His career in three dates
1997 Obtains a doctorate in molecular physical chemistry
2019 Appointed CEO of the Belgian chemical group Solvay
2023 Becomes CEO of Syensqo
Perhaps these studies represented the assurance of a good career?
At 17, I obtained two scholarships, one French, one Moroccan, to follow higher studies, in prep class, in France. I had the ambition to go further, but I never dreamed of being a CEO! Leaving Casablanca, arriving in France, joining a prep school, it was already a victory. Become an engineer too. And going all the way to a doctorate, another great victory. I met fantastic people, sponsors, mentors, who convinced me that I could go further. I loved science so much that after my engineering degree, I considered an academic career and pursued a doctorate. I was dying to work for the professor who asked me to do a thesis with him, in his reactive polymer extrusion laboratory. He was the god of polymers. That’s leadership… I was one of the first girls to work on a huge extruder, which we called “the beast.” I didn’t think about working in the private sector until Elf Atochem and Shell came to campus. I then joined Royal Dutch Shell. I didn’t speak English well, didn’t know Anglo-Saxon culture. But I like the discomfort, I told myself I would learn.
Does your training as an engineer and doctor serve you today?
Enormously ! I fundamentally believe in science and its ability to find solutions to humanity’s most important problems: climate change, resource efficiency, sustainability… It helps me get up every morning. At Syensqo, my colleagues are innovators, explorers who will find solutions. The thesis experience also taught me resilience. For three years, you are left alone with yourself, you have to find something unique. I experienced a lot of failures, I had to get back up and not give up. As a general manager or CEO, faced with transformations and economic difficulties, we sometimes feel alone. I then think of my thesis years and that helps me.
Do the companies you run hire doctors?
Yes, I am even a role model for doctoral students. I show them that a doctor is as well equipped as a financier, a lawyer or an engineer to become a CEO. If I could do it, anyone can. Science and education give you the ticket. It’s up to you to choose your trip. Experience adds strings to your bow, allows you to move from tech to a sales job… I did it even though I didn’t know how to sell.
Why did you leave an engineering position at Shell for a sales position at LyondellBasell?
I started by managing a team of two, then three people, in a laboratory. I liked the relationship with customers because I sold them technology, car airbags. After three years in this position, I was offered a sales job, in Paris, to sell polymer granules for the automobile industry. I wasn’t enthusiastic, but a director convinced me that before implementing a technological strategy, you had to understand the customer, so go out into the field and negotiate down to the penny. I got a taste for it and never regretted it. When times are tough, when our salespeople are having trouble selling, I know what they’re going through. It was a turning point for me, my life in the technology business started at that moment.
© L. Bonaventure / AFP
Between Shell and Syensqo, you worked at UCB, Rohm and Haas, Dow, Solvay. What has been the common thread of your career?
Keep learning. At UCB, where I met my future husband, I learned product management, how to fill a reactor and manage a factory. I started doing M&A (mergers and acquisitions, editor’s note). At Huntsman, I dabbled in finance. At Rohm & Haas, known for its emphasis on marketing, I had to create a new office. Then came the crisis of 2008-2009, my first as a manager. Business was not comfortable and I left Switzerland for the Middle East. I have always sought to meet bosses and teams from whom I learn. When I change companies, it’s the project that first attracts me.
What do you remember from your international experience?
I am a nomad! At 17, I had never left Casablanca. Changing countries and traveling, discovering cultures, appealed to me. I went everywhere, thanks to a husband who agreed to follow me – I only followed him once. I am lucky to have had this support. I never thought it was complicated to go and live in Switzerland or Dubai. I looked at the professional project, then discussed it at home. With a child, leaving was not always comfortable. The family must reinvent itself each time. My experiences on several continents make me more efficient in a global company like Syensqo, which does 40% of its business in the Americas and 35% in Asia.
You even opened a factory in Saudi Arabia… Not too complicated for a woman?
Those around me advised me against it. But after the 2008-2009 crisis, I wanted growth, investments, hiring! And there, I was going to embark on a project to build a large water desalination plant. An economic, industrial and personal bet. It was necessary to set up this factory with clean energy, when oil was not expensive in the region. Converging two giants, Dow and Aramco. The challenge was also cultural. It wasn’t easy being a woman in a male-dominated business. I was traveling with an abaya and could not mix with men. I had to earn the respect of the Saudis, who didn’t understand why the Americans sent them a woman who couldn’t even sit at their table. The day they called me “my sister”, I understood that I was becoming a competitive advantage for my company. This experience had a profound influence on my life and allowed me to progress towards positions of greater responsibility.
Your appointment as head of Solvay in 2019 surprised everyone…
When the chairman of the board called me, I was in the United States, already CEO of a company, Diversey, that I had transformed and which had $3 billion in sales. I did not have the profile expected by Solvay, but they believed in me to unlock the company’s potential. And we have indeed reinvented everything, achieved our ambitions, despite many crises. At the end of 2023, we separated the company into two entities, with on one side the new Solvay and the cash-generating commodity activities, and on the other side Syensqo and the specialty activities, focused on the future. I like transforming cultures, bringing people on board. It was a real cultural transformation, which required a lot of courage from all the teams.
You did not hesitate to leave the head of a large group to take that of a smaller entity, Syensqo…
I have no ego regarding the size of the company I run. (…) What matters to me is the nature of the project and its repercussions.
I have no ego regarding the size of the company I run. When I left for the Middle East, my new business was a third of the previous one. What matters to me is the nature of the project and its repercussions. Syensqo is a company with 7 billion euros in turnover and worth 20. It’s a scientific company and I love science. It is very attractive, with disruptive technologies that have an impact on sustainability, on the future of humanity. Putting Syensqo on track is an honor and a pleasure. Another fascinating journey!
What type of manager are you?
I don’t believe in the myth of the wonder woman or the wonder man. I believe in the strength of the collective: we co-construct and our discussions lead to solutions that we would not have found alone. I believe in the contribution of diversity, that of thoughts, origins, ages, not just gender. It is a driver of innovation and business success. I myself am mentored by people younger than me!
Did you have to struggle, being a woman in a man’s world?
Like everyone, I had to face my share of challenges. I am a pure product of meritocracy and am not here by chance. I worked at great companies that gave me a chance and promoted me when I was successful. But it is true that I have seen women having to work twice as hard as men to prove that they are capable. This saddens me, but sadness is not going to help women. You first have to prove to yourself that you can do it and find the right sponsors. I abused the sponsors! We lose a lot of women when they go on maternity leave. This is where their career plan fades in front of that of men. But we can’t ask them to choose between their baby and their job. Our companies must create an ecosystem so that they can continue to progress in their careers, while preserving their families. At Solvay and Syensqo, I have implemented sixteen weeks of parental leave for the second parent. Since 2021, 650 babies have taken advantage of their fathers.
You have wanted to write about your grandmother for a long time. Where are you?
A dyslexic who writes is not easy, but I started. I do it for my son, to pass on to him what made me who I am today. This text speaks of a woman, but also of a neighborhood. Writing is one of my hobbies, along with yoga and meditation. I’m short on time, but you can’t just do your job!
The work that characterizes it
The essay “A Room of One’s Own”, by Virginia Woolf
“This text addresses the insufficient resources allocated by society to the education of women and the lack of female voices telling their own stories.”
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
