Jacques Désormière

A Quality Journey, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Northwest.

Born and raised in Reunion Island, Jacques lived an idyllic childhood between playing hide and seek in sugar cane fields to listening to elderly neighbors telling pirate stories. On the eve of his 14th birthday, his parents offered him a trip of a lifetime, as they moved to Madagascar for ten years. This is where he learned to always make the best of what you have and where his work-life first began.

After working as a restaurant manager, a master brewer and a manager of a branch at a local NGO, in 2007 Jacques decided to fly independently and begin Neo-Box, a Website and hosting startup. After moving to Portland in 2009, he focused his attention on making websites for local restaurants and the french community. Toward the end of that year, he was given the opportunity to start as a quality assurance tester as the Welocalize era started. From the beginning, it was very clear that ensuring quality came a lot more naturally than managing a company and so once Jacques was promoted, he decided to sell his company to become a full-time lead. Five years later, learning and working with the biggest names of the tech industry, he desired a change and so the biggest challenge of his life began, “The Agency Startup Life”. After the first week, there was no doubt this choice would become what is now the best decision he has made on a professional level. Everything was and remains challenging with the constant changes of technology and the diversity of projects that makes the day-to-day life a continuous learning experience.

On a personal level, Jacques loves his four cats. Cooking is a big part of his life, as well as automating every possible chore in the house. He enjoys watching soccer and is proud that France added another star on their national jersey. He is also the best high five giver, and ice cream eater at GRAYBOX.