As he returns to his roots - for he never really left the associative sector - we asked Alexis Vandevivère to look back on his career and give us his astonishing report three months after taking up his new post at the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale. Almost half of his career path has been spent working for associations (13 years) and agencies (16 years), and it's all been about seizing opportunities and freedom.

1. What is your professional background?

As a donor, my dad used to read Amnesty International magazine, which I think helped develop my awareness of the voluntary sector early on. In high school, I quickly became an activist against the death penalty, leading debates. I went on to study Marketing and Communications in the hope of reconciling my professional life with my commitment to associations. After a first internship, I worked for AIDES as a conscientious objector, then as an employee. After a brief stint with Secours Catholique, where I didn't really enjoy myself, I joined the Petits Frères des Pauvres as a fund-raiser. An organization I loved working for. At the same time, I became a director of Don en confiance and France générosité. Then Daniel Bruneau asked me to take over as head of fundraising for the APF, an offer I couldn't refuse, especially at the age of 30!

After 6 years, crowned with great results, I asked myself what was next. "Was I going to be doing one association after another for the rest of my life? What could I do that would be interesting and meaningful?" I was very lucky and seized the opportunity offered to me by Adfinitas, an agency based in Lille, which until then had specialized in advising international NGOs, particularly of American origin, and which wanted to open a Paris office. I'd never worked in a company before, nor had I ever been confronted with the problem of profitability... I started out on my own in Paris, and the story lasted 16 years. After I won Action contre la faim, everything went very fast. I hired, the agency grew and I became a partner.

In 2022, I took advantage of the change in majority shareholder to leave. On the one hand, I felt I had more than fulfilled my mission. On the other hand, my wife's serious health problems had taken their toll on me. So I took a 9-month break, with the firm intention of returning to the voluntary sector. Given our family ordeal, I saw the position at the Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) as a sign.

2. Were your professional contacts surprised by your choice?

In fact, it was my time in an agency that surprised me the most. In fact, I'd always said I'd go back to the voluntary sector. But at the time, my choice of agency raised doubts. In a way, I was joining the dark side of the force. At first, there was a sort of mistrust. But Adfinitas was seduced, precisely because I had the verbatim to speak to the associative players.
Freedom is without doubt the key value that has always guided my career. I'm not held back by promises of money or power. Although I had my doubts, the Adfinitas directors assured me of their confidence and pledged to respect my individuality and associative style. That's what convinced me. In my opinion, it's pretty obvious: when you listen to your instincts, when you follow your desires, you're rarely wrong. Going from agency manager to director in an association is not a question of money or power, but of joy and pleasure.

I'd say the shock is harder now, because I'd got used to the freedom of the manager. I had put together a team from scratch, no doubt formatted in my own image... Today, I find myself back in an established, fairly institutional organization, with all the complexities associated with foundation status. However, I've been reassured by the foundation, which is quite happy with my "itchy" side, encouraging me to keep my fresh outlook, the taste for challenge I discovered in the agency and, above all, my freedom of tone to propose new things.

"So yes, there are a few constraints, but I'm getting back to my first love. And for the moment, the FRM is happy with the little wind of freedom I'm breathing into the organization."

3. What advice do you have for making a successful transition?

Ever since I took over, I've been trying hard not to fit into the mold. I have to take a little on myself, as I might be tempted to be discreet... Freedom is a strong promise on the part of the foundation, almost a small risk for such a respected French institution. That said, while the general public has a rather classical view of the FRM, among researchers, it's modernity that prevails. That's what's at stake in terms of image, it seems to me. The team, too, is happy with the freedom of tone they've gained in the agency. The fact that someone is carrying it forward and disseminating it brings vivacity and dynamism to an ecosystem where people usually find it hard to break free from a "statutory" style.

There's a lot of opposition between life in an agency and life in an association, but the two experiences are highly complementary. An association is eminently political, whereas an agency is all about efficiency. Of course, the benefits flow in both directions. Agencies are all about "the solution to everything", creativity and performance. On the other hand, an agency tends to jump from one cause to another, whereas in an association, we get to the bottom of the social mission, the statutes... On this side, we really have a vision of our impact, for example, when we support a research project. I'm a trainer at Don en confiance and I'm used to saying: "An association isn't created to collect money, but to fulfill a social mission. The money comes afterwards.

"Today, I'm trying to put the best of both cultures to music.
My ability to analyze the foundation's mission, manage the right discourse and navigate governance; and my ability to make good use of my freedom, to constantly create and break boundaries.