Interview with Vianney, a Kedger working at Procter & Gamble

Hello Vianney. To start, what track did you take at KEDGE? What did your courses teach you?

I joined the Grand Ecole Programme at KEDGE Business School in 2011, after two years of prep school. I took advantage of a full course that was specially adapted to what I wanted to learn in order to increase my marketing and business strategy skills. I also benefited enormously from my involvement in the student associations. I was President of the Student Union list in my first year, and President of the Council of Associations in my second year.

Would you tell us about your professional track since you left KEDGE?

I joined Procter & Gamble in July 2015 as a sales manager in the Bordeaux region. My job consisted of managing some 40 clients with revenues of 20 million euros. I was quickly able to get the hang of this position because of my internship. They recommended me for a permanent position afterwards.

Nine months later, I was promoted to a National Key Account (trading) position for the Pampers & Oral-B brands with our customer Carrefour. This position allowed me to manage an account with revenues of over 140 million euros, which gave me an extreme amount of responsibility within the company.

You are currently Market Strategy Manager of Pampers France at Procter & Gamble. What does your job consist of?

I manage three different aspects of the Pampers market strategy. The first is on the business policy regarding the launch of our product innovations which requires that I think about consumers and distributors every day. The second is providing a clear vision of the medium- and long-term perspective in regards to management. Finally, by developing the tools to equip our sales force and best way to carry out our different product launches.

What attracted you to P&G? What is the atmosphere like?

I attended a conference of someone who was a commercial director at the time, and I appreciated the spontaneity and the naturalness of the presenter that day. My internship bolstered my belief that the company empowers any employee, no matter who, to assume responsibilities. Also, its training programme, as well as the young atmosphere that reigns there. I’m in a team whose average age is 30 years. I particularly appreciate the contact we have with top management within internal meetings, which lets us progress quickly, both personally and professionally.

If you were to convince a young KEDGE graduate to join P&G, what would be your key argument?

There’s a young, energetic atmosphere that has an extraordinary culture of training that allows strong internal promotion. 

I’ve heard that P&G is looking to recruit KEDGE students and graduates. Would you tell us a little more?

We are recruiting sales managers throughout the summer from all over France to join the company at the end of the summer. This job is the cornerstone of any career in business strategy, because you learn how the French distribution system works, and you also learn every day through your experiences and regular meetings with your manager. We recruit potential that who we intend to promote in varied careers and responsibilities. So, if you want to learn, take up challenges and grow in a nice atmosphere, apply!

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