#LoveMySafranJob - “I love being part of a company that promotes diversity!”

Jean-Marc Monteiro developed the maintenance activities of various aeronautical equipment manufacturers, traveling the world to be with his customers, before joining Safran in 2018. Electrical distribution, LED lighting, toilets, heating, frost protection, etc. He has supervised a multitude of different projects since he started with Barfield in Miami, where he did his CSNE¹ in 1997. “My interest in the aeronautical sector dates back to my childhood, because my father worked in the industry. I remember Concorde, the Rafale, the first flight of the A320 at Le Bourget... I have always been fascinated! But I got into maintenance by chance, and have stayed in this field because I love the fast pace and the need to develop good relationships,” he explained. There is also the international dimension of the job, which Jean-Marc has always tried to cultivate. Born in Marseille to a Portuguese father and a French mother, he chose a business school that offered him the opportunity of a year in England and a year in Spain.

He therefore accepted the position proposed by Barfield in Miami after his CSNE… and sold his first MRO services² to American airlines in 1999. He stayed in the USA for more than 25 years.

During this period, Jean-Marc kept himself busy, working for 5 major groups and taking up one position after another, with assignments that took him from Malaysia to Canada and Sweden. “What is most fascinating about this job is that, regardless of our culture, we share the same passion for our activity and the same desire to develop it. Sometimes with more pragmatism, sometimes with more formalism... You just have to adapt to the local codes,” he admitted. Jean-Marc applies his formidable capacity for adaptation every day to establish the needs of his customers.

Even once the trust-based relationship has been created, much remains to be done, because the offer can change quickly to adapt to new demands. “I first came across continuous improvement at Goodrich in 2006 when I was head of a small team managing the Airbus and Boeing accounts. It was essential to preserve the contracts in the long term!” he recalled.

Essential to stand out from the competition and win new markets too. Jean-Marc has faced similar challenges throughout his career. For example, in 2010 when Sikorsky/UTC made him Sales Director and asked him to come up with a marketing strategy by forming a team dedicated to MRO sales. “We had to start from scratch in a huge geographic area... It was a massive job. Luckily we could rely on the local teams to find contracts. We worked on a new pricing model, adopted a “lean” approach to optimize our work methods and we were good to go!” was his enthusiastic conclusion.

While Jean-Marc can rely on his fluency in four languages, his knowledge of international commercial processes, his talents as a negotiator and his capacity for discussions with governments, airlines and aeronautical manufacturers, he believes that his key asset is a solid team. “I like to bring together different skills. We don’t all have the same strengths and it is essential to recognize what other people bring to the table if we want to make progress. Complementarity and solidarity are not only useful for business, they are also important to advance on a personal level and to manage difficult periods,” he asserted.

Jean-Marc applied this mindset to his first mission for Safran: responsibility for sales and customer support for the American continent for the Power division of Safran Electrical & Power and Safran Ventilation Systems, with a 100% remote team.

This environment helps him to look ahead towards a future with Safran. For now, Jean-Marc has plenty of exciting challenges before him, because he recently took over the Asia zone and will be further diversifying the products handled in collaboration with the ISE division.³ “My manager encourages us to go one step further and to find unique solutions. We have a team of enthusiastic individuals, we work hard for our customers but we also have a lot of fun with them, because we get on well together. We have already proved that we can surpass the objectives set and we have no intention of stopping there,” he vowed. He has proved this by winning third prize for the best OEM³ in after-sales according to the airline customers of Airbus, in spite of serious supply chain problems. One thing is sure: he is not likely to get bored any time soon!

Education and experience:

• 1999:  Master of Science in International Management
• 1997-1999: Market analysis officer, then account manager at Barfield
• 2000-2006: MRO service sales representative, then Director of Sales and Customer Support at Intertechnique Services Americas
• 2006-2007: Commercial Development Manager in the integrated sensors division at Goodrich
• 2007-2012: Regional Sales Director for Asia-Pacific, then MRO Service Sales Director at UTC/Derco Aerospace
• 2012-2017: Director of Sales, Marketing and Customer Support in the water and waste management division, then Sales Director for business aviation in the lighting and cabling division for B/E Aerospace (now Collins Aerospace)
• 2018-2023: Sales and Customer Support Manager for the Americas region, then Sales and Customer Support Manager for the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, then Director of Sales and Customer Support for the after-sales activity of the power division of Safran Electrical & Power

^{1 CSNE was a volunteer program for national service abroad that was available to young French people.}

^{2 MCO = Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul}

^{3 Interconnection Systems Eurasia: Electric wiring for Europe and Asia}

^{4 OEM= Original Equipment Manufacturer}