Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The first edition of the Jacob Abbou Prize took place at the Automobile Club de France. EcoRéseau Business was there.
In tribute to the atypical entrepreneur Jacob Abbou, who died in 2022, the first edition of the Jacob Abbou prize was held Thursday, November 14 at the Automobile Club de France, in Paris. Three prizes were awarded: the prize for hope and audacity; the favorite prize; and the Jacob Abbou courage and humility grand prize.
Like many, we believed him to be immortal. On September 6, 2022, Jacob Abbou passed away at the age of 79, leaving behind his wife, Martine Abbou, and his three daughters, Karine, Caroline and Estelle. And so many others he so inspired. Ideas, projects, businesses… a man who lived at a thousand miles an hour, as a true autodidact. Tireless, he notably left his mark on the automotive sector with the creation of the Automobile Journal in 1979, after the discovery of the weekly Automotive News in the United States. We could have cited, before the press, the development of display with Billboard panels, a business that he would eventually sell to Giraudy. Jacob Abbou was not afraid of exposing himself to risks, he who always preferred “trouble to boredom”… He understood everything about entrepreneurship! Without a diploma, he will share his passion, his entrepreneurial enthusiasm with HEC students (just that!) as a professor.
His wife Martine Abbou shares some of her secrets with us:
“My life has been punctuated by many encounters, always varied, often rich but rarely of the quality of those encountered in the automobile industry. In 1981, when I remember the launch of the “Men of the Year” prize, elected and highlighted by the newspaper, 10% agreed to be hated. The French, it must be admitted, have many faults and in particular they do not like anything that looks like a failure but also a success. No doubt we should see this as proof of our existence. If the automobile is a passion, the automobile journal and the journalists are a cause to defend and I fought for them. To tell you, I am certain, each newspaper must carry a flag and carry out projects, the flag of the automobile newspaper is the defense of the automobile and the men who make it”;
“A good boss has three qualities : competence, charisma, humility”;
“I would like to be remembered as a good father, a not too bad husband, and a true friend.”
Jonathan Anguelov among the first three winners
So in tribute to Jacob Abbou, Wimadame, the Journal de l'Automobile, the Nortier company, the Réelles podcast decided to create the Jacob Abbou prize. Martine, his wife, and Estelle, his daughter, wanted to honor Jacob, his life as an entrepreneur but above all the spirit of undertaking a life and earning it. Doing a lot with a little (that was all him). The event, chaired by Henri-Jacques Citroën, French foreign trade advisor, rewarded three entrepreneurs, also under the leadership of economic journalist Jean-Marc Sylvestre:
- Prize for hope and audacity: Valentin Tonti-Bernard (Liberall Conseil) ;
- Favorite price: Maï-Linh Camus (Prisme intelligence);
- Grand Prix Jacob Abbou courage and humility: Jonathan Anguelov (Aircall and Aguesseau Capital)
To find all the members of the jury, our publishing director Jean-Baptiste Leprince was one of them, click ici.
