30.04.20

In brief

Working for Rémy Cointreau since September 2002
Current position: IT Director, Rémy Cointreau USA, based in New York
3 skills to work in your team: sense of entrepreneurship and long-term commitment; aptitude for teamwork; willingness to be curious and learn everyday
Why should a candidate join Rémy Cointreau? Rémy Cointreau is a family-owned group. With their history, their heritage, the families who represent the group bring an in important human dimension to the table. Working for Rémy Cointreau is an adventure; its offers professional challenges, career opportunities, but above all, life experiences.

Thibaut’s experience as the IT Director: talking strategy, anticipation and data

What do you do as the IT Director for Rémy Cointreau USA?
In addition to managing my team, my missions focus on two main objectives: the rationalization of local systems in line with the group guidelines and the permanent search for value development. Our objective is to provide the best possible support for changes in strategy. This implies understanding the strategy but also anticipating it in order to have the right level of agility and scalability that the business teams expect from us. My mission is to align the IT roadmap in the US with the priorities and needs of the business, while maintaining the exiting systems and taking care of IT project management.

How do you interact with other teams within the group?
A high level of collaboration with all the departments is key, especially as Rémy Cointreau is constantly adapting to the markets. I like to believe that the solutions we develop make a real difference. They increase the level of collaboration between teams and help them focus on high value-added topics. Our solutions also offer a tactical advantage necessary to develop our business.

How is the IT team organized?
We are about 10 people in the IT department in charge of systems develoment. We are organized by domain in order to be as close as possible to the business teams. We deal with finance, marketing, sales, supply chain and human resources issues.

We have a cross-functional BI (Business Intelligence) unit in charge of harmonizing reporting solutions and developing/supporting the group’s transformation in data-driven uses.

Finally, our team in charge of the workspace domain has an essential role in supporting and improving our ability to work together on a market as vast as the USA. It’s even more critical while the lockdown is going on. I would like to thank my team for their commitment to the projects we are leading together.

What are Rémy Cointreau’s IT objectives for the coming months and even years?
In 2020, the major project is the convergence of the Group’s ERP (Enterprise resource planning) systems. The aim is to harmonize, optimize and rationalize the supply chain and financial processes of Rémy Cointreau USA.

A data warehouse will enable the sales and marketing teams to measure their performance and develop their strategy. More than a technical project, it is a change management project with short term deadlines but a long-term vision.

Another challenge concerns the implementation of a business development platform that will enable us to provide the best possible support to our marketing and sales teams. Other projects related to teamwork solutions, networks and security tools will also be led to better the group professional services.

17 years at Rémy Cointreau: talking about internal and geographical mobility as both a great opportunity and a challenge

You have held several positions within the Rémy Cointreau Group. How did these successive changes go?
It has been a long way from my work-study contract in 2002 in a support function to my role today as IT Director USA! Some steps have been higher than others – I’m thinking of my 2008 appointment as Head of South East Asia based in Singapore. It hasn’t always been easy. It took a lot of efforts and adaptation skills. However, the Group, caring managers and the human resources department have always supported me.

I was also offered various training courses, like a master’s degree in IT management. It made a huge difference!

What about your last transfer to New York?
It all went very fast, and I must admit it was a bit crazy! The Group was looking for an SAP (Systems Applications and Products) expertise. As I had an international experience, good knowledge of sales, marketing and BI projects, my management team thought it could be a match. Then, I had a few interviews with the US teams, starting from beginning of April. As soon as late August, I had arrived in New York with my wife and my kids! Four months for such a change were rather quick, but my children were able to start the school year in the US and my entire family showed a great sense of abnegation and support.

The HR teams in Angers, Paris and New York did their best to help us. Yet, if you consider relocating, don’t forget it is mostly a personal adventure.

17 years at Rémy Cointreau and still counting. What is the key to such a long career with us?
My atypical career has taught me to be humble. The Group’s support and the opportunities that have come my way have been key for my long-term commitment. Beyond the professional reasons, I do love our products, and I share the company’s values. There is a real relationship of trust with the 1,900 men and women who are today the heart of Group.

Since this testimonial, Thibaut is back to France as Lead of Sales Domains IT, in Angers.