“That women are given equal opportunities and are nurtured and encouraged is not just important but essential – and not just for businesses but society as a whole.”
I joined Capco a few months ago to lead the Geneva office. In my Partner role, I oversee all our Geneva based client operations and my core competencies extend to many financial services functions and transformation projects.
I grew up and studied in Paris and have been living in Zurich for the last five years. Moving to Switzerland was a big change for me and my family, as I had always been a true city-girl, if not a true Parisian girl! Now, I really enjoy living in Switzerland and being able to practice outdoor sports, especially hiking and skiing with my kids.
After studying mathematics and finance, I worked for a few years in a bank before moving to management consulting. It’s been over 20 years now and a fantastic journey supporting clients in financial services. I was in a partner role for the previous eight years. I have also lived for three years in New York, working in the finance department of Société Générale.
I have worked in big corporates and have experience of large consulting firms. Working with committed teams who are driven by client value-add and efficiency and have an entrepreneurial spirit is what I love the most. It is also important for me that we contribute to social causes like gender equality, the environment, fostering the next generation talent, etc. Capco was a natural choice as it offered the best of both aspects.
One of the biggest (and exciting) challenges I have faced was leading the management consulting practice for Banking & Financial Services clients at Cognizant (Switzerland) - new country, new language, three young daughters, husband in France, weekly cross-border commuting, and a totally new client portfolio plus having to build a new team from scratch! My first action was to organize support for my children. This gave me some time and space to understanding the local market, find the right team, and, leveraging my entire network, find contacts in Switzerland.
My family has always been very supportive. My mother and my mother-in-law have been my biggest strengths. They have supported me and my daughters and were always there when I needed them. This helped me focus on professional growth and building my career at the right time. But, like the saying goes, it is always a challenge to find work-life balance, and this balance always changes. What really helps me is being clear on priorities, and supportive people with whom I can communicate these priorities. I love outdoor sports, especially skiing, but also hiking and swimming. I am a big fan of ballet and I also have a huge interest into vegetarian and vegan cooking. And spending time with my kids on all these activities is what makes life even more pleasurable.
Gender equality, amongst other such causes has always been important to me. That women are given equal opportunities and are nurtured and encouraged is not just important but essential – and not just for businesses but society as a whole. At Capco, we have several strong initiatives to promote Diversity & Inclusion, and I actively participate in the Women@Capco initiatives.
Capco is good place to work for anyone looking for a challenging, entrepreneurial, and dynamic environment. The flexibility in managing my time is key for me. Being able to work from home a few days a week is definitively helping me lead a more balanced life. In addition, Capco encourages consultants to participate, to exchange and to share - as a woman, it helps me feel more comfortable giving and sharing my point of view, even when it is in contradiction to those of my colleagues.
Attracting and retaining female talent requires a continuous effort, but it starts with listening to our female colleagues, at every stage of their career, to understand their ambitions and their needs. It is also a matter of showing women how they can succeed: we need to demonstrate that there is not just one path to success at Capco, but many. Finally, training and communication on this topic are key as unconscious bias is unavoidable and affect everyone. On this, Capco partners must act as role models.
