“If I had started at a small or medium-sized company, I would not have had all of these mobility opportunities”

Can you tell us about your career at the Group?

After I received my engineering degree, in 1996, I joined Sagem Défense Sécurité¹ in Montluçon, specifically the General Methods department. In 1998, I became APU² manager for the Drones unit and supervised 20 employees. In 2001, I was named APU manager for the Viewfinder unit of the Eurocopter³ Tiger helicopter, with 30 employees. One of the challenges in these activities was managing primarily male employees with strong technical skills. Meanwhile, I had a one-year experience in the industrialization of the Megajoule Laser.

In 2005 when Safran was created, I followed my husband, who was transferred to Toulouse, and joined Labinal4 in Villemur as quality manager for helicopters. In 2007, I came back to production as APU manager again for Eurocopter products, with 100 employees, mainly women, and therefore a totally different management style. In 2010, I took a 6-month sabbatical and went to England to improve my English. Then I returned to the Villemur plant as head of the kitting warehouse and its 50 employees. I had a blast! It was the place where I felt the most useful as a manager. In 2011, I took over the position of APU manager for the A380. But I missed working with customers. So, in 2014, I did a 360-degree turn by joining Labinal Services⁵ and managed airplane teams, on site at the final assembly lines of Airbus. For once, I was working in customer relations all day!

I was responsible for 15 employees who worked on the A380, A330 & ATR aircraft on completion, repair and modification application activities. Since 2018, I have been the Supplier Performance Manager in the Purchasing department. I monitor the performance of 20 mechanical parts suppliers, so I get to use all of my previous experience in production. I went from client to supplier!

What did you like about your different roles?

I love making a change and continuing to learn. It’s very rewarding. The downside is that every time, I have to get out of my comfort zone and question myself. While I'm getting my bearings, it’s not easy. The human aspect is also very important. The teams carried me and made me progress. If I had started at a small or medium-sized company, I would not have had all of these mobility opportunities.

Do you constantly have to adapt?

Yes, with every experience. I went from Sagem, which is a very technical company, to Labinal, with more manual business. The cultures are different, as are the work methods. I worked in very structured environments and also very independent ones. Every experience has positive aspects.

¹Currently Sagem Electronics & Defense

²Autonomous Production Unit

³Currently Airbus Helicopters

⁴Currently Sagem Electrical & Power

⁵Currently Interconnection Systems Eurasia Services