Women in Industry awards: A prize for Marjorie Cavarroc!

The award ceremony for the 13^th edition of the Women in Industry awards was held in the heart of Paris, at the prestigious Pavillon Wagram, just a stone's throw from the famous Place de l'Etoile. Covering 11 categories, from entrepreneurship to sustainable development to innovation, this major annual event puts the spotlight on women with exemplary careers.

Marjorie Cavarroc is one of those women. With an extensive career combining research and action in the field, the winner of the "Women in R&D" category has a string of achievements to her name. In 2022, Marjorie Cavarroc won the Irène Joliot-Curie prize in the "Women, Research and Business" category. She was also nominated an expert in the "For Women and Science" award organized by the L'Oréal-UNESCO foundation and an expert in surface treatments by the DGA.

She owes these achievements to her expertise, her passion for her profession… and a large helping of get-up-and-go! Marjorie Cavarroc is absolutely adamant that "research is made for improving the world". Motivated by this ideal, she has been working to roll out thin film deposition technology Group-wide since 2018. Used for decades in the automotive sector, this innovative process is still struggling to break through in the aerospace industry. Determined to get things moving, Marjorie Cavarroc managed to convince her peers of the applicability of the process and set up a special laboratory for this technology at Safran Tech. Thanks to the research she and her team carried out, thin film deposition could soon be industrialized in aircraft engines, landing systems, cabin equipment and power transmissions.

Her achievements are made even more admirable by the fact that Marjorie has had to come to terms with poor health: "In 2017, I was hospitalized due to my disability. I have neuropathy, which is an invisible disability that can affect my mobility. I used the time I was bedridden in hospital to conduct a second thesis and gain accreditation to supervise research," she says. Which leaves us in no doubt whatsoever that her outstanding career will inspire many a young woman! Some of whom she sponsors through her work with the association "Elles bougent".

The 13^th edition of the Women in Industry awards also recognized the careers of Cécile Dubrovin (CEO of Safran Engineering Services) and Elysabeth Da Silva Jaslier (Senior VP Sales & Marketing, Avionics division at Safran Electronics & Defense), both finalists in the "International Women" and "Women in Sales" categories respectively.

And what is the common denominator between these three women? A hunger for challenge combined with a desire to topple the status quo: "This proved very useful when she arrived in 2022, with a fresh perspective that shook things up: she knew how to build ties and get her team on board behind her. Her sense of humor did the rest," says Stéphane Cueille recalling Cécile Dubrovin's arrival at Safran Engineering Services. After starting out at Thales in 1994, Cécile Dubrovin joined Safran in 2013 as General Manager of the "On-Board and Testing" business unit at Safran Data Systems. "At Safran, I was responsible not only for research and development but also production, finance, HR, and customer satisfaction, from start to finish. […] It was very risky, but it was a unique opportunity. I made a very quick decision," she says.

This determination is shared by Elysabeth Da Sylva Jaslier. With a self-proclaimed "insatiable thirst for knowledge", she has built her career by seizing opportunities. So, when she was in her fourth year at École Polytechnique Universitaire Paris VI engineering school, she took her resume to the Gennevilliers site: "I did everything I could to get a job by telling them they had to hire me!"  She showed the same determination almost 20 years later in 2020, when she was made VP Sales & Marketing, Avionics division at Safran Electronics & Defense – even though she was told her resume was "the least suitable for the role". 

Rigor, determination, a team spirit, curiosity… These are just some of the strengths these three women have demonstrated throughout their careers. Sparking pride and admiration throughout the Group and beyond.