Raymond Pierre Chigot was born on September 6th 1945 in Bourbonnais, in a family that always stressed the value of a job well done. Quickly, he wanted to enter into the workforce, without lingering in the hallways of school, more interested in practical education than theoretical. At thirteen-and-a-half years old, he began his apprenticeship at the Grand Hôtel du Dauphin, the best establishment of Moulins, already with the desire to lead an international career. “I knew that the hotel industry could open the doors of the world to me. It was just a matter of starting out on the path that would lead me to my goal”. At the end of his apprenticeship, the first door opened up in Vichy, the stylish resort in Auvergne with its luxurious hotels. He began as chef de rang at Hôtel de la Colombière, a well-known Michelin two-star hotel. There, he learned the basics of the profession in the conditions of the day, that is to say, with long workdays, mainly during the high season from mid-June to the end of September. The enthusiasm and love of the profession brought him his first rewards, at eighteen years of age, he had already become a maître d'hôtel and a hotel customer took notice of his hard work. His name was Paul Augier, a legendary figure in the international hotel industry. Owner of Negresco in Nice, Mr Augier invited Raymond to join his team and advance to a higher professional level. “The royal path opened up. Imagine what that meant at the time. It would be as though a young employee personally met Conrad Hilton in the United States”. At the age of only twenty, Raymond Pierre Chigot began his career as maître d'hôtel at Negresco.

He then felt that several areas of knowledge were missing, but that they would be necessary to go further forward. “I wanted to improve my knowledge of foreign languages, management, and finance”. The opportunity arose for him to begin as F&B manager at the Düsseldorf InterContinental Hotel; two passionate years for a young manager who must supervise a team of 250 employees. After a few months, the local Chamber of Commerce even asked him to pass on his know-how by creating a youth training centre, a desire that would stay with him throughout his career. This first contact with an international chain showed him all the occasions available for rising through the ranks within a group when one knows how to profit from opportunity. “I therefore applied for the position of assistant general manager of a new Holiday Inn that just opened in Monte-Carlo. Holiday Inn had the strong desire to expand its network in Europe, and I decided to participate in this adventure”. Three years later, at 26, he was named general manager of the Holiday Inn in Roissy, which opened at the same time as the airport in 1972. A unique experience that allowed his career to take off. Well known as being demanding, for eighteen months Holiday Inn profited from Raymond Chigot's entrepreneurial talents. He would actively participate in Holiday Inn's European Development. General manager of operations for hotels in Strasbourg, Orly, Avignon, and Roissy, like any other manager with a promising career, he would enrol in training sessions at the Holiday Inn University in Memphis. He would even spend a semester at Cornell University in Ithaca to perfect his knowledge of management and finance.