SITE
‘ To infinity and beyond !’ – in memoriam Didier Scaillet
PÁDRAIC GILLIGAN PENNED THIS FITTING TRIBUTE TO DIDIER SCAILLET , A FORMER SITE CEO , WHO PASSED AWAY IN JULY
o infinity and beyond ” was a saying that Didier often used during his tenure
T as CEO of SITE when I served as his CMO . It ’ s half quoted in his last post on Facebook , from Christmas , 2023 when he says : “ Merry Christmas to all my loved ones … and beyond ”. Thinking about that in the aftermath of Didier ’ s death makes me profoundly sad , but it also gives me real hope that Didier has finally reached his aspirational destination .
Facebook and Linkedin were inundated with posts expressing shock at his passing – he was only 54 – and deep affection for who he was . And therein the challenge . Capturing who Didier was , his essence , is not so easy , for he was a many splendored thing ,
Didier Scaillet
full of boundless confidence , on the one hand , vulnerable as a lost kitten on the other .
I shared a stage this year with Didier at an industry event in Buenos Aires . He was speaking before me and I watched in awe as he did his thing , the words of Shakespeare ’ s Cassius ringing in my ears “ Why , man , he doth bestride the narrow world like a Colossus ”. Here was a person in masterful control of his subject , totally at ease . Would I , one of Shakespeare ’ s “ petty men ” ever rise to such lofty heights ?
I met Didier regularly at industry events and we always found time for
“ Budgets and details were an irritation to him , nasty spoil sports that ruined all the fun ”
Left : Didier Scaillet with industry colleagues each other . Then there were gaps after MPI and during the CLIA years when our paths didn ’ t cross . In 2016 , we re-connected and Didier was appointed CEO of SITE in January 2018 , the same month I became CMO . While it wasn ’ t without its challenges , I loved working with Didier . Despite being an old dog , I learned many new tricks thanks to the boundless breadth of his thinking , the limitless horizons he envisioned .
Didier saw connections that others didn ’ t . With Didier , it was all about the ideas . Ideas cascaded out of him like water out of the rock in Psalm 105 . My job , and Mark Swets ’ ( SITE ’ s head of operations ), was quality control . Judging what could be done with the limited resources we had .
That said , budgets and details were an irritation to him , nasty spoil sports that ruined all the fun and got in the way of what really mattered . Didier could see the exciting beginning and the glorious end . He was blind to the boring bit in the middle .
One fruit of our collaboration that did get over the finish line was The Manifesto Series ( Bangkok , Vancouver and Dublin ), three white papers on the evolving nature and direction of the incentive travel industry .
But Didier could get massively deflated if there was too much negativity in the room . He was pathologically positive and could only soar confidently when the wind was beneath his wings .
He was a “ go big , or go home ” guy and lived in line with his stature . He was also extremely generous with his time and expertise and deeply empathetic .
His last year with SITE was fraught with challenges , mainly personal , and including his own health .
In her tribute to Didier , Peggy Whitman , former president of SITE , recalled a phrase that Didier used when offering condolences to friends who had lost a loved one . It ’ s a fitting way to conclude my own tribute :
“ Do not cry because it is over … Smile because it happened .” n
ISSUE 132 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 13