Employee Spotlight of Clarisse Millet, Head of Product at Opinum
We would like to write some employee spotlights. On this International Women's Rights Day, we want to dedicate this first portrait to Clarisse Millet, Head of Product.
"WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IS TALENT, EXPERTISE, OPEN-MINDEDNESS"
Clarisse Millet, Head of Product at Opinum for three years, would never have imagined, after her business studies, becoming fond of the world of new technologies and finding herself talking to customers about integration, data formats and analytics. After internships in large companies with well-known names (Danone, Henkel...), she saw herself having a career in consumer marketing.
And then the odds of recruitment led her to accept a proposal from eBay, where she joined the Product team in 2008. "I didn't know anything about that field, but I ended up loving it. It was a young company at the time, growing, where anything seemed possible...". The technology, the out of the box, the pure player spirit had sparked her curiosity and were never going to leave ... After eBay, she became a consultant in different sectors (telecoms, retail...). What did they have in common? All were looking for a dose of this magic potion and systematically led Clarisse to work in technology projects. "After eBay, I voluntarily chose to operate as a consultant [for the consulting firm Beijaflore] because I didn't think I could find a company that combined so much dynamism and technicality." And yet... One day, she (re)meets Loïc Bar, whom she had worked with for a time at VOO. Opportunity was a thief. "After a few years working at VOO on digital transformation, I wanted to find a 100% digital company because that's where I feel most at home.". On a day-to-day basis, Clarisse combines the skills she has learned in her successive, increasingly technical experiences: making products efficient and easy to use for the end users, ensuring that the product corresponds to their needs and their own evolution. "My role is to make the link between exploration and development, between the request as formulated, with our help, by the customer and what the developers will make of it. These are usually two hermetically separate worlds. My role - and what makes all the difference at Opinum - is to erase this tension between business and technology. I like to get a CFO to understand the technology issues and allow developers to understand the business purpose of the current developments. And I also like to learn about their constraints and strategies."
The appeal of her role also comes from its variety: collection of needs, design briefings, tests, project management, budget-oriented meetings, tendering... "It's rewarding, I learn every day. I have not seen the time pass in the last three years.”
BACK TO THE FUTURE
"I find in Opinum features that I liked at eBay at the time. A young, dynamic management. A very flat hierarchy. And also a culture of "trial-error": The key is to know why it didn't work, to be driven by the will to do well, to find the best solution in an intellectually honest way. Other components of Opinum's DNA seem unique to her: the unwavering team spirit, the value of innovation by the management team, the speed and pragmatism in decision-making, the evolution of the product with the customers - "We take the time to investigate, to test, we give time to research and development. What makes Opinum so interesting is also the exchanges with customers, and those that can be generated between customers. One of our goals in 2021 will be to increase these interactions so that they exchange information about how they use or perceive the product, so that they can share their experiences. »
GENDER DOES NOT MATTER, SKILLS AND BALANCE DO
A woman in a man's world? An old cliché! At least in the context and atmosphere that Opinum has created. Certainly, when she arrived, Clarisse Millet was still one of the few women on the team. The balance has since then improved. Not because of a chosen HR strategy but simply because the Talent criterion worked on its own. Her other experiences were quite positive in this area. "I started at eBay, which, as an American company, was already aware of the issue of gender at the time. Brilliant women were present at the highest level. So I never felt like I was "competing" with men. It clearly influenced my career. I see myself more as a facilitator. I work more in a spirit of duo. I have always looked for complementarity rather than competition, regardless of gender, age or origin of the people I worked with.". Clarisse Millet also think that she overcame the “gender issue” thanks to personal choices.
"I've always searched for business environments that balance personal and work life. I also had the luxury of being able to turn down positions that seemed more toxic to me. This is also how I found myself in environments that promoted gender balance. Not all women have this luxury, it is everyone's responsibility to continue to work for equality"
Complementarity, eclecticism, balance are also - and fundamentally - the recipe that Opinum seeks to bring together, in its team, its product and its projects. "The goal of recruitment is to build a team where everyone feels good, in the right position. At Opinum, what is most important is talent, expertise and open-mindedness. Not that you're a man or a woman.”
The gender is not necessarily decisive when talking about product design, understanding the needs of the customer, inter-personal relationship... "The dose of traits, more feminine or masculine, varies greatly from one individual to another.”