desires.

My biggest advice: explore the path you’re considering as much as possible — research, meet people, test things — so you don’t waste time living a life that doesn’t suit you.

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If you're thinking about changing jobs and want a solution that goes beyond traditional career coaching, take a look at L’Escale’s website!