And that’s how I became the marketing consultant I was meant to be…

My career path is original to say the least, most people cannot really follow me when I explain: I am French, but, one way or another, I have worked in France for only 6 months. I have built most of my career in The Netherlands, with a French company though – one of the biggest multi-nationals in the food industry.

A moment of confrontation 

I went through all the steps of Junior to Senior, learning marketing, stakeholder management, coaching teams, managing projects, being lead country, launching big innovations, convincing senior management… And I loved it. Marketing means being at the core of a company. You’re the heart, you represent the most important stakeholder of all: the consumer.

And I always thought this would be it for me: a straight line to marketing director, that’s where I’d be the happiest. Traveling the world as a marketing director managing different countries, seeing different consumers, understanding different needs, coaching different teams.

But was it really what I wanted? Somewhere deep inside I knew I was lying to myself.

My journey to become a marketing consultant

This was all because of Kerry. I met Kerry early in my career. She became my mentor, my manager, my source of inspiration. She is sharp, understands the issue faster than anyone, points out what everyone has been missing for years, has rock star ideas, and can convince you in 5 seconds. She is bold.

And… she is a consultant for a big consulting firm. Ever since I first started working with Kerry this idea started to linger in the back of my mind: maybe consulting is where I belong…

So, I started my quest. I started to explore options… Other FMCG companies, other countries… and there I bumped into what would soon become my new home: The House of Marketing. When I started looking into The House of Marketing, I felt as if  I had walked into a candy store: really? So there was a company where I could be doing marketing all day, help companies, change assignments, work in teams? This felt like a dream…

So I talked to Stéphanie, our HC manager at The House of Marketing. I loved the talk. We laughed, we got along. I finally felt like it was okay to be a passionate marketer and there were more of my kind! I left after my first interview more excited than I had been in a long time. Before I knew it, I’d joined them.

A new wave of opportunities

Today when I look back, like Stéphanie puts it: “I knocked at the right door”. I am so glad I joined. I get the opportunity to work on challenging assignments with a really broad scope – things I could not have done if I was a fixed employee. I am coaching the largest team I’ve ever had – 5 THoMers for an internal project I took the lead on, and always 1 or 2 THoMers at the client. It is stretched, because I need to manage 2 agendas, 2 mailboxes, 2 sets of stakeholders every time, but I love it. I get the right support, and I can just do what I love all day long. Work feels like fun!

Looking back, I really think this is one of the best decisions ever (together with marrying my amazing husband a year ago). I get so many opportunities, I discover new industries, new clients, new fields of marketing. The learning curve can never be so steep working at a regular corporation. And it’s just the beginning…