Thank you to the 1,400 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 questions!
I hope reading
7 Questions with Sophie Desroseaux
helps you in your leadership.
Cheers,
Jonno White
7 Questions with Sophie Desroseaux
Name: Sophie Desroseaux
Current title: Global Chief Marketing & Communication Officer
Current organisation: Ekimetrics
Sophie Desroseaux is a seasoned marketer with in-depth experience in the B2B / Tech / Data industry. She contributed to the growth of various companies, from global leaders such as Getty Images, to scale-ups in the data / tech / digital field. She has been developing and implementing innovative branding strategies and global marketing strategies over the 16 past years.
.
1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?
To build the right balance between vision and the ability to execute it. It is very exciting to participate in designing a future for your company. But it can be more difficult or take longer than expected to implement it at a department or company level… The vision should be compatible with the company culture to really strive
2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?
Thanks to several executives and mentors who detected a potential in me before I realized it, at the beginning of my career. They empowered me, pushed my boundaries, designed a path for me to grow and learn.
Also, I was lucky enough to work in a company driven by visionary leaders that openly promoted a culture of diversity and unconventional personalities. It was extremely fun and motivating to work with so many bright people, constantly bringing new perspectives. As a recap, I’d say it is a mix of inspiring environment and willingness to learn
3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?
I overuse « to-do lists » that I update several times in the day, highlighting, prioritizing, or killing tasks. I’m a morning person; so I always try to work out complex projects as a 1st thing in the morning, it is where I’m the most efficient. Finally I organize my time the following way to make sure I’m not too distracted: gather small things piling up in a defined batch of hours, and make sure I have a long slot, with no interruption, to deep dive in tougher projects. This fosters maximum concentration
4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?
Values & convictions are the foundation of the toughest decisions in uncertainty
5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?
The infinite game by Simon Sinek
6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?
I’d say a mix of Vision as the foundation of any leadership, values & empowerment
7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?
Purpose is the best leadership engine.
I remember having revamped a strategic positioning and brand strategy for a company of +600 people distributed in 5 continents with very different cultures : Africa, Americas, Australia and Europe. Together with the senior leadership, we designed a North star (Vision, Mission, values), we then shared that vision with passion and empowered our teams to organise the implementation globally.
Together, taking care of cultural differences in each continent, individual contributions through local championships, we succeeded in designing a common company project, adopted and fostered by everyone.
This contributed to bringing back a collective that was proud!
Additionally, every transformation that followed (customer service, customer satisfaction, sales frameworks etc) were easily accepted, while embedded in a company project that was readable and clarified. That was a nice story, and an exciting