OUR ALUMNI AROUND THE WORLD

Introduce yourself

Fabien Audon, graduated from ICD in 2010. Living in China, Shanghai for the last 13 years. Currently doing an E-MBA at CEIBS (2nd worldwide best E-MBA for the last 2 years by the Financial Times). I have been living in Asia for more than 15 years, traveling extensively in the area. I have acquired deep knowledge of Asian cultures; I can speak Chinese fluently and my wife is Chinese.

Why did you choose ICD Business School? What did you take away from it?

Main reason was the franco-Chinese program proposed by ICD Business School at the time.The school was the only school to propose a deep and immersive program in China in country top 3 university. ICD has taught me to have a critical thinking, to be curious and learn by myself. We’ve had amazing teachers that made me love coming to school every morning.

What has the international course of the ICD Business School brought you?

ICD, especially the franco-Chinese program, always have had a focus on international trade and foreign cultures.
Thanks to the Franco-Chinese program and the 10 hours of Chinese/ week I was able to write, read and speak basic Chinese when I arrived in China. 
    

What is your job? What are the challenges of your job?

I work at Saint-Gobain as a Sourcing category manager. I manage a team of product managers and supply chain officers. We communicate with all our Business Units in Europe and Brazil to develop Saint-Gobain private label brands and propose new products to our 4000+ retail shops. We take care of the whole supply chain starting from Supplier selection to delivery of the product.

What skill learned during your journey at ICD Business School is the most useful in your professional life?

I’ve learned to be more confident in myself and I’ve developed an interest in learning, reading and continuously feeding myself with economics, geopolitical, marketing and logistic contents.

Why did you choose an international career ?

I’ve lived most of my life abroad. Even before ICD I lived in Hong-Kong for 2 years and Milan for 3 years, I’ve always wanted to live abroad and engage in an international career. Travelling and living abroad gives the opportunity to meet different people, different cultures and develop an open mind and critical thinking.

What inspires you in your profession? 

Personally, I’ve always found meaning and motivation in being able to see how my team develop, improve and well performing. 
As for my profession, we are in a critical moment where people, company and top management understand the challenge and the need of performant supply chain. For the past 5 years I have been working on how company can effectively measure and optimize all cost related to supply chaine.

If you had one piece of advice for our students, what would it be ?

Always be curious. Attitude and values are often more important than knowledge. Social skills are at least as important as technical skills