Does someone have to pass away to realise how dear they were to us?

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear director Anne d’Armagnac, who left us too soon at the age of 60. In the week of 6 February 2023, she sent us a note to apologise for her absence from our Board meeting, for which she had prepared the agenda. She was not feeling very well and chose to rest.
It was in her bed, with a book in her hand, that she breathed her last a few days later.

Anne was a driving force for our organisation. In 2017, she joined our Board of Directors. I remember our meeting: a lunch organised by Eric Guinand, a fervent supporter of solidarity projects.

Anne, before committing herself, asks questions. “How can I be useful to your NGO? What is your vision? Will I live up to your expectations? At the end of lunch, I am embarrassed. I ask: “Can I ask you to pay for your lunch? Our NGO has few resources and we want to allocate as much as possible to the projects we support”. Anne agrees and hadn’t imagined it otherwise. Phew!

Anne has her expertise in brands. Sanofi, Van Cleef & Arpels, Yves Saint Laurent, Guerlain before founding “Anne d’Armagnac Conseils”. She helps us with the communication positioning of the NGO “International Impact”. She organised a working group, even a collective intelligence group, and came up with the NGO’s baseline “Maximise the impact of your solidarity actions”.

It is therefore with all my confidence that Anne joins the Board of Directors. I know that she will have the ability to speak out, to make herself heard, to listen, and to do her utmost to understand this world of solidarity, which is not her professional world, but whose sensitivity and meaning she shares.

Our board of directors represents our sector: of all ages (18 to 78), from all backgrounds, and above all predominantly female. Anne combines with talent gentleness, listening and appropriate, fair speech.

When the position of secretary became vacant because one of our directors was involved in international human rights issues, our president Hélène Blitte immediately saw in her the potential to become general secretary and to join the Bureau. Anne accepted, always ready to serve.

She is also involved with women with breast cancer, offering her evenings to them.

Anne d’Armagnac was a remarkably generous, caring and dedicated person. Her loss will be deeply felt by all who were fortunate enough to know her.

We are grateful for the years she spent serving our organisation and working with us to help others. We will continue her work and strive to carry on her legacy. We offer our deepest condolences to her family, her son, her two grandchildren, her brother, her friends and all those who were touched by her extraordinary life.

Anne: we already miss you very much.

Jean-Christophe CRESPEL, on behalf of the entire International Impact team

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)