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In 1973, while working at HP Cupertino, I noticed on the bulletin board an opening for the position of Engineering Manager in the new HP division in Grenoble France. Well, that sounded pretty sweet; so I sent in my request for the position, telling none of my fellow workers (I didn't want any competition!).
A few weeks later, my boss came by to let me know that my application was approved, and the job was mine. He also mentioned that I was the only one who had applied for the position... I couldn't believe it - nobody else wanted to go to France? When I told my coworkers of my good fortune, I was met with surprise, pity, even derision: "You applied for that opening? Why would you want to go to France? Don't they eat lots of funny foods, like frogs legs?" etc. Idiots...
So I ended up working at HP Grenoble, HP's newest division. Karl Schwarz, the Division Manager, and I, were the only Americans. I hired, trained, and managed the R&D department of fifteen software engineers, groomed my French replacement, and left after two years, as required by French law. I made several close friends: Nicole Cholvy, a fellow employee, agreed to accompany me when I later decided to travel to Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East. And Yann Cordelle, one of my engineers at HP, left the company to start his own: Cogelog. When Nicole and I returned from our big trip, he rented me an apartment he owned, and, in a reversal of roles, hired me as a programmer at Cogelog.
The HP Grenoble soccer team. I am in the top row, far right; Yann is two players to my right.
HP Employee hike in the Alps.
At Yann's hut in the mountains, with brother Len, his wife Inger, Yann and his wife Domitille, and good friend Jacques Clay behind them. Jacques eventually became General Manager of HP Grenoble.
Ah, the French. While canoeing down the Ardeche River near Nicole's home in Aubenas, we passed by this nudist colony.
We of course got right into the spirit of things: Jacques, Nicole, our guide, Domitille, and me.
Yann and Jacques. If you like skiing, Grenoble is the place to be.
The Vallée Blanche - can you see the skiers?
My apartment was in this tower - one of the "Trois Tours". I had a water bed, which proved to be quite the calling card...
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