Gary Pinagot, KEDGE graduate, takes over the digital...
11 Kedgers who've succeeded in the automobile world!
Managing Director, Vice President, Marketing Director, Key Account Manager, and Author. Discover the profiles of these 11 KEDGE graduates working in the automotive industry.
KEDGE Alumni is giving you a closer look at 11 Kedgers who come from a variety of backgrounds, and who have established themselves in the automotive industry sector within a market that is constantly evolving and increasingly competitive.
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#1 SÉBASTIEN GUIGUES - MANAGING DIRECTOR - SEAT FRANCE & CUPRA
Sébastien Guigues, aged 43, graduated from KEDGE in 2000. He has 20 years of experience in the automotive industry in Europe. An expert in sales, marketing, and dealer networks in the French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese markets, he has been Managing Director of SEAT FRANCE & CUPRA since 2017.
Sébastien Guigues began his career in 2001 as a controller for the Volkswagen Group France. In 2004, he went to work distribution system coordinator for the SEAT brand, working on the French and Portuguese distribution network. In 2006, he became sales coordinator for SEAT, and three years later became its Regional Director for France and Italy.
In 2011, Sébastien was named Marketing Director for SEAT Spain, then as its Business Director in 2014. In May 2017, at only 39 years of age, he took the helm of SEAT France and CUPRA.
"My main responsibility over these last eight years has been increasing the brand’s activities, first in Europe and now in France, with a particular focus on brand positioning.
#2 ÉLISE REMARK - HEAD OF MARKETING - SEAT and CUPRA
Élise Remark has been the Head of Marketing France for the SEAT and CUPRA brands since February 2020. She is passionate about cars, and driven by a perpetual desire to learn. She enjoys challenging the status quo to go further and further.
Élise graduated from KEDGE's Master of Management Grande Ecole Programme, which she attended in both Bordeaux and EBS University in Frankfurt, in 2007. She was first introduced to the automotive industry when she got a job in the human resources division at BMW Group France, and eventually got a position as an event marketing manager.
Interested in the auto industry, she continued to work in the field at the head office of Ford France as a sales promotion manager in its Marketing Department. In that position, she coordinated the organisation of national events for the Ford brand. In the summer of 2007, she worked in the parts and services department as Regional Manager for in the Languedoc-Roussillon region where she managed some twenty locations to boost their spare parts sales performance and improve service quality. With her success in those positions, she then became Zone Sales Manager for Ford passenger cars and commercial vehicles in Eastern France. She held that position until 2013.
In May 2013, Élise was hired by the VOLKSWAGEN GROUP France as District Manager for the SEAT brand in the South West of France. Because of her knowledge of the jobs in the field and her awareness of customer expectations, she became its Product and Price Analysis Manager for SEAT in 2016. She and her teams worked on product reconstruction projects in France, and their repositioning on the French market by renewing old models, as demonstrated by the Ateca’s fresh, new look. Her team also participated in the launch of the new SEAT, Arona, and Tarraco models of SEAT, and the CUPRA brand in 2018.
As of the beginning of 2020, Élise has been in charge of the Marketing Department for the SEAT and CUPRA brands in France in which she coordinates their entire product marketing, communication, digital innovation, mobility and events strategies.
#3 ANTHONY ESPIÉ - HEAD OF CONSUMER CARE & CONSUMER RELATIONS FOR EUROPE, MICHELIN
Originally from the South West of France, Anthony Espié graduated from the KEDGE Bordeaux campus. Passionate about oenology, he got a VIE for an SME in the wine and spirits sector and moved to London in 2008. He spent a year and a half there and in Brussels and was in charge of the English and Belgian export market and boosted the sales of a range of luxury products.
Following this VIE, he decided to pursue his career in a major group. Attracted by its strong values, Anthony chose to work with the French sales teams at Michelin. At first, he was "in charge of sales of the Bordeaux region for almost two years, a sector in which I am taking my first steps. I then took over responsibility for the Brittany sector, which represents a greater sales potential," he explained.
After three years, he wanted to work in an international setting, so he moved to Barcelona to coordinate a strategic European project to transform the functions of consumer relations. A year later, he became the Head of Consumer Care & Consumer Relations for Europe, and thus was work in an international setting.
"My task is to define and implement Michelin's consumer relations strategy, thereby contributing to the improvement of the experience of our consumers in Europe. I’m convinced that a quality brand should offer its customers not only the best products but the best experience as well. This means putting in place the means and resources to support consumers throughout their purchasing journey to convert them to the brand in the pre-purchase phase and to build their loyalty."
As the digital landscape and consumer behaviour is changing very rapidly, this exciting position requires great agility in adopting initiatives and constantly adapting.
#4 RAPHAELLE HOLDERITH - DIRECTOR, PEUGEOT BOULOGNE & GARCHES - PSA RETAIL
Raphaëlle Holderith graduated from KEDGE in 2008. She went to work with the Renault F1 Team as part of her end-of-studies internship. Her main job was to organise F1 roadshows around the world, including the Formula 1 Grand Prix, in order to increase brand awareness in certain geographical areas and promote with the local subsidiaries.
"After that extraordinary experience, I found out about Driving Evolution, an event agency that specialised in car testing. I began working for them in 2009 as a Key Account Manager, where I managed projects from a to z - from the call for tenders to their completion," she explained.
After working four years in the field, she continued working in the automotive industry, but this time at Porsche France headquarters. "I was in charge of local marketing with the Porsche Centres and coordinating the Porsche clubs in France".
Raphaëlle then returned to the field in 2015 and got a job with the Hess Group, a car dealership in the Peugeot network, in the Champagne Ardennes region. In that position, she organised marketing departments at five car dealerships and had about fifteen agents. She was very interested in sales and became more and more involved, until the day when her director offered her a Sales Manager position at Peugeot Reims. "Another era of my career began. I didn’t discover a new environment, but rather another universe: sales. Fascinating!".
In 2018, she returned to Paris when PSA Retail offered her a job as Director of the Peugeot retail locations in Boulogne and Garches.
#5 CHRISTOPHE HANNEQUIN - VICE-PRÉSIDENT FINANCE - MICHELIN TRUCK AND BUS BUSINESS LINE
Christophe Hannequin graduated from KEDGE's Grande Ecole Programme in 2000 and finished his education with an MBA at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA. He’s now 44 years old and working internationally makes up a part of his profile as he has lived and worked abroad for more than 18 years (England, Germany, and North America).
His professional career began in 1999 for the SAINT-GOBAIN Group at its Sekurit Transport division located in Philadelphia in the USA. He started at the company as a Plant Controller and successively became its Financial Controller then Director of Finance and Administration for the USA and Canada.
After that, in 2004, he seized the opportunity to work for PLASTIC OMNIUM in Detroit, the cradle of the American automotive industry. He started as Controller, Manufacturing Operations North America, then quickly advanced to the position of Finance Director USA. “I was able to contribute to the group's strong growth during that period, new customers, launched industrial sites, innovations, joint ventures, etc.," he said.
In 2008, Christophe went to work for the MICHELIN group in Greenville. After a short time as a Business Development and Pricing Manager, he returned to France in 2010 and became the Vice President of Finance in the Global Business Unit - Agricultural Tires to head its strong growth.
In 2014, he became Vice President Finance of Michelin’s Europe Truck Tires Business Unit, one of MICHELIN's iconic activities. Finally, in 2018, he was appointed Vice President Finance - Global Business Line - Truck & Bus Tires, a position in which he was able to make the best use of his experience and skills in dealing with different planning horizons (operational, tactical, and strategic).
“My education was in general finance, but I am extremely business-oriented and find the automotive sector and its ecosystem particularly attractive because of its dynamism, creativity, and high standards". - Christophe Hannequin.
#6 FRANCIS MICHEL - PRESS OFFICER MERCEDES-BENZ VANS FRANCE AND AUTHOR
Francis Michel graduated from KEDGE in 1997, after spending two summers working in "hard sales" as a door-to-door book salesperson in the USA as part of the Southwestern Company's student programme, and doing Erasmus exchange at the Hamburg University of Economics and Business Administration. After he completed his military service, he began working as a professional business account executive in an Alsatian bank. But, lured by the automotive world, he became one of the "budding" young graduates at Mercedes-Benz France in the summer of 1999. As a "personal assistant to a general manager, he interacted with all the various car import professions and was entrusted with some specific assignments.
Francis then went on to do marketing for commercial vehicles and then trucks, before being recruited by the communications director. "I've been devouring the articles about automobiles since I was very young. I started as... being in charge of press reviews for all activities, from the smart to the heavy goods vehicles, including Mercedes and Chrysler. It was pure joy! I then regularly got continuing education to increase my skills in editorial and event management." He’s been doing PR for light utility vans & leisure vehicles for several years now and never tires of it. He claims, "Every day is different".
In addition to his day job, Francis freelances as a writer on vintage cars. He regularly writes about Jaguars, Porsches, and Mercedes, in particular for the Auto Heroes, Ferdinand, and Etoiles Passion magazines. "I have just made a "nook" for Auto Plus, have published three books with E-T-A-I editions, and have translated two books. For my pseudonym (Michel Tona), I had fun: I used my surname for my first name and my wife's maiden name for my surname."
"These publications let me stay in close contact with the world of auto enthusiasts and also lets me look after my “young-timers” and change them every two years," explained Francis.
Discover his books:
- Mercedes, les plus beaux modèles (Mercedes, the most beautiful models): https://bit.ly/3lbnQXk
- AMG, les Mercedes hautes performances (AMG, high performance Mercedes) : https://bit.ly/2JhNagS
- Jaguar Type E: https://bit.ly/3fH31BD
- Toute l'histoire de Jaguar (The complete history of the Jaguar): https://bit.ly/2HMRepa
- Volvo, tous les modèles depuis 1927 (Volvo, every model since 1927): https://bit.ly/3l9IwPq
#7 DAMIEN PÉNELON - KEY ACCOUNT AND LCD MANAGER - JAGUAR LAND ROVER FRANCE
A great automobile enthusiast since the beginning, Damien Pénélon always thought that he would never be able to turn his passion into a career - so many opportunities and prospects seemed rare in this field. "The main recruitment and training networks at the time seemed to be more oriented towards engineering schools," he explained.
After a few internships and jobs in the banking world, joined KEDGE after a preparatory course, he nevertheless decided to try his luck during his break and applied for several offers in the French subsidiaries of car manufacturers, in parallel with the course he was considering in the banking world; "Bingo, I then landed a one-year internship at BMW France which ended up confirming that I wanted to combine my passion and a career"!
To give himself the best possible chance, Damien began to build a network thanks to this break and went on an exchange to Germany to perfect a second language. His efforts enabled him to land his first permanent contract with SIXT France even before he obtained his diploma. He quickly took on responsibilities within the company. After being in charge of sales performance, he had the opportunity to go into the field and manage an agency in the airport, and face confronted with his first management challenges.
After that, he wanted to get closer to car manufacturers again, and after experience in long-term leasing, he returned to BMW France in 2010 where he’s held positions in the sales department, as Head of Direct Sales and Special Sales, then Regional Manager, and finally Head of the Sales Forecasting & Sales Performance Division.
Since the beginning of this year, 2020, Damien decided to work for Jaguar and Land Rover France for new challenges.
#8 NICOLAS CHARTIER - CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CHAIR - ARAMISAUTO
Nicolas Chartier graduated in 1997 from the KEDGE’s Grande École Programme (GEP) and, four years later, he co-founded Aramisauto with Guillaume Paoli.
Before co-founding his well-known company, Nicolas worked as Head of the Hong Kong Office for Vinexpo, then as Export Manager Africa - Middle East with Baron Philippe de Rothschild before going to SEBO (a promotional items import-export start-up) as Managing Director.
In 2001, co-founders set the company up in Arcueil and gradually built agencies all over France. Very quickly, the company made a name for itself and was awarded the title of "Gazelle" by the Ministry of Finance in 2007.
Since its launch, Aramisauto has never stopped diversifying in order to extend the range of offers for its customers and to position itself as the French leader in the second-hand vehicle sales sector.
#9 ÉRIC DUBOIS - VICE-PRESIDENT RENAULT TRUCKS EUROPE, USED TRUCKS DIVISION
After graduating from MAI in 1999, Éric Dubois has climbed the ladder through opportunities presented to him, as well as successive reorganisations within the Volvo Group, which has 100,000 employees worldwide.
After working seven years in purchasing, holding various global coordination positions, particularly in the braking sector, Eric was headhunted by the International Division of Renault Trucks, and was hired in 2006 as a Network Development Manager. 18 months later, at the age of 33, he took over the Marketing Department.
In 2010, he was entrusted with the Sales Management of the Algerian subsidiary (the largest activity of the international division) where he will stay for three years. In 2013, following a change in the organisation of the Volvo Group's sales teams, he was appointed General Manager of the Tunis Office from where he managed all Renault Trucks and Volvo Trucks importers for the Maghreb. Two years later, in 2015, Éric returned to France and took over the French Marketing Department for both brands.
In 2019, he was promoted Vice President of the Renault Trucks Europe Management Committee.
Married and father of five, Éric has combined his career with voluntary commitments, as well as working as a part-time professor in marketing at the IAE in Lyon.
#10 GUILLAUME VERGNAS - PARTNER & ESPORTS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - RENAULT SPORT RACING
Guillaume Vergnas began KEDGE’s Grand Ecole Programme in 2014 and decided to build his career in motorsport and around his childhood dream, Formula 1. Each of his choices during his schooling was focussed on this goal. The same year, he joined the school's brand-new automobile association, KEDGE Motors Club (KMC), and became its Vice-President the following year.
His experiences are the result of a thought-out journey. In 2016, he took a year off to do a six-month internship as an Assistant Event Manager at Renault Sport Cars. He volunteered for an event management support for the Dutch motor racing company Creventic and travelled around Europe for various events. In March 2017, Guillaume did another internship, this time as a Partnerships Development Assistant with Renault Sport Racing.
He returned to Bordeaux in September 2017 to finish his Master 2. At the same time, he and a classmate investigated many different motorsport companies to offer them assistance on their business projects. Eventually, they both chose to work with Ligier Automotive and carried out a project study on the Ligier race car, which was released a year later. In February 2018, for his international internship, Guillaume went to work in England at the Enstone Formula 1 factory as a Partnerships Development Intern for the Renault F1 Team. This led to a permanent contract in the England where he was in charge of technical/marketing sponsorship contracts, in addition to the company’s Esports business activities with the French champion in the industry: Team Vitality.
Guillaume is currently a member of the team that allows the French brand to expand internationally with 22 races a year, a billion fans around the world, and 1,200 employees, the majority of whom are highly-skilled. In 2021, the Renault F1 Team will become Alpine F1 Team in order to develop the historic image of the French brand globally.
#11 LOIC MELLINAND - SENIOR VP PRODUIT & MARKETING - RENAULT TRUCKS
Loïc Melinand graduated from KEDGE's International Purchasing and Innovation Management Master programme (MAI) in 1990. He worked for the Volvo Group his end-of-study internship and did a VIE in Sweden.
He worked for about fifteen years in Volvo’s purchasing department in France, Sweden, and the USA, at the time of this job was created to handle the globalisation of supply chains and collaboration with suppliers within extended enterprises.
In 2007, Loïc spent some 10 years in China and Japan and was responsible for completely renovating Nissan Diesel's product range and building the brand that would eventually become UD Trucks.
Since March 2016, he’s been the Senior Vice-President, Product & Marketing at Renault Trucks. He heads its product, marketing, and sales administration regarding the brand's turn-around and transformation, such as connectivity with more than 100,000 connected vehicles and electrification of the entire range of vehicles to meet the challenges of a zero-emission society.
"I’ve been fortunate to develop and grow in a number of management positions in several areas in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and in a variety of functions covering purchasing, strategy, product management, and marketing". - Loïc Mellinand
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