Sébastien TARDIVON

I come from a rural area back in Burgundy (cradle of France and producer of the world's best wines! yes, I'm proud of my origins ^_^), where my younger sister and I were raised in a farm by a caring mother and an hard-working father. There I developed independence and a strong sense of curiosity for nature and sciences.
As I grew up, my faculties at school allowing, I then made my way to follow an engineering course in electronics, and therefore to get closer to the high-tech world I've always been attracted to. But, as if not curious enough, I wanted to complete that course with an overseas project, in a remote culture; and so I grabbed an opportunity to do some research work in one of Shanghai's most prestigious universities.
And there my passion for China came to life.

Since I graduated, I've spent almost my whole career in Shenzhen - a city located in South China and next to Hong Kong - which, in a couple of decades, turned to be a major production hub for the world, and China's electronics and high-tech pole.
I landed there in 2007 to develop telecom/networking equipment for a French company, and since then I have been taking various roles which have been happily holding me there.

I enjoy Shenzhen because it is a young city full of hope with much of what I need: it is warm (sometimes too hot!) all-year-round, green with beaches or mountains just at the gates of the city, bustling, and seemingly never out of the resources I need for my work or for my personal life. (Well, it's hard to find good French wine or cheese here, but I have my ways around that ^_^)
Also, it and its neighbour Hong Kong together make for an excellent gateway to Asia, so I cannot miss an opportunity to travel around when I have the time to.