The rise of a young director

Benoit Herman is currently the director of Odiso, the computer engineering and maintenance section of Oxygem. His profile is atypical to say the least... A self taught man who has constructed himself according to his own desires and the people he has met along the way. Since he arrived in the company in 2002 as a hotline employee, he hasn’t stopped evolving. This he owes to his frank and self assured nature. The story begins in 1995...After completing a maths teaching degree(DEUG), a few failed attempts at teaching and a succession of jobs of all types, Benoit decides to put an end to his studies. From now on, he is driven by one objective only : to work in the field of IT and development. This is a passion which he has inherited from his grandfather with whom he cultivated the art of resourcefulness and of system D. Be it by chance or coincidence, the army offers him the chance to work in his desired field occupying a web post. Benoit therefore starts out here before going on to integrate Decathlon’s (large French company specialising in sporting goods) internal structure as a webmaster. At this particular time, he has his gift of the gab and ingenuity to thank for his success more than any real IT skills ! His personality and his passion for all things technical make the difference. He learns on the job and stays 3 years in the company. However when it comes to his future in the growing world of web, his lack of qualifications becomes a cause for concern. He therefore decides to sign up to a 10 month training course within the AFPA (French training school for adults). Given his curiosity and ability to dissect development mechanisms, he completes the course in only 3 months, coming out top of the class. Following this course, Benoit is employed by Adistar (now Oxygem) on the hotline. He hopes to be able to « make a mark for himself and grow in a small company ». « I wasn’t judged at all on my lack of experience. On the contrary, my self-made man status appealed to them ». Following on from the hotline, Benoit takes on development assignments of bigger and bigger proportions. His responsibilities continue to grow as he manages clients from A to Z (quotes, production, testing, validation, project delivery). Little by little his portfolio of clients grows and he begins to sign deals. He is then promoted to the management of new projects and participates, at the time (2005,) in the development of Cuisine AZ, MeteoCity and Optin Solution , activities which today represent the success of the Oxygem group. Benoit claims to owe this dazzling growth in skills partly to the restructuring of the group in 1997 : « I was given the chance to prove what I was capable of within the group. My managers listened to my ideas and desires ». Consequently, Benoit applies for the post of Director of development within Odiso, managing 8 people, and gets it. A few months later he doubles up his post, becoming manager too for the web hosting department. He restructures the computer engineering and maintenance section and gives it a larger dimension recruiting no less than 7 people. « Oxygem has always accompanied me with management training and skill building seminars as I have evolved within the company ». This young manager not only has managerial and sales objectives but he is also an advocate for his company’s strategy via regular board meetings. Benoit now manages 20 employees, is entirely responsible for his business unit and is completely autonomous in the choices he makes. The mix works as Odiso is today a fast growing business. When Benoit is questioned regarding the values which influence his style of management, he expresses a desire to « give a sense of responsibility to each of his team members and the autonomy that he had during his own evolution within the company. » This IT addict has therefore progressed over 7 years, moving from a job as a hotliner to director of his own business structure. He owes this to his innate IT skills and to the trust his managers had in him. « They gave me a chance, not knowing whether I would really be able to do it ».

Career advice

At just 28 years old, Anne-Sophie Jourdan is the director of Cuisine AZ, one of the three most popular cookery websites in France. She owes her dazzling career to her SME’s existing management politics and the optimal working conditions her general director promotes. Anne-Sophie laughs when she thinks about how she started out. « Before arriving in Oxygem, I had only had a job covering maternity leave in the public sector. The job was in the multimedia department of the CNED branch in Lille. Nothing in common with what i’m doing today ! » Anne Sophie Jourdan has just celebrated her 28th birthday. But don’t be fooled by her young age : For the last six months she has been the director of Cuisine AZ , one of the most dynamic companies of the group in the development of media online. « I arrived here 3 years ago as a project leader for Cuisine AZ...Never would I have dreamed I could have evolved so quickly » An SME which keeps its promises. Graduate in literature, then history, this young women had at one time imagined training to be a teacher. « However, very quickly I realised that it wasn’t my thing. I completed a postgraduate course in multimedia and here I am ! » After having received one of the Cuisine AZ newsletters, Anne-Sophie decides to send, on the off chance, her CV. And she gets an interview. « I wasn’t at all judged on my lack of experience. On the contrary ! That’s not the Oxygem way ! » What is the Oxygem way ? A policy of management based on trust. The 10 web sites developed by the Lille based company are all completely autonomous. The company directors favourite motto : « Each manager must benefit from optimal tranquil working conditions in order to do their job. In this way, they will not be polluted by the group’s internal procedures and can concentrate 200% on their own business. And succeed. And help their team to succeed.