Speaker of the day: Lamine Gueye — Creativity and Innovation

- Lamine GUEYE is a Senegalese alpine skier, born July 18, 1960, in Dakar.

He shares his name with his grandfather, Lamine Guèye: a major political figure in Senegal from the 1930s to the 1960s. His grandfather notably served as president of the National Assembly of Senegal.

In 1968, when his grandfather passed away, young Lamine left Dakar. To calm his turbulent temperament, he was sent to boarding school in Switzerland. For the young boy who had never seen snow, it was a shock: he loved it. He then began winter sports and discovered what proved to be a true passion: alpine skiing.

He then left the snowy peaks to continue his studies in Paris. But when he returned to see his mother in Senegal, he had only one idea in mind: to create the Senegalese Ski Federation so that Senegal could also participate in the Olympic Games. This was a true obsession that would never leave him. A gamble that seemed completely crazy to the rest of the world but did not discourage Lamine at all. From then on, he embarked on an uphill battle to make this dream a reality.

In 1979, the first step was taken: he founded the Senegalese Ski Federation (FSS), where he was simultaneously president, treasurer, and secretary. In 1984, at the Sarajevo Olympic Games, he made sports history: he was the first black African skier to participate in the Winter Olympics and he was the sole representative of his country. It was the accomplishment of a dream, a beautiful adventure came to an end.

Lamine then detached himself from skiing but embarked on new challenges: financial markets, import-export, modeling, and even cinema, as he participated in a James Bond film: Moonraker. It was before the Calgary Games in 1988 that the desire resurfaced: the Jamaican bobsleigh team and their fantastic adventure echoed his snowy dreams, far from being buried.

It was with this momentum that he competed in the Albertville Games in 1992 and in Lillehammer in 1994. His passion for alpine skiing remained intact: he participated in 25 World Cup events and 5 World Championships.

In 1994, Lamine stopped competing but never lost sight of what brought him to the Olympic Games. He waged a real battle against the ban on non-alpine nations participating in the Winter Olympics.

A lover of extremes, Lamine is also a freediving and spearfishing instructor. He has also created innovative prototypes in the field of surfing, aeromodelling, and spearfishing, some of which have been patented. With UnoMe, you can benefit from the experience of Lamine Gueye, alpine skier and initiator of the Senegalese Ski Federation, who stands as a true achiever of impossible projects.

Benefit from him on themes such as motivation or foresight. Topics he explored, both in his activity as a skier, as an entrepreneur, an actor, not to mention his creativity in aeromodelling, surfing, and spearfishing!

Through him, you will discover particular aspects of the entrepreneurial spirit and the mental posture that allows one to look towards the future. His book "Senegalese Skier Seeks Olympic Spirit", published in 2008 by Calman Levy, recounts his unusual journey and his determination to achieve his dream at all costs.Languages spoken by the speaker

• French
• English
• Italian

Lamine Gueye offers conferences in all countries worldwide. His specialty: switching from one language to another for multilingual Q&A sessions with all your employees.