Background

I was born in Southern France where I spent the first 22 years of my life before moving to Montréal, QC.

I went through the "Grandes Écoles" system in France (2 years of cram school + 3 years of business school) and graduated with an MSc in Management. It's hard to make a perfect correspondence with the North American system but the closest approximation would be that I have a major in Marketing and a minor in Design.

I started my first venture when I was 16 (an indie music label) and mostly worked as a freelancer or in non-profits until I graduated.

I began my career working in the video game industry, first in Community, then in leading marketing efforts for the games I worked on. Among the cool stuff I did was being on the front page of Twitch or working with Marvel. After that, I worked in e-commerce for a bit before moving to CS/Growth in start-ups in industries as unrelated as possible (music production before real estate).

I joined Customer.io in April 2021 after having been a customer for a few years. I think it gives me a unique perspective as having been on both sides of the screen and understanding the challenges faced by our customers.

Personality

I'm not a big fan of personality tests but the Myers-Brigg is pretty spot on for me: I'm an INFJ-T. People who are close to me and have been for years will tell you that it's objectively a very accurate description of my overall personality.

Who is An Advocate (INFJ)? An Advocate (INFJ) is someone with the Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging personality traits. They tend to approach life with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. Their inner vision, personal values, and a quiet, principled version of humanism guide them in all things.

Advocates (INFJs) have some specific needs when it comes to a satisfying work environment. For people with this personality type, the most rewarding work allows them to help others while also growing as a person. And it's a given that an ideal career for Advocates must be in line with their individual values.

While I was good at school, I always thoroughly had more fun learning by doing than in a classroom.

My brain is extremely curious and easily gets passionate about something. I hate not knowing how to do something. So I learn how to do things so I don't have to experience that feeling again.

I like nerding out and finding creative solutions to problems. I'm a problem-solver at heart. Give me problems and I'll spit out solutions.

If I make a promise, I'll hold it no matter the cost. Keeping my word is not negotiable.

I'm definitely an introvert—used to be more of an extrovert. I don't like big crowds or vast social networks. I'm a rather private person but I don't mind sharing anything if you ask.

That being said, I care a lot about people near me, whether family, friends, or colleagues and will always put them first.

While I can seem calm and composed at first, I get easily excited by things that passionate me.

Tangentially, if I get into something that gets me focused/stimulated I can easily lose track of time. I easily get in a flow state and it's addicting.

I will always favor quality over quantity. "Buy nice rather than buy twice" is one of my philosophies (and writing this I realize that it could also say "do nice rather than do twice").

I give my trust easily but if it's broken it's really hard to patch it up.

I don't like interrupting people and will almost always yield the floor if we're starting to speak at the same time. This doesn't mean that I like being interrupted repeatedly.

Sometimes, I'm not the best at picking social cues or getting innuendos. I'm communicating pretty explicitly and like people to be explicit with me.

I'm vocal both when I'm pleased and when I'm displeased. I can have strong opinions. I don't shy away from conflict but I'll never raise my voice. Disagreement doesn't mean disrespect.

How I approach work

Work is really important for me. Quality work is essential to my overall happiness

If I'm gonna spend a third of my awake time working, better make sure that it counts.

My work must be fulfilling—i.e. challenging, fun, and something I can be proud of at the end of the day.

I burnt out a few times in the past but I've made it to a point where I'm better at managing myself and identifying symptoms.

How I collaborate with other people

I'm a reliable collaborator—and tend to expect the same from people working with me.

If I commit to delivering on something, I'll deliver it. If anything happens that makes it impossible to deliver on the timeline I promised, I'll update the other stakeholders immediately.

I like brainstorming and getting other perspectives on challenges I'm trying to solve.

I work best in small, focused, groups.

How I approach managing/leading

Overall, I try to emulate the patterns from the great managers I had and steer clear of the patterns from the shitty managers I had while remaining cognizant that everybody's different.

I'll try very hard to adapt myself to your own style and needs—if I'm not quite hitting the mark I want to hear it as early as possible.

My authentic leadership style can be summarized as:

• I want to enable you to do the best work of your career
• I want to help you grow and become more than you thought possible
• I will be available as much or as little as you need me.

I want our relationship to be based on trust:

• I'll work on a no-secrets basis with you. (and while I'm cognizant that this requires a high level of trust and comfort, I hope that we can work towards that goal together).
• I trust you to manage your time and work autonomously.

As mentioned above, I'm not the best at picking social cues—if it seems that I'm not picking up on something it's almost certainly not voluntarily. Please explicit things :)

Some words of wisdom

I like quotes/sayings not to sound obnoxious at dinner parties but because they help bring new perspectives or remind myself of them:

• A ship in harbor is safe but that's not what ships are built for —going out of the comfort zone is not safe but that's where adventure and growth lie
• Everything is forever until it isn't—both good and bad things will come and pass, and while some things can seem eternal they can quickly change or collapse
• Some things are unbelievable until they're undeniable —it's not because something seems unrealistic today that it'll always be. More often than not, there will be a point where that thing will be obvious.
• Be curious, not judgmental—Ted Lasso is full of positive wisdom but that sums up a learning that I had earlier in my career to understand " what circumstances led people in the past to make that decision thinking it was the best possible option? " is a better approach than judging " why did they do things that way?".
• There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things