“We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.”
Peter Drucker
Introduction: #AlwaysLearning
My main expertise consists in managing international marketing, media and/or digital projects across different functions, ICTs, creative sectors, countries, languages and cultures by coordinating, recruiting and/or training transnational, cross-cultural and cross-functional teams in large/medium/small agile matrix organizations often involving multiple internal and external stakeholders to drive exponential growth.
My job is to adapt to any situation, any technology, any team, any organization, any industry, any culture and any country – like a chameleon, to never stop learning, to solve complicated problems and unexpected crises in a collaborative way, to be a digital evangelist by making sure that the proven best practices are known, understood, appreciated, valued, shared, implemented and assessed throughout the organization and to conduct change smoothly so that things flow seamlessly in a demanding, challenging, ever-changing, uncertain and globalized competitive environment.
1. International Outlook
1.1 A Triple Culture
I am Eurasian. I was very lucky to have been imbued with a double culture since birth, with one foot in Western Europe (my father was born in France) and one foot in Southeast Asia (my mother was born in Vietnam). Moreover, I have always had a strong affinity for American pop culture since childhood – I grew up with US superhero comic books, toys, video games, music, movies, television series, television shows and cuisine – therefore becoming one of the most “americanized” French citizens. My high school friends even called me “L’Américain” (“The American”). Although I master both forms of English, you may have already noticed that this website is written on purpose in American English rather than in British English.
I believe that my triple European-Asian-American culture is an advantage for large cultural and creative organizations, fast-growing digital and tech startups, artistic talents or influencers willing to go global.
1.2 Foreign Languages
I am familiar with some of the most spoken languages in the world, 5 out of the 6 official languages of the United Nations:
– French (native),
– English (fluent),
– Spanish (advanced),
– Russian (false beginner right now)
– and Chinese (false beginner right now).
I learned Mandarin Chinese for 3 years in Madrid (2005-2006), London (2007-2008) and Shanghai (2008-2009). And I studied Russian in 2013-2014 at INALCO, the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, where more than 120 nationalities are represented among its faculty and students.
1.3 Global Studies
2005-2006: I studied business and internationalization at the Complutense University of Madrid (where all classes were taught in Castilian Spanish).
2006-2007: I received the international business certificate of the French Foreign Trade Advisors (Conseillers du Commerce Extérieur de la France/CCE) and I hold a Master’s degree in International Strategic Management from the Sorbonne School of Management.
2007-2008: I studied media and globalization at LSE (the London School of Economics and Political Science). With more than 190 countries represented among its community, the LSE is more international than the United Nations and is ranked 2nd in the world for the highest proportion of international students, 70%.
2008-2009: I studied international economics and foreign trade at the School of Economics of Fudan University in Shanghai (where all classes were taught in English).
2012: I was trained by Accenture in consulting and international project management in Chicago in the United States (more precisely at the Q Center in St. Charles, Illinois).
1.4 International Experience
I worked on four continents: in North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia.
For many different reasons, I really feel at home in China, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, the UK, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and indeed in France.
Based on the 2012 rankings of the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), it seems that I spent most of my life so far in some of the most important global cities in the world: New York City (Alpha++), London (Alpha++), Paris (Alpha+), Shanghai (Alpha+), Moscow (Alpha) and Madrid (Alpha).
According to the 2015 A.T. Kearney Global Cities Index, New York, London and Paris are respectively ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd on this planet.
According to the 2015 Global Power City Index (GPCI) published by the Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation, London, New York and Paris, where I lived/studied/worked, are the most powerful and magnetic global cities on earth.
I had the unique chance to study or work with people from over 50 countries: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Oman, Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire…
2. Functional Expertise
2.1 Marketing and Strategy Skills
- Strategic Analysis (SWOT, Competitor Analysis, Benchmarking,…), Business Model, Strategic Objectives,
- Marketing Strategy, Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning, Branding, Brand Strategy,
- Market Research, Marketing Studies and Surveys (quantitative and qualitative), Marketing Analytics, Consumer Behavior,
- International Marketing, Marketing Mix, Marketing Plan, Customer Loyalty,
- Marketing Management, Product Development, Innovation, Portfolio Management, Offer Pruning,
- IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications), Multi-Channel Marketing, Omni-Channel Marketing,
- Marketing Communications, Marketing Campaign Management, Media Management, Paid/Owned/Earned Media (POEM), Return On Investment (ROI) Monitoring, Radio & TV Ratings, Ad Spend Audit, Radio & TV Programming,
- Branded Entertainment, Product Placement, Sponsorship and Celebrity Marketing.
WARNING: as a global marketing executive, I do not master Photosphop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro. I usually manage graphic designers, visual designers, UI designers, motion designers, video editors and content producers in my marketing team.
2.2 Digital Marketing Skills*
My main expertise in Digital Marketing / Online Marketing / Web Marketing / Internet Marketing is called Inbound Marketing.
- Content Marketing, Video Marketing, YouTube Marketing, Live Streaming, Twitch Marketing, Podcasting, Audio Marketing, Blogging, Copywriting, CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal,…) and Canva,
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Voice Search Optimization (VSO),
- Social Media Marketing (SMM), Social Media Optimization (SMO), Community Management, Online Reputation Management (ORM), Conversational Marketing or Conversation Marketing, Influencer Marketing or Influence Marketing,
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Emailing or Email Marketing and A/B Testing,
- Marketing Automation, Customer Acquisition, Lead Generation, Lead Development, Lead Nurturing, Lead Scoring and Lead Management,
- User Experience (UX), Customer Journey Mapping, Customer Journey Optimization, Landing Page Optimization (LPO), Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO),
- Data Analytics, Digital Analytics, Web Analytics, Google Analytics, Mobile Analytics and Social Media Analytics,
- E-commerce, Conversion Funnel, Purchase Funnel, Perfomance Metrics and Churn Management,
- M-commerce, Mobile Marketing and App Store Optimization (ASO).
*I am a Google certified professional in digital marketing, I hold a Specialized MBA in Digital Marketing and I was a professor of digital marketing.
WARNING: I am a bit familiar with Performance Marketing, Performance-based Advertising, PPC (Pay Per Click), Paid Search / Search Engine Advertising (SEA) / Google Ads, Display Advertising, Social Ads, Retargeting and Affiliate Marketing but this is NOT my core expertise. I rather hire and manage digital advertising agencies or freelance experts for paid media campaigns because I am not competent in this area.
2.3 Digital Transformation and Management Skills
- B2C, B2B, Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP), Business Proposals, Service Level Agreements (SLAs),
- Business Requirements, Functional Specifications, Gap Analysis, Problem Solving, Decision Making, Crisis Management,
- Technological Transformation – selection and implementation of a new MarTech / marketing technology (CRM, e-CRM, Social CRM, e-commerce website, mobile app, marketing automation tool, campaign management tool, social media management tool, social listening tool, online reputation management SaaS, conversational marketing SaaS, big data software, predictive analytics software,…),
- Recruitment, Team Building, Team Management*, Delegation Management, Performance Management, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),
- Project Management*, Priority Management, Time Management, Planning, Budgeting, Organizing, Leading, Reporting.
- Change Management*, Transition Management, Recruiting, Training Design and Knowledge Management.
*I was trained in Team Management, Project Management and Change Management by Accenture.
2.4 International Management Skills*
- Negotiation and Conflict Management,
- Cultural Awareness and Cultural Differences,
- International Coordination and Virtual Team Management,
- Cross-Cultural Communication and Cross-Cultural Management,
- Globalization, Glocalization, Internationalization and Localization.
*I received the international business certificate of the French Foreign Trade Advisors (CCE), I hold a Master’s degree in International Strategic Management from the Sorbonne School of Management, I studied internationalization at the Complutense University of Madrid, I studied globalization at the London School of Economics and Political Science and I studied international trade at the Fudan University School of Economics in Shanghai.
3. Soft Skills
In the age of AI (artificial intelligence), I believe that nothing is more important for human beings than soft skills. My technical skills listed above in international management, marketing, and digital marketing should not be considered more important than these soft skills, which are/will be so important in the 21st century.
- Strong ethics and integrity,
- High emotional intelligence,
- Creativity and creative thinking,
- Leadership and strategic thinking,
- Adaptability and flexibility,
- Diplomacy and psychology,
- Client focus and customer-centric approach,
- Critical thinking and results oriented,
- Analytical mind and data-driven,
- Detail-oriented and rigorous.
4. Industry Expertise
The cultural and creative industries (described in detail on the next page).