My origins: between languages and journeys
My family tree has roots in the north and in the south. On my mother’s side, in northern France: my mother was born in Lille. From that side comes Vermeersch, a Flemish surname, a contraction of van der Meersch: “the one from the flood meadow”, from the low lands by the water. It came into my family through marriage, between northern France and Belgium.
On my father’s side, in the south, in a family of exiles: after the Spanish Civil War, my grandfather, born in Barcelona in 1926, crossed the Pyrenees on foot, barefoot, when he was barely a teenager; my grandmother left Aragon. My father was already born in France, and I was born in Avignon. Morant, though it may sound French, is Valencian, like my great-grandfather, and according to the linguist Joan Coromines it may come from the Arabic murābiṭ, the hermit who lived in the frontier fortresses of al-Andalus: centuries of Mediterranean history in a surname. I am the fruit of that crossing, between the mists of the north and the light of the south.
I grew up spending summers with my paternal grandparents in Reus and Teruel, and over those summers I fell in love with the language, the culture, the people and their way of life. That closeness never faded, and more than twenty years ago it brought me back to my roots to settle in Spain. And, thanks to the Historical Memory Law, I obtained Spanish nationality as the granddaughter of exiles.
Alongside the languages came the travelling: a nine-month Erasmus in Asturias, six months in England, two in Greece and seven in Mexico, plus Singapore, Sri Lanka and Morocco. What I remember most from each place, beyond the landscapes, are the people who crossed my path and what I learnt from them. That is why I value simple, humble and genuine relationships so much.
Growing up between languages taught me to listen and made me aware of the weight of words: their nuances shift from one language to another, and what we choose to say reveals a lot about who we are. That attention to words is also what draws me to qualitative research today. I know that a good communication strategy chooses the words that let people see themselves in it: it shortens the mental distance between what they need and what they are offered, and builds bridges between people, brands and solutions.
Speaking several languages has always been a cultural and human treasure for me, and a way of getting closer to other ways of seeing the world. I have a special relationship with Catalan: I find it a beautiful language, and over the years I learnt first to listen to it and then to speak it. I’m interested in where words come from, why we choose some and not others, and what they reveal in a conversation about what we long for most deeply. I don’t stay on the surface: I like to question what we take for granted and keep digging to understand people better.
My values
The ones I try to put into practice every day, at work and beyond.
- Curiosity with judgement
- When something doesn’t convince me, I keep asking. And I explore new tools, such as AI, looking into what they truly offer and where their limits lie.
- Inclusion and equality
- I pay attention to how I treat people and the language I use so that everyone feels included. Equal opportunities begin with how we address others.
- Creativity and attention to detail
- I look for new ways to tell stories and to improve processes, with a good eye for visual harmony and the details that build a brand.
- Organisation
- I organise work so that everything arrives on time: I prioritise, I anticipate and I stay calm when there are many fronts open.
- Adaptability
- Very different sectors and a change of ownership taught me to reorganise without losing my way.
- Ethics and respect
- I believe in honest communication, in social responsibility and in treating every person with respect.
- Energy and a sense of humour
- I have a dynamic personality: I like getting things moving and passing on my enthusiasm. And I believe good humour brings teams together, especially on difficult days.
What gives me energy
- Staying activeHiking and Pilates.
- Creating harmonyInterior decoration and spatial design.
- GrowGetting to know myself and learning from people.
- ShareAn unhurried coffee with family or friends.