Interview: a talk with Julie, Nalys Business Manager

Name: Julie

Background: Commercial engineering management
Experience: Business manager in the Manufacturing field

Country: France (South-West)

Nalys Cell: Mechanical & Manufacturing
Nalys community: Aerospace, Automotive

Passion: Swimming, challenges, sport
Nalys clubs: Running club, soccer club

Other: Is probably the first person you will hear from the open space if you pass by our Brussels headquarter…

How are you doing today?

Ah ah ah… Do I really have to answer to this question? I’m good!

What did you study?

I started with a bachelor in business and administration at SKEMA Sophia-Antipolis, where I was in a special sport class dedicated to swimming. After that I passed a master specialisation in management in commercial engineering & project management. Then I did a training program at Sogerma, a technology company providing solutions for aeronautical manufacturers.

How did you become a Business developer?

I was contacted by one of the 3 Nalys founders a week after I passed my diploma. He talked me about Nalys, the business manager job and the company value. Back at the time I wanted to work in South America, but the Nalys vision and its culture really interested me. So I did a Skype interview during my holidays; later a trip to Brussels to meet them and I started 3 weeks after.

Is that what you wanted to do as a child?

Ah ah…Not really. I wanted to be a professional swimmer. My dream was to go to the Olympic games.

In which technology field are you working on?

Today I’m working in the mechanical and manufacturing Nalys division, as a business manager. This field covers many sectors such as automotive, aeronautic, defence, railway or even medical devices. I also have knowledge in embedded Software and web applications.

In your opinion, what is the future of this sector?

The main innovations are occurring at the material level. For instance, composite materials are really booming in industries like aerospace. Hybrid and electric cars are also a strong new trend in the automotive industry.

3 words to sum-up the Business Manager job:

The first one would be Competition. Because in the job, you are always competing with many other companies to answer a need.
Then Challenge. Because every need or project is unique unlike when you are working on a single product.
And the last one would be people.

How do you find a project to a Nalys engineers?

First of all, we are filing up a document that we call the expectation grid. Thanks to it, we know exactly what the engineer knows, what he/she wants to do or not and where he/she can work. It allows us to select the right customers and the matching projects.

Afterward, we look if there are needs with our current customers. Otherwise we go looking for new ones. We are also used to work directly with the engineer to find projects together. And the last part is the projects referral from other Nalys engineers already working with customers. These are the main ways to find projects to engineers. It often asks to be creative!

Are you feeling more recruiter or manager?

In fact, both. And there is also the business part. The job is the mix of the 3 items: Recruitment, management and business. After, in a day to day basis, I have my favourite one…

Are customers nice?

It depends! (laughs) But no, more seriously, yes. We are here to help them, so it is most of the time a nice relation.

What is the main challenge of the job?

To met everyone’s expectations. For instance, you can have a customer need and the matching engineer but who don’t want to work on this kind of projects. So yeah… It is often complicated to find the good combinations and link both parts.

What is the best part of the job?

For me, signing contracts. But the other nice thing is that there is not a single day that looks like the others.

What is the worst part of the job?

The worst part is when you received a negative feedback for a consultant project. When a customer tells us that he doesn’t want to work with an engineer while we were sure it would have matched. After this kind of feedback, it is our job to make the communication toward the engineer and it is not always easy.

An advice to share with a future business manager?

Drink coffee… Laughs
And also stay motivated no matter what. Because one day everything is perfect and the day after it can become hell. You must just be aware that it is only a bad moment that will pass.

If you had to be an engineer, what would be your specialisation?

I would have definitely worked in manufacturing, because I often talk loudly… I like to go talk to with people, and to be always moving. So yeah. In a production department.

In your opinion, what is the most amazing innovation of the past years?

There is no specific innovation that came to my mind. What really amazed me is when I visit an aeronautic company who explain me how to make a plane or when you are on a famous automotive production factory and that a customer explains to you that more than 500 of this famous car are built here every day. For me this is the most amazing part!