Ludovic D'hooghe
Ludovic D'hooghe +
An executive background before becoming an advisor
It is this hands-on field experience that underpins my approach. When an executive talks to me about declining margins, staff turnover among management, or growth outpacing the organizational structure, I know what they are talking about because I have lived it from the inside.
In 2007 , I created Alphéa Conseil in Valence to act on a simple conviction: a company's human challenges are never just human challenges. They are performance challenges.
My expertise over the past 20+ years: supporting executive leadership
Corporate reorganisation and structuring
I conduct comprehensive organizational diagnostics: job mapping , identifying blind spots , redefining areas of responsibility , and sizing executive committees. The deliverable is not a report. It is a target organizational chart accompanied by an implementation plan and the recruitments that make it possible.
Growth is the stage where the biggest mistakes are made. Recruiting too late
, recruiting the wrong profile
, promoting a good salesperson into a bad manager
: each of these errors costs several months of delay and often much more.
I support business leaders
in building their growth trajectories: phased recruitment plans
, implementing management KPIs
, developing middle management competencies
, and preparing teams for increased volumes.
The objective
is for the organizational structure to progress at the same pace as turnover.
Interim management
Unplanned departure of an executive, divestment or acquisition period
, subsidiary to restructure
, or a major transformation project with no manager available: certain situations can tolerate neither a void nor the wait of a traditional recruitment process.
I step in as an interim manager
for general management
or operational management assignments
, with a dual objective: hold the post and prepare for what comes next. Making decisions that cannot wait, getting the organization
back on track, then recruiting
and onboarding
the permanent successor. Interim management
only adds value if it leaves a company stronger than it was found.
→ Discover our interim management services
I support business leaders in building their growth trajectories: phased recruitment plans , implementing management KPIs , developing middle management competencies , and preparing teams for increased volumes. The objective is for the organizational structure to progress at the same pace as turnover.
Interim management
I step in as an interim manager for general management or operational management assignments , with a dual objective: hold the post and prepare for what comes next. Making decisions that cannot wait, getting the organization back on track, then recruiting and onboarding the permanent successor. Interim management only adds value if it leaves a company stronger than it was found.
→ Discover our interim management services
Examples of executive advisory assignments
- An international agri-food group with over 1,000 employees:
Assignment: A complete overhaul of the group organizational chart and realigning workforce capacity with executive strategy, up to the recruitment of key roles for the new structure.
- An industrial mid-market plastics company with 70 employees, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes:
Assignment: Recruitment of the Managing Director, followed by building the executive committee around them: defining new functions, sequencing recruitments, and establishing management routines.
- A high-end artisan chocolate house, family-owned, Paris:
Assignment: Executive coaching and advice across the entire corporate strategy : clarifying family governance and individual remits, recruiting a new leadership team, and framing key diversification streams.
- A family-owned group in the circular economy, 400 employees, three industrial sites:
Assignment: HR department advisory across its entire expansion: structuring the function, professionalising recruitment processes, scaling up across multiple sites, and setting up social management tools.
- A national network of independent food retailers:
Assignment: Recruitment of management profiles and a redesign of the onboarding process for new hires, from initial contact through their first few months in post.
- A digital communication agency with around twenty employees:
Assignment: Comprehensive organizational and market audit: activity mapping , risk matrix , competitor analysis , SWOT , followed by building a transformation roadmap alongside the business leader.
A recruitment and strategy consultancy anchored in Valence
This choice is by no means accidental. Valence is an economic hub between Lyon , Grenoble , and the Rhône Valley , with a dense network of SMEs and mid-market industrial, agri-food , logistics , and retail companies . These are precisely the businesses I work for: human-sized companies where recruiting an executive key hire directly impacts the overall strategy.
From Valence , I deliver assignments directly across the entire Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and throughout France : Drôme , Ardèche , Isère , Rhône , Loire … I manage assignments across the UK/national territory as well as internationally.
General Management at Alphéa Conseil is led by Rachida Tata , who manages the HR advisory services for our key strategic accounts . Our roles are complementary: " I focus on strategy, structure, and executive decisions; she focuses on HR delivery close to the teams. An executive who entrusts a project to us doesn't have to choose between consulting and execution. "
→ Meet Rachida Tata, Managing Director
Qualiopi certified training provider
→ Our Qualiopi certification
Our commitments for over 20 years:
- Implementing sustainable strategic initiatives that contribute to our clients' growth
- Connecting professionals exploring career progression with key players in their market
- Developing individual and collective management competencies in their roles as managers and profit centre leaders
- Training and supporting commercial teams on sales techniques and increasing revenue
- Supporting groups and teams to foster cohesion and engagement
- Assisting senior executives and business owners with all their organizational challenges
- Supporting SME leaders and local authorities in analysing their business activities, operations, and market positioning
FAQ
1. Where is Ludovic D'hooghe's recruitment agency located?
The headquarters of Alphéa Conseil are located at 19A Avenue des Langories in Valence (26000). I welcome business leaders from the Drôme and Ardèche departments as well as the broader Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region , and I also work right across France.
2. What is the difference between a traditional recruitment agency and your advisory support?
A traditional recruitment agency responds to a job brief. My work starts one step earlier: understanding why this post exists , whether it is properly scoped, and how it impacts the organisation. Sometimes the best recommendation is not to recruit the requested profile , but to review the organizational structure . That is what sets a consultancy apart from an intermediary.
3. What is an interim manager and when should you hire one?
An interim manager
steps into an executive position
for a fixed period
, typically 3 to 12 months
. They are brought in during an unexpected departure, a business turnaround, a divestment phase
, or to lead a major strategic project
. The assignment involves taking operational responsibility, re-establishing organizational structure, and preparing the transition.
Full details of our service offering are available here.
4. Do you only operate in Valence and the Drôme region?
No. Valence is my base and the group's headquarters , but I support business leaders across France and internationally .
5. What types of positions do you focus on?
Primarily management and executive functions: General Management , Site Operations Management , Commercial & Sales Leadership , Industrial & Supply Chain Management , Finance Direction , and Human Resources Leadership . Key sector specialisms include retail , manufacturing & engineering , agri-food , logistics , and professional services .
6. Who manages Alphéa Conseil on a day-to-day basis?
Day-to-day General Management is led by Rachida Tata, who drives HR advisory for our strategic clients . I serve as Group President and oversee strategic advice for client executives.
An initial conversation allows us to review your situation with no obligation.
Alphéa Conseil Headquarters - 19A Avenue des Langories, 26000 Valence - 06 71 55 07 18