Experience feedback: Michel Teixeira, graduate of the MAI programme in continuing education at KEDGE
Testimony of Michel Teixeira, graduate of the MAI (Continuing Education) in 2020 and today Purchasing Manager at Chryso France.

A graduate of the MAI Continuing Education program, Michel Teixeira looks back on his career, his training at KEDGE and what it has enabled him to achieve in retrospect. It's an inspiring journey, the result of taking a step back thanks to his training.

I joined MAI as a Continuing Education student when I was Purchasing Manager France at Chryso.

Chryso, which joined the Saint-Gobain group in September 2021, is one of the major players in the Construction Chemicals sector, in the concrete and cement admixture market.

The main mission of the job was very classic, but nevertheless very challenging in recent years: to manage Production Purchasing (mainly MP and Packaging) for the plants based in France (x5). I was lucky enough to be able to rely on a close-knit, agile Purchasing team, which enabled us to get through the various crises.

The will to always learn!

And we can always learn, even at 43, the age I was when I started training.

I didn't have the chance to study hard when I was younger, so I learned on the job, working my way up from production operator to scheduling technician to production manager, all the way to managing a small industrial site.
This last position, which was highly multifunctional, gave me a first-hand experience of the world of Purchasing. I then had the opportunity to move into a 100% Purchasing position (Buyer at Chryso France) and then Purchasing Manager France.

So, about halfway through my career, I wanted to consolidate what I'd learned in the field with recognized Purchasing training. Not only to consolidate, but also to check whether what I'd learned at school matched up with what was actually happening in the field. I also wanted to get to grips with new purchasing tools and methods that could help me on a day-to-day basis.
Finally, I have to admit that it was also a rendezvous with myself.... Am I capable of getting a Master II when I'm still working, 25 years after leaving school?

Confidence in myself. Everyday life in Purchasing, especially during the period 2020-2022, was full of anxiety (Will I find materials? How can I stop these infernal price rises? Will my supplier make it through this crisis? At what point will I be able to work on innovation or decarbonization, instead of always trying to lower prices or get deliveries?)

Well, by pooling our experiences with all the other MAI members, including the teachers and lecturers, we realize that we all have more or less the same problems, and that in the end, we're not doing so badly. What's even better is that we're able to share our practices and the solutions we've put in place to overcome the various problems.

That's one of the great strengths of the MAI in Continuing Education at Kedge: the network. It's a real breeding ground for purchasing culture, which can help us rapidly gain experience and skills.
I didn't set out to do the MAI en Formation Continue in order to develop professionally, as I explained earlier, but I'm forced to admit that this course has strengthened my profile in the eyes of recruiters. I had the opportunity to see this for myself when I recently went for a meeting as part of a reorganization of the Purchasing function within the Group I work for.

In the post-Covid 2020-2021 context, we were lucky enough to be able to do almost the entire course face-to-face. This is essential! Once again, the network and discussions at the coffee machine are sometimes just as instructive as the classes.

Beyond the classes,the richness of the exchanges between students, the demanding group work and the evenings after class .... are precious moments that I already miss. More than a training course, this year was a life experience that embraces not only you, but also, in my case, our close friends and family.

It hasn't all been easy. Some periods of the year were very busy, and some of the teachers were able to push us out of our comfort zone, and rightly so. And yes, if I had to do it all over again, I'd do it again without hesitation.

Yes, living with the times is key!

Today's Purchasing is no longer the Purchasing of the 80s. Expectations, missions and challenges are changing (Compliance, Sustainability, Markets, Methods ....).
I don't think there's a typical profile expected to join Kedge's continuing education program.

It's all about the desire to learn, curiosity and people skills. Learn and exchange! You're bound to grow from it.