Tony Parker toured the floor of the Faïencerie, this January 25, on the occasion of an event by Floa, an online bank based in Bordeaux. In front of the employees and partners of this BNP Paribas subsidiary, the day focused on entrepreneurship and its values, dear to the athlete, to succeed in an environment as tough as the NBA. The former player is so confident that he didn’t wait to hang up his sneakers to diversify his activities: “A sports career does not last long. From the age of 24 I always wanted to prepare for recycling! »
“When you’re retired, CEOs won’t call you”
Tony Parker learned from his elders who already had experience in vocational training:
“When I first started, I met Magic Johnson, who is behind Starbucks and has done a lot of things, to ask him for advice on how to be successful in business. He told me: while you play, build your network, go to dinner parties, date CEOs [directeurs généraux, NDLR], it is very important that you do it now! Because when you’re retired, CEOs won’t call you, they’ll forget about you! »
A successful career developed in the field, but also to weave a professional network with business leaders to prepare a “fluid” recycling. In 2009, the latter became a shareholder of the basketball club Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne, then president and majority shareholder since 2014 – so who’s still wearing the jersey. Once the orange ball is away, Tony Parker’s exploits multiply. He founded youth basketball academies – of which a future will open in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis) in 2025 -, buy ski resort in Villard-de-Lans (Isère)a wine estate in the Var, not to mention a stable of racehorses and previously a member of the board of directors of the Olympique Lyonnais football club, which he left in January 2023.
An extraordinary career
Tony Parker was signed in 2001, then just 19 years old, by the San Antonio Spurs franchise. Six years later, the French “He already has three NBA championship rings and the prestigious MVP trophy (best player in the finals), the first for a European player. He will get one last title with his franchise in 2014. In the tricolor jersey, Tony Parker sacrificed a multitude of summers to hope to lift the first major trophy in the history of the Blues. In 2013 they won the Euro Cup against their eternal enemy Spain. When Tony Parker retired in 2019, Spurs retired his shirt (number 9), again the first for a Frenchman in NBA history He is expected to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year.
A precious double culture
The conference was an opportunity for the basketball icon to highlight his dual culture. First French, linked to his ” pragmatism “. And then American, which allowed him to fuel ambition and transcend “negativity” in France:
“They told me she was very small, very thin, they thought she had a big head. […] In America, the mentality is very different, they have a lot of pride. “, he assures.
Tony Parker also returned to his failures encountered during his sports career. “In the 2013 NBA Finals with the Spurs, we were up by five points with 28 seconds left. There was a 99.5% chance of winning that game. We were in the 0.5%, we lost. It’s like we had a shot. […] However, this defeat created the best basketball in our history afterwards.. But he did not mention those found in the midst of entrepreneurship. Asvel, accustomed to victories, claims an unusual fifth place in the championship in the middle of this season. Tony Parker is held partly responsible for this by the club’s fans.
But the new entrepreneur does not close the door to greater challenges. Still at the center of speculation in the succession of Jean-Michel Aulas, at the head of OL. But also of a potential return to the NBA: “I would like to create a group with French fortunes to own an NBA club one day, that would be a dream”.
Specialist in split payments
With headquarters in Bordeaux, Niort and Paris, Floa Bank (formerly Banque Casino) has seen an average growth of 23% per year for 20 years. This online bank acquired by BNP Paribas in 2021, employs 500 people and plans to hire around a hundred in 2023. Floa specializes in installment payment solutions and instant credit and aims to reach the milestone of four billion euros in distributed credits this year. ” 2023 is off to a great start, driven by the success of split payments. It will be a year dedicated to innovation, with a new installment payment application, and to international development, especially in Portugal and other European countries. “says Marc Lanvin, Deputy Managing Director. The bank has also just launched a new insurance offering with Neat lifetime warranty » against breakdown of everyday equipment, new or refurbished, for 15 euros per month.