Nicolas Nicaise-Guion of Thermo Fisher Scientific on LGBTQ+ advocacy and career milestones

Nicolas Nicaise-Guion, leader of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Pride+ BRG, spoke to myGwork about his journey from a closeted boy growing up in the AIDS epidemic, to a confident advocate for the LGBTQ+ community on a global scale.

Hi Nico! Could you tell me a bit about your background and career journey leading up to your current position at Thermo Fisher Scientific?

I joined Thermo Fisher Scientific in December 2020 in a commercial role and have been told about the existence of ERGs, now BRGs, very early during my onboarding. I immediately expressed my wish to join a chapter in France and was told that none were existing: this is how I’ve started with my BRG Pride+ engagement, by creating a chapter in France, that I led for three years. At the end of last year, I was honored to be asked to lead the BRG Pride+, on a global level from January 2024.

Can you tell me a bit about your childhood – where did you grow up; did you have any hobbies?

I was born in 1983, the year of HIV identification, in the French Northeastern countryside, 150km away from Paris (which is far in France!). I grew up there, without any relatives or contact from the LGBTQ+ community, in a family that was not LGBTQ+-phobic, but just without any knowledge or awareness about it besides the “noise” about the AIDS pandemic in the LGBTQ+ community. I was a “normal” kid, with friends, happy, with no trouble.

Until the age of 17, I knew I had no physical attraction to women, but did not know that I could be attracted to men. I was curious about that, and my first serious self-questioning happened when I watched the TV show Queer as Folk. I was kind of envious. Not disgusted, but excited, with a lot of intense feelings.

A few weeks before moving to university, my best girlfriend’s boyfriend (a gay boy in the closet) kissed me, and my mind was blown away. I immediately knew that I was gay, and this was who I am. I moved to Montpellier for university, without knowing anything about this city, and finally found out that it was the first LGBTQ+ community of France. I haven’t moved a lot since.

Actually, I’ve not hidden my sexuality for a long time – and never in Montpellier. I was openly gay there and never considered that there was anything to hide or to fear. That was just who I was. Four months after I moved to Montpellier, during my first relationship with a man, I came out as gay to all my family and childhood relatives. It was hard for some of them, my mother mostly, but I was quite radical: this was who I am, and I was not looking for any approval, there was no choice. If you don’t accept that, sorry, bye!

In parallel, during my studies but also in my early romantic life, I’ve crossed the topics of HIV/AIDS. My first sexual experience was with a seropositive man (he told me afterward, and had become my best friend, and is still, in the meantime), and I focused my scientific studies on this topic.

Can you share your personal journey within the LGBTQ+ community?

So, first step in Montpellier. I was gay, openly, and I can say I’ve immerged in the community, with passion and intensity. I loved all the aspects: freedom, beauty, colors, mindset, and of course people: lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queers, queens, I embraced all the identities of the community and was thirsty for knowledge and awareness. And naturally, quickly, I’ve engaged in all fights for LGBTQ+ rights, starting at university, but also early in my professional life. My first fight was for the blood donation right for gay men, considering I was myself a phlebotomist. I started to work in 2004, and it took until 2022 for blood donation rights to be given to gay people, or just opened to everyone regardless of sexual orientation.

What has been a standout moment in your career so far?

Without hesitation when I joined Thermo Fisher Scientific and heard about BRGs. My career as a salesperson has positively and significantly changed, and my engagement for the LGBTQ+ community has taken another direction, business orientated, but with clear and measurable goals.

Throughout your career, have you noticed any developments in attitudes towards the importance of diversity and inclusion?

Not throughout my career, or not specifically in the workplace. I’ve noticed developments in attitudes, in the civil and political space, that have of course impacted workspaces. Between 2004 and 2024, many milestones happened in France, for LGBTQ+ rights but also for equality in general.

What immediate improvements would you like to see being made for LGBTQ+ equality in the future – both in the workplace, and wider society?

The most critical gap that we must improve is the inclusion of trans and gender non-conforming colleagues. The awareness is poor, and the education is non-existent. I work with the BRG leadership to improve it at Thermo Fisher Scientific, mostly for the attention of HR people and people managers.

Is there anything we haven’t discussed already that you would like to include?

I would like to recognise and thank two people: Kat Bellamy for co-leading the Global Pride+ BRG with me, and François Desmartin, the best ally I’ve met, and executive sponsor of the French chapter when I created it in 2021.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about job opportunities at Thermo Fisher Scientific.