How did you become an I.T. project leader at Lactalis ?
I joined the Group in 1998 as a Development Engineer, having just graduated in Electronic and I.T. Engineering. I spent a year finding out about important jobs such as paying producers for milk and scheduling, for example, and was then made responsible for I.T. projects linked to the traceability of our products. The industrial and logistical fields were later added to my area of activities, which provided me with new experiences. I particularly appreciate the pleasure of seeing products that I've contributed to, in my own small way, on my breakfast table every morning.
How would you describe your job today ?
As my job title says, my role is to lead projects. I am responsible for improving or designing I.T. applications in order to fulfil the needs of our internal clients and keeping on top of costs and schedules as much as possible. There are various stages in producing a reliable and properly tailored application : working with users to analyse their needs, drawing up specifications, researching the best I.T. products available on the market, developing specific functions wherever necessary, testing the product and training users. It is a team task : we work with our internal clients (users), external service providers and our network and systems I.T. colleagues. Everything has to be synchronised and coordinated. In short I'm the navigator who ensures that everyone gets to port safe and sound.
Which qualities does a Project Leader need ?
The tasks are varied and you need to be able to listen to and understand the needs of users, work out solutions, implement I.T. solutions and also ensure that the food sector's good practice is being followed. A Lactalis Project Leader definitely needs to enjoy providing a service to users and be a team player. Throw in analytic, reasoning, communication, organisational and planning skills and you will end up with a good I.T. Project Leader !
You have many years of experience and have tried various jobs. Which other jobs could you aim for ?
I spoke to my Manager and to Human Resources about where I see myself at the age of 35, career-wise. I'm interested in working in the sales development and marketing sector, but I didn't go to business school and some sort of economics background is essential for those kinds of positions. I have therefore signed up for a one-and-a-half year part-time training course for an International MBA, in partnership with the company, which should mean that I can stay with the Group and take another step along my career path !
