Amaury Tréguer is Executive Director Social at communications agency, Red Havas, where he leads a team of 15 social specialists across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Join our work-life balance community to get access to new daily routines and exclusive content. Sign me up!
1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
After a Master’s degree in Marketing Communications at Macquarie University in Sydney, I went back to Paris to start a production company called Sixtine.
After three years of operation and more than 100 videos produced (TV commercials, corporate videos, music clips) I was missing my life in Sydney and eager to explore new adventures, I came back in October 2009.
When I arrived back, Facebook was launching its first Business Pages in Australia and I could see a massive appetite from my clients who traditionally focused on TV as their core channel about the opportunity to post their TVCs on Facebook.
Back then, we weren’t talking about reach; posting the TVCs on social was just the ‘cool thing’ to do. After creating multiple Facebook Pages for clients such as Brita, Tefal, Air Austral and many ‘like-gate’ competitions (do you remember those?!) to get more “fans”, I quickly realised that I had to specialise in this space.
I led strategies at social media agencies such as Circul8 and We Are Social, then moved to The Haus (home to six independent marketing communications companies) as their Head of Social and Content for a couple of years.
I’m now Executive Director for Social at Red Havas, leading a team of 15 social specialists across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. We are fortunate enough to work with a number of category leaders across a wide range of industries such as automotive, tech, FMCG, tourism, beauty, healthcare and pharma.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Every morning, for the past 9 years, I wake up at 5:30am and head straight to Bondi Beach to exercise with friends, drink coffee, take photos of the sunrise for my Morning Bondi site and finish with a dip in the ocean. This is by the far the best way to wake up and kick-off the day.
Once I arrive back home, the rush starts, I help my wife getting my daughter Charlotte ready for school, have breakfast while I select the best photos from the morning, quickly edit and post them on my various social channels before either heading to the office or working from home since Covid.
A typical day at the office starts around 9am. I’m in meetings or video conferences for much of the day, catching-up with the various client teams, the clients themselves and the rest of the leadership team.
The final part of the day, I play catch-up on emails, do all the work that I have on my plate before heading back home to kiss my daughter good night. I then reconnect for an hour, have dinner and either watch Netflix or read a book – depending on how I feel.
I’m in bed by 10:30-11pm and set the alarm-clock for 5:30am. My days are packed, but I love what I do so it doesn’t bother me.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Havas has always been flexible with working hours and remote working. Naturally this has been accelerated since COVID-19 hit.
At the moment, we are working Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the office and Fridays are optional but realistically, if you don’t feel like coming into the office or want to come every day, you have options. You do whatever you feel like doing as long as it’s not affecting your work and team collaboration.
I personally love being back at the office a couple of days a week to connect with the different teams, the social interactions and the banter. I’m too much of a people person to enjoy working from home all the time.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
I have a pretty full-on job but at the same time, I feel that my day to day is well balanced between my me-time down the beach, my office hours and my family time in the evening. Being able to kiss my daughter good night every day is crucial!
It’s not necessarily something that my dad was able to do with me when I was young or my friends back in Paris are necessarily able to do with their kids – as they are usually back home around 9pm – so I consider myself pretty lucky!
My weekends are usually very relaxing, I might catch-up on a few admin stuff but the rest is all about having some quality time with my family and friends – ballet class for my daughter on Saturday morning, beach time with the fam, surfing with mates. The perfect Aussie weekend!
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
When I initially started my job at Red Havas back in March 2019, I was travelling every month between Melbourne and Brisbane, sometimes a couple of times per week which made it difficult to keep up with my Morning Bondi routine.
Since COVID and the ban on domestic travel, I have been able to start again going down the beach every morning which makes me very happy and keeps me sane.
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
To stay up to date with all things Marketing, Social and Digital, I receive between 15-20 newsletters per day.
My favourites have to be:
- eMarketer
- AdAge
- SmartBrief
- Marketing Week
- The Drum
- SmartCompany
In terms of podcasts, I really enjoy Marketers in Pyjamas by Jules Lund and No Bullsh!t Leadership by Martin Moore and Emma Green.
For books, I’m a massive fan of Michael Connelly. I have probably read all his books. I’m currently in the middle of his latest one Fair Warning and loving it!
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I’m not too much into gadgets; I just love having both a good phone and a great camera. Thanks to my page Morning Bondi, I’m fortunate enough to work with amazing partners. Therefore, I have all the gear that I need. I’m a lucky man!
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
I would love to know more how actor, producer, writer, serial entrepreneur, marketer and father Ryan Renolds does it.
Besides his talent as an actor, Ryan is on his way to become one of the most talented admen of the past two years with all the work that he has been producing for his own brands Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile while still juggling with all his other activities. The perfect embodiment of a one-man band. Go Ryan!
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
However busy your day job is, make sure that you prioritise the one or two things that makes you happy in life. Mine are simple: my family and my morning routine.
Watching the sun rising over the ocean every morning is probably the best thing to set-you up for the day. It’s what I call “Vitamin Sea” – you should try it if you can!
Before you go…
If you’d like to sponsor or advertise with Balance the Grind, let’s talk here.
Join our community and never miss a conversation about work, life & balance – subscribe to our newsletter.
