About us

.: The company

Central Test was established in 2002 by psychologist and business graduate, Patrick Leguide, who remains the company’s president and CEO. Over the past few years, Central Test has become a world leader in the field of online psychometric testing. The company designs, scientifically validates, and publishes a comprehensive range of psychometric tests for the recruitment, career guidance, career management, and staff development markets.

Central Test is the only publisher in Europe to offer differentiated BtoB and BtoC products and services. The BtoB market accounts for some 75 percent of Central Test’s annual turnover and the company now has 3,500 clients in over 50 countries. An estimated 5,000 Central Test evaluations are taken every day by job applicants and employees. (Based on 2009 figures.)

The tests have been professionally translated, localized and validated in seven languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Italian and Romanian.

Scientific validation

Every test published and distributed by Central Test has been validated by a team of psychologists specializing in the field of psychometrics. The tests conform to the international standards of scientific validation set out by the International Test Commission, and the American Psychological Association. Details of the validation studies are included in the manuals that accompany the tests.

Central Test’s research centres are based in Europe, Canada and India.

Training

In its role as a certified training organization, Central Test runs training seminars to help its clients become fully familiar with the benefits of psychometric testing in the workplace and to give a thorough understanding of its assessment tools and evaluation platform.
Central Test has formed a partnership with the National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) to provide accreditation in Occupational Testing and Assessment.

International

Central Test was the first to introduce e-testing to the HR market in many countries. The company has seen a considerable growth in its activity in emerging countries, most notably in South America, Asia and Africa, and is positioned well among the market leaders in those continents. Central Test’s range of tests is made available to the international market through its website, through its subsidiaries and through its distributers in Canada, Switzerland, north Africa, Mexico and Colombia.

Our clients

Central Test’s clients include many international household names such as Aviva, Dell, Deloitte, DHL, GlaxoSmithKline, McDonalds, Monster, Shell, Toshiba, Toyota and Whirlpool. Major financial institutions such as Société Générale, Bank of Montreal and Crédit Agricole are also long-term clients, as are utilities giants, Orange, SFR, Ortel Communications and EDF.

From the education and culture sector, clients include the Bibliothèque Nationale de France; the Université Paris VIII in Saint-Denis, best known for its philosophy and politics faculties; the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, one of France’s most prominent schools of engineering; The École Supérieure de Commerce de Montpellier, one of France’s best-known business schools; The American Business School in Paris; and UK-based Warwick Business School, which is ranked in the top one percent of business schools worldwide.

Central Test also has among its clients, hundreds of SMEs representing every sector of industry, local and national government administrations, and organizations specializing in recruitment and job placement.

Partnerships

Central Test has a network of more than 200 BtoC partners (Cadresonline, OFUP, APCE, Stepstone, Careerbuilder, Studya), Carriere Online, Monster India), and BtoB partners (Monster France, Rekrute Maroc, Emploitic Algérie...)

The company has also established privileged media links with clients – WK-RH, Capital, and ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation – and regularly publishes cutting-edge articles and papers on psychometric testing in a range of specialist HR publications.

About the founder and CEO

Patrick Leguide is Central Test’s founder, Chairman and CEO. After studying for his master’s degree in Cognitive Psychology at the Paris Descartes University, he went on to take an additional master’s degree in Business Management from the Sorbonne. Patrick Leguide is an affiliate of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

He started his career as a consultant and head of marketing research for Novatris (Harris Interactive), a European leader in interactive market research. Later on, he joined the CyberSearch Group as a recruitment consultant and eventually as marketing director. It was while he was here that he became aware of the commercial potential of online psychometric testing.

He has co-authored several books on psychometric testing, and his most recent co-publication (2009) is Les meilleurs tests d’orientation, de personnalité et de QI. (The best career tests, personality tests and IQ tests.)

Shareholders

Patrick Leguide – founder, Chairman and CEO

David Leguide – Administrative and Financial Director

In 2009, Naxicap Partners joined Central Test, bringing with it an investment of €750,000. Naxicap is a leading provider of development capital to French small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Naxicap Partners – with €740 million under management – works with entrepreneurs to build solid partnerships aimed at underpinning the success of their projects. A subsidiary of Natixis Private Equity, Naxicap Partners has 32 investment professionals based in its five regional centres in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Nantes. For more information, see www.naxicap.fr