FEATURE
Marie Flacassier
Chief operating officer at BeatBabel
It means a lot to me to have an article in a magazine I have been reading for the past 20 years. And I am glad women are again on the cover! The US Congress recently fired the first Muslim woman, Ilhan Omar, from her committee for being different. I, too, was different all my life, refusing to fit in. I took risks that nobody thought were wise: leaving my home country with a backpack, being an immigrant, starting a company with no money and a crazy night job, studying martial arts to teach me that fear can be overcome. And today is no exception.
ACCOLADES
She has maintained the human touch in an industry that is becoming more and more robotic by the day, and that deserves recognition.
Marie Flacassier is the best multi-language professional there is! It is about time her talents are being recognized.
Marie Flacassier is one of the most amazing ladies I’ve ever met in my life.
No matter what happens, she is always absolutely enthusiastic about her work.
It is not up to me to tell you what I accomplished but to give a voice to all the extraordinary women I have met along the way. To single mothers struggling to make ends meet or raising handicapped children. To victims of rape and abuse who must rise above their pain. To many female colleagues who work in an all-male environment and who have to be tough to be heard. To all the women in refugees’ camps and war zones. To my grandma, whom I never met as she died young in a hospital because arrogant doctors misdiagnosed her. She was the one who taught my family about the power of education and traveling. To my other grandma, who insisted that I be good at math, and who ultimately made sure that one day I could balance a budget and read financial statements. To my mum, who gave me my passion for languages and taught me determination, hard work, and independence. To my professors, who encouraged me, helped me gain confidence and explore horizons beyond my reach. To my colleagues who are fighting cancer. To the ones who lost their fights. To all the women who suffered before us so we can have a voice. To Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Simone Weil, and Simone de Beauvoir. To all my colleagues who paved the way. To the translators who spend their careers dedicated to the power of words. To my GALA community for their support. And to all the exceptional men in my life, in our lives, who encourage us, believe in us, who make us stronger, smarter, and stay by our side, no matter what. Husbands, fathers, brothers, partners, mentors.
This magazine is only as special as the multicultural men and women who surround us. Covid taught us that life can take unexpected turns, but if we stand strong together, if we care and help each other, then good vibes will prevail.
As co-founder and COO, Marie grew BeatBabel into a respected and well-known language services and technology company. She was on the board of GALA for four years after organizing many conferences as a committee member. She became vice chair and chair of GALA during the pandemic and helped ensure the organization would survive. She was a huge part of organizing the GALA San Diego conference twice (since it got canceled in 2020 due to Covid). She has also been involved with Women in Localization, where she did a presentation on leadership last year attended by many colleagues. She was invited to train students at NYU, and her video, “What is Localization? Language Industry Basics — Localization, Translation, LSPs,” has been viewed more than 19,000 times. She is involved in many local nonprofits, from helping communities get access to education in Mexico to ensure local kids from lower-income neighborhoods have access to books.
