Interview with Victoire, Head of the KEDGE Alumni branch in Bangkok

Hello Victoire.  Tell us about your educational experience. What training did you have before, during, and after KEDGE?

I did all my schooling at one school, Saint Adrien in Villeneuve d’Ascq, and I passed my Bac ES. After that, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I preferred to not close any doors, so I got a licence in law while preparing to take the entrance exams to go to a business school. I completed two years of law, then I decided to go to business school.

That’s how I ended up at Euromed, where I primarily chose courses in speciality marketing. I was in also an association: Euromed’s Cup (now Linkedge Evénementiel).  It’s an event planning association that organises sports or recreational events between businesses and students. At first, I was part of the communications centre, and then I was treasurer the second year.

1 minute / 1 kedger : Victoire, Head of the KEDGE Alumni Branch in Bangkok

Published by Kedge Business School Alumni Thursday, 31 May 2018.

I decided to go Shanghai for my placement year, with Auchan, in marketing. The purpose of the internship was to produce a catalogue on dried products (beans, etc) to assist purchasers.  I then realised that this sector was not the one that interested me the most, so I focused the second part of my placement year in a sector that I was more interested in.

I finally ended up doing a six-month internship with Nuxe, in Paris. I was an operational marketing assistant for the Europe region.

Then, to finish my Master’s, I did a work study with Benefit Cosmetics (Goupe LVMH) in Paris as an assistant in Market and Trade Operations, still for the Europe region.  After that, I did a semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a university exchange.

Tell us about your decision to move here to Bangkok?

I’d known since my placement year that I didn’t want to begin my career in France and settle there.  I told myself that if I started working in Paris, I would have a hard time moving later, then suddenly I absolutely wanted to go abroad. I didn’t have any precise destination in mind, although Asia attracted me the most.

I focused my job searches in cosmetics and marketing.  I was lucky; I saw an offer on LinkedIn  in Singapore with the company  in which I had done my work study. After a few interviews, I left for Singapore to be a Brand Executive with Benefit Cosmetics.

I didn’t really do marketing, but rather management control. I prepared the reports for the South East Asian countries, set the sales prices of products in the different countries, and established trackings of the product launches.

I think that when someone looks for a job abroad, in the beginning they don’t know what they want, and so they will have to compromise on some things.

In order to be with my boyfriend, and because I didn’t feel like the job was fulfilling (I loved the company, but unfortunately, the position didn’t really correspond to my profile), I looked for a new one.  After several searches -  and lots of luck - in December 2016 I began to work again in Bangkok, this time as a Marketing Manager with Argeville, a company based in the heart of the French perfume industry, in  Mougins, near Cannes.  Argeville creates and produces perfumes, raw materials, and food flavourings. 

I’m in charge of the marketing presentations for the Asia region. Not only do I have to keep on top of the trends in perfumes, ingredients, and our finished products, but I must also identify new opportunities.  I also take part in various exhibitions (In-Cosmetics in Bangkok, Cosmoprof in Hong Kong, Beauty World in Dubai ...) and we also organise conferences abroad. Last November we were in Korea; next week we’ll be in Vietnam. This is very important, because the trends differ enormously in the different countries.

The position is very interesting and corresponds to my expectations.

The Argeville offices in Bangkok, where Victoire has been working since December 2016

Relationships are very hierarchical here, and it’s important to not "lose face".  If you aren’t happy with something, you treat it with  wear kid gloves when you mention it. You can’t let yourself get upset with a Thai, and you mustn’t raise your voice.

I will also say that compared to France, the Thai are a little less direct. They won’t necessarily say what they think - you have to ask them to say certain things. Sometimes it's a bit of a hassle, but you have to understand that if you don’t ask questions, you can miss some things.

KEDGERS IN THAILAND FACEBOOK GROUP 

KEDGERS IN ASIA LINKEDIN GROUP

Quelles sont vos ambitions pour le futur, par exemple où vous voyez-vous dans 5 ans ?

C’est la grosse question du moment. J’adore mon travail et la Thaïlande mais je ne me vois pas faire toute ma vie ici. Avec mon copain on pense, pourquoi pas, aller vers une autre destination. Je pense que j’aimerai bien changer complètement donc pas forcement en Asie. Nous sommes ouverts sur la question mais on est pas du tout pressés.

Après je pense que sur le long terme on rentrera en France mais pas tout de suite. En effet, en étant à l’étranger il y a beaucoup d’avantages mais aussi des inconvénients notamment le fait d’être loin de ses proches, c’est quelque chose qui me pèse un peu.

What are your ambitions for the future? For example, where do you see yourself in 5 years?

That is the big question of the moment. I love my job and I love Thailand, but I don’t see myself spending my whole life here. My boyfriend and I think “why not go to another destination?”. I think I would like a complete change, so not necessarily in Asia. We are open to the idea, but we aren’t in a hurry at all.

After I think that in the long term we will return to France, but not immediately. Indeed, living abroad has many advantages but it also has disadvantages - including being away from family. It’s is something that weighs on me a little.

 

In what ways did KEDGE help you develop and reach your goals?

What I liked is that, throughout my time at KEDGE, I had a lot of liberty. I found the ability to customise courses very flexible, which allows you to try several things, and to find out what you like and what you don’t like. It’s not like a Master’s  programme where you spend two years without being able to make the slightest change your course.

It’s truly something good because with a Master’s degree, you have to choose a speciality, like finance and marketing, without ever have done any of it first. To be able to realise this in the first place, and being able to change at any moment, is a real advantage.

However, I don’t understand why a placement year is not obligatory. When you arrive on the work market, you must absolutely have had done internships. Competition is tough, and internships are what makes you stand out.

For me, the placement year at KEDGE was really beneficial. It is important to orient ourselves on our choice of future. For example, throughout the different internships, I realised that I liked marketing, but that mass distribution wasn’t the sector that I was most attracted to. A placement year is very essential to acquire experience, to test yourself, and to realise certain things

Another positive aspect of KEDGE are the courses in English that you can choose. I even think that should be required more often. Living abroad has made me realise how much we French don’t have a flair for languages... . I think that being able to speak English is important for all students in business schools. Even if you stay in France, companies are becoming more and more international, so it's important to know how to speak English well.

 

 

Did you have any fears before you moved abroad? If yes, what were they?

I definitely had fears, but I really wanted to go abroad, so I was able to overcome them!

My main worry before I left was being able to find a job in another country from France. It’s not exactly easy, but it’s far from impossible. I think that, in France, we get the impression that it’s super complicated, that we will never find one. There are a lot of preconceived ideas. But, where there’s a will, there’s a way.  Anything is possible!

My second concern was discovering a new country. I was alone and didn’t know Singapore at all. After, I was more confident because I had a lot of positive feedback.

What advice would you give to a student or young graduate who is thinking about having a Thai experience?

Go for it! If it’s what you want to do, do it, even if you hear lots of things about how difficult it is to find a job in another country. If you try hard, you will always find one. There are lots of French companies, the Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy… and very importantly, you have your network! (This is where the importance of the KEDGE Alumni network comes in.) Don’t hesitate to use your network. This works enormously like that abroad. On Civiweb.com, the website that publishes VIE offers, there are so many applicants for every offer… so it’s very important that you use your network.

 

What have you found in Thailand that you would you never have found in France?

The sun! I come from Lille (laughs)!  More seriously, I find that people here have a real joie de vivre. For example, someone who has a job that isn’t necessarily very rewarding will be smiling. They enjoy life, and every day really is pleasant.

Bangkok is also a city that never sleeps. Not necessarily pretty, but it has an amazing and exciting atmosphere; it’s crowded everywhere, in every sense of the word. Also, it’s a very safe city.  I’ve never had any problem and I feel very safe. I can come home alone at 4 am and I know nothing will happen to me.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE KEDGE ALUMNI BRANCH IN BANGKOK 

Would you tell us about your role as the Head of the KEDGE Alumni branch in Bangkok?

When I arrived in Bangkok, I learned that there was no Alumni branch here.  When I was in Singapore, I had gone to a KEDGE Afterwork that I really liked.  It was great, and it let me meet new people.

When I got to Bangkok, I looked into it because I had found it to be nice, and I was told that there wasn’t one. So I reached out to the school and Brigitte Van Roy (Head of the Alumni Network and the management of local and international branches within KEDGE BS, ed) and I formed the branch, a little over a year ago. Its purpose is to allow students and graduates to meet. We went to the same school, so it's really interesting to see our different profiles, the different trajectories that we each took, etc. I organise an afterwork every 3 to 4 months at a bar to exchange over drinks. At the first afterwork, there were a lot of trainees and students in university exchange programmes, and after a while, more and more people were coming back to our events and new people were attending. In the end, I found it really interesting to meet Kedgers at the other side of the world.

A big thank you to all the graduates for coming and especially to Victoire Leurent, a graduate of KEDGE and ...

 Published by KAS - Kedge Asian Success on Wednesday, 30 May 2018

 

 

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Interview conducted in Bangkok by the Kedge Asian Success team, composed of Romane Clerc, Cyril Colliot and Maud Ribaucourt.

 

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