AFAM - Blog / News

Details: Published: 31 January 2020

Here we are, in the new year, with a new series of interviews "Why Consulting?" (please check out our last series "Food for Thought").

Before asking the question "Why Consulting?" to our interviewees, gadz'arts working in a consulting sector in the United States, we asked it ourselves. Why Consulting and not another series of interviews?

The answer is simple. A lot of Arts et Metiers graduate engineering students who contacted AFAM looking for internships in the US, are interested in Consulting. And when we ask them "Why?", a lot of them are lost, not knowing what to say, probably thinking that saying "I will earn a lot of money" is not a good answer, or at least not the only one.

What is the right answer (if there is one)? We will be trying to understand it with the help of our alumni, professionals, experts, Consulting enthusiasts.

François Thery (Li 96), Technology Consulting Senior Manager at Accenture, SF Bay Area, CA, is one of them.

AFAM: Hello, François, and thank you for replying to our questions. Please tell us more about what your consulting role is about?

François: My role is complex transformation delivery expert, leading implementation of large scale solution such as ERP (Enterprise resource planning - business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back office functions related to technology, services and human resources) and Saas (software is a service - is a software distribution model in which a third-party provider hosts applications and makes them available to customers over the Internet).

My primary industry focus area is high tech companies, with experience in Configure Price Quote and Supply Chain Transformation initiatives.

AFAM: How did you get where you are now?

François: I started my professional career in Glass Manufacturing and Operations Management, first on the East coast for 12 years and afterwards on the West Coast. I was involved into managing large projects either in process improvement (lean manufacturing, six sigma) or customer specific programs, which helped me transition easily to Accenture and complex transformation delivery.

I joined Accenture five years ago as I was looking for a career change and was fortunate to join this great company.

AFAM: What does your typical day look like?

François: What I like as a Technology consultant is that there is no typical day. The principal activity is to work with our client on addressing their needs, coupled with managing a delivery team. There are plenty of opportunities at Accenture to contribute in various projects, such as coaching new joiner, performing volunteer work in local communities, or leading technology working groups. This diversity fits well with my aspiration both personally and professionally.

AFAM: What kind of volunteer work are you talking about?

François: It can be helping out at a local shelter, work with the San Francisco City to improve their dispatching system, or suggest solutions to accelerate the response time of the wildfire!

AFAM: What do you like in your consulting role?

François: As mentioned previously, I like the opportunity to work with various teams and companies.

One area that I really like is being able to bring value and a sense of purpose to our client. We strive to make an impact to the daily life of our client by developing meaningful and cutting-edge solutions. Witnessing the results and impact of our work, and the difference that we make is really a rewarding experience as a human being.

AFAM: What are the challenges of the consulting job?

François: One of the areas that keep consultants on their toes is the need to remain relevant in the work we do. The technology solutions are evolving at a pace we never saw before. It requires us to stay vigilant, always learn and challenge our beliefs and understandings.

AFAM: What skills and qualities do engineers need to be successful consultants?

François: Engineers usually bring with them rigor and methods to the consulting world. While these are great skills, it is not enough to be successful. The biggest skill gap I personally see is being able to communicate simply and efficiently with a client or a team. This is something that must be learnt, practiced and mastered.

Being able to make a point or explain a problem and solution will be the differentiator between getting a deal or not, having a team following you or not.

AFAM: What advice would you give to a student who wants to work in consulting? Start as a junior in a large management consulting company, find an internship in a boutique firm, become an expert in a certain field before breaking into consulting........?

François: I would recommend anyone to join a Consulting firm early in a career. Joining after spending several years in a non-consulting environment is not easy and requires a high level of adaption.

I would also recommend to be patient, curious and learn as much as possible. What makes a successful consultant is the exposure to various experiences.

As far as which type of consulting firm to join, it is a personal choice. Accenture has a great development program for consultants out of school. It is designed to learn the consulting role, get experience in projects and adapt to the company culture and core values. The specialization will come later on based on affinity and interest.

Some information about internship opportunities at Accenture in the US:

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States and with Accenture. 

How to Apply: Please apply via your campus career center and the Accenture Careers website.

Details: Published: 31 January 2020

Our community in Atlanta is growing so fast that kings and queens are being elected to manage the changing gadz'art population.

Just joking...we still live in a democracy. The truth is that, 15 gadz'arts gathered on January 16th to enjoy each other's company and to celebrate Epiphany. It is for the first time that a social event in Atlanta gathered so many gadz'arts at once.

The gathering took place in Café Vendôme café in Atlanta, owned by Hamid Rouchdi, a French engineer, graduated from Telecom Lille, Atlanta-based entrepreneur and consultant today.

Details: Published: 03 January 2020

2019 is gone. Let's look back at some significant events for our school, alumni and students and some important moments of 2019 for American Friends of Arts et Metiers.

We can't wait to see what the new decade will bring to our community!

January 2019

Laurent Champaney wishes a Happy New 2019 and talks about new projects for the school

Notes about UC Berkeley and Georgia Institute of Technology are published in our blog (signed by Louis Renaux (Cl 216) and Alexis Cassier (Me 215). These two engineering schools are the most popular destinations for our students as every year a lot of gadzarts are going to Berkeley and Atlanta within the framework of Parcours US or GT exchange programs.

February 2019

First gadz gathering is organized in Atlanta by our Atlanta representative and AFAM board member Nicolas Horde (Ai 215). Our communities on East, West Coast and in the Center are very dynamic and there are a lot of different events organized thanks to our groups' presidents JB Commans, Eric Tran, Mattia Pelissou and other groups' members.

March 2019

Arts et Metiers is displaying its new identity at Global Industry Exhibition.

Arts et Metiers students Clément, Jean and Maxime are selected for World Skills competition taking place in Russia in August 2019

Partnership with Data ScienceTech Institute is signed to tackle the Digitalization Challenge

French Fab Manifesto by BPIFrance and Arts et Métiers (by Alexandre Rigal and Nicolas Duforcq) appears in the press

Two gadzarts-interns are receiving AFAM grants (another gadzart will receive a grant in June 2019)

April 2019

AFAM celebrates spring with Arts et Metiers alumnas Anne-Perrine, Basma, Fanny, Mathilde and Soazig who are featured in our spring editions.

May 2019

50 students from Texas A&M University came to Aix-en-Provence campus

Arts et Metiers and Dassault Systems signed Memorandum of Understanding

June 2019

Art et Metiers is the first school becoming French Fab ambassador

Grandes UAI take place on Aix-en-Provence campus

July 2019

Gadzarts team participated in AAGEF Regatta in NYC

The first intern from Texas A&M University Lucas Freitas is welcomed in Aix-en-Provence's MSMP laboratory

Arts et Metiers and EDF sign a partnership agreement

Arts et Metiers students take part in French Fab Tour

August 2019

AFAM prepares its Shasta Special Edition of the newsletter with a collection of "When I was a J1 intern" stories and Shasta Mentor of the Year election results

September 2019

Arts et Metiers unveils its new visual identity

Arts et Metiers has its Think Tank

October 2019

A very sad event occurred this month - passing of Louis Magne (An 130) at age 106. This Grand Gadz'arts helped the school and young students throughout his long life.

Arts et Metiers Shanghai Congress is organized

Third Arts et Metiers/TEES workshop takes place in College Station

AFAM launches a new series of interviews "Food for Thought" including five interviews

November 2019

40th edition of Arts et Metiers' Forum takes place in Paris

AFAM's community manager travels in France (Paris, Bordeaux and Aix-en-Provence campuses) to meet students and school faculty and staff - read "On the Road Notes"

AFAM's first event "The Mobility Revolution" co-organized with French Founders takes place in Palo Alto

December 2019

Baptemes of new Gadzarts are occurring on six Arts et Metiers campuses. Bapteme on Bordeaux campus will take place on February 2020.

Details: Published: 30 December 2019

Our latest interview in our Food for Thought series was with Jean Prévot (Ch98), Director of Operation at Danone Manifesto Ventures. Jean started in Food Industry in France almost 20 years ago before coming to the United States.

But we all start off somewhere. And we can eventually work our way up to a higher level of expertise, success and recognition.

Today our interviewee is a young intern at Epi Breads Florian Héraud (Bo 215). Florian is an Automation Project engineering intern. He started his internship program in Michigan in March 2019 and will be working in the US until spring 2020.

Florian found his internship through Intern Abroad USA and got Shasta grant from AFAM to pursue his 10-month internship program.

AFAM: What do you do on a daily basis for your job?

Florian: I am in charge of different projects for continuous improvement. In the bakery, there are a lot of operations that can reap major benefit from automation such as handling the boxes full of products or the trays we put the bread on. In other words, I am working on finding the right equipment to improve our processes by working with solution providers in every field linked to the bakery: flour handling, vacuum cooling, packaging.

AFAM: Is working for a Food Company your initial choice or a coincidence?

Florian: It is a total coincidence! I was searching for an opportunity abroad in the robotics and automatics fields and I found this company with a strong willing of modernization. So here I am, working with robots and automated cells for a bakery in this great state of Michigan.

AFAM: What makes the company you work for unique?

Florian: Although my goal is to develop automated applications, we keep making an artisanal product by maintaining some crucial manual operations like the handling of the baking or the scoring of the bread. That is what makes Epi Breads unique because in the American food world. Our bread is the closest to the baguette and I could not be prouder participating in its making!

AFAM: In your opinion, what would you bring in your professional life after being an intern in a Food Company?

Florian: A lot of elements for sure! It is my first job after my graduation, and I have never worked in a such high production capacity. I realize how much keeping the production going is important in a high rate factory when the whole team is under pressure during a breakdown. Moreover, it taught me the roughness of the financial balance, every dollar counts when the profit margin is low. So, every project and funding request has to be well justified, that is maybe the main lesson I will remember from this experience. I do not think that I will stay in the food industry but I definitely want to keep working on projects with robotics, I am currently on the customer side, then I would like to go on the solution provider side.

AFAM: We are now in the midst of the year-end holidays. What’s your plan for New Year celebration and how did you spend Christmas? And what will be your professional goal for the new 2020?

Florian:

I choose to come back to France for the holidays so I do not have the chance to experience an American Christmas. But I had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with a friend from work! She invited me with her family among forty other people. We ate so many different dishes : turkey of course, ham with gravy, casserole beans, mash potatoes and cheese… We were all gathered, discussing and watching football, that was a really lovely American experience!

Thank you, Florian, for sharing! AFAM wishes you all the best in the new 2020!

Photo: Epi Breads products (courtesy of Florian)

Please read other interviews in our "Food for Thought" series:

Interview with Guilhem Bau (Cl 215), 6Dbytes

Interview with Jérémy Berros (Li 206), Pellenc Group

Interview with Pierre-Edouard Brasseur (Li 208), Impossible Foods

Interview with Jean Prévot (Ch 98), Danone Manifesto Ventures.

Details: Published: 27 November 2019

This Fall AFAM decided to launch its “FOOD FOR THOUGHT” interview series.

“FOOD FOR THOUGHT” is a way to unveil and understand what is behind some engineering jobs in the Food/Agriculture Industry in the US. AFAM has no intention of analyzing this big and complex industry but wants to gain some understanding of what it is to be an engineer in the Food sector, what opportunities it might open up and skills it requires.

Above all, “FOOD FOR THOUGHT” is a great way of getting acquainted with our diverse and vibrant gadz community in the US!

Today we meet Jean Prévot (Ch 98). Jean started as a Production Engineer at Danone in 2001 in France (Neufchatel en Bray) and has been working for Danone for 5 years before moving to Hungary where for several years he was a Plant Manager at Bongrain.

His next step was moving to the United States to work for a cheese company Laura Chenel’s Chevre and then for a plant-based foods startup Kite Hill for almost 6 years.

Today Jean is back to Danone, more precisely at Danone Manifesto Ventures as a Director of Operations.

AFAM: Hello, Jean, and thank you for taking the time to reply to our questions. What do you do on a daily basis for your job?

Jean: As the head of Operations for Danone Ventures, most of my day-to-day tasks is to bring operational support to our portfolio companies (AFAM: Danone Manifesto Ventures’ portfolio include such companies as Michel et Augustin, Farmer’s Fridge, Yooji, Harmless Harvest, to mention a few). I can work with them as little as being a sounding board for their CEO/COO, or as intense as acting COO -VP Operations/Quality. I hence travel to all these companies headquarters or production facilities to work on multiple projects at the same time: from building and starting a coconut water extraction plant in Thailand to improving the Quality/Food Safety system for cookie manufacturing in France to defining the industrial roadmap for a Greek yogurt company in India, it is a very rich and diverse job.

I enjoy working with a very wide spectrum of products, companies and cultures. I am also in charge of building the Opstech/Agtech deal flow for our investment activity, and conducting the operational due-diligence process for our selected candidates.

I'm very lucky to work on both sides of the coin: interacting with great entrepreneurs and also leveraging the immense resources of a great worldwide institution like Danone.

AFAM: Is working for a Food Company your initial choice or a coincidence?

Jean: Since my 1st year at Arts et Métiers, I always wanted to work in the food industry. I guess this is linked to my dream job as a kid: I wanted to be a pastry chef. I chose all my internships in the food industry, starting with an engineering angle, gradually working towards people and product management. Back in these days, we were not so many Gadz to work in the Food Industry, but that was definitely a starting trend.

AFAM: What makes the company you work for unique?

Jean: Danone Manifesto Ventures was founded to bring the Danone Manifesto to life by partnering with a tribe of disruptive entrepreneurs across the world. Danone Manifesto Ventures has an ambition to make investment choices guided by the highest standards of social and environmental impact, in line with Danone’s One Planet, One Health vision to promote healthy and sustainable eating and drinking habits. In September 2018, Danone Manifesto Ventures became the first corporate venture fund independently certified as a B Corporation. Danone, One planet. One health agenda is a truly unique and powerful mission, and I am glad to have a chance to be a part of it every day.

AFAM: Did the fact of being French help you get where you are now?

Jean: It sure did play its part! After a first expatriation in Hungary, where I ran a cheese manufacturing factory, I found a job in the US to build and run a goat cheese plant in Sonoma, CA. These 2 jobs helped me build competences as a cheesemaker. A couple of years later, a startup contacted me as they were interested in my profile of French Cheesemaker. A year later, we had launched the world's first artisanal plant based cheeses, made with Traditional cheesemaking cultures, and 2 years later I had my name on a patent! This was the beginning of a 6 years adventure, allowing me to build on the long term in the US, and eventually work for a corporate VC.

AFAM: What can you say about Food Industry in general in the US, how is it different from that in France? Any thoughts?

Jean: Historically, France has always been looked as the cradle of Savoir Vivre, great food, great wines. Nothing new was really happening in the food world in 2012. I left a comfortable expatriation position in a 100+ years old company to work in a pre-revenue startup. We had no products but a great idea and a potential client. Back then, stores were not selling much kale chips, certainly neither cricket flour snacks, nor plant based meats. This was the early stage of the food revolution we're witnessing today. Back then, Silicon valley was, yet again, the origin of many great companies, such as Impossible Foods, Just, Beyond and many others. Few years later the trend has spread to other areas in the US: Austin, Portland, New York. And today the ecosystem in France is as dynamic as it is here, in the US. We could even say that not only France has caught up, it might have taken the lead in some areas. We still see a strong difference in the way regulators look at novel foods. It is MUCH easier to commercialize innovations in the US than it is in France, certainly for the best of consumer's protection, but not for the dynamism of the industry. However, I would not be surprised if the next breakthrough innovation comes from France. But beware! Competition is fierce all across the world and a lot of other countries are following in the footsteps of Innovation!

AFAM: Thank you, Jean, for sharing!