Clément's interest in China and the international arena goes back a long way. With his Franco-Chinese cultural heritage, he already had a personal link with the country. But it was his time at KEDGE that turned this interest into a real life project. During his first year of the Master's program, Clément became involved with the Marketing Méditerranée Junior Entreprise, which offered him a great opportunity: a one-month mission, far from the Côte d'Azur, in Taiwan to support a project to set up a Junior Entreprise. This first professional experience left its mark on him, and was later transformed into a six-month academic exchange in Shanghai, an opportunity obtained thanks to the school's partnership with China. This mix of professional and student experience sowed the seeds of his desire to settle in China: "I think this experience at Kedge, immersed for 6 months, opened my mind to the idea of moving abroad."

Clément's career is an example of loyalty and internal development. He started at Saint-Gobain with an internship, continued with a work-study program during his Master's 2, and then landed a permanent contract at Saint-Gobain Sekurit (automotive glazing). With a booming career and a stable situation, his goal of expatriation never left his mind. From his very first annual appraisal, he made no secret of his ambitions to his management: "At my annual appraisal, I said that I potentially wanted to go to China". Despite the hardships and long waits due to Covid-19, Clément was able to leave shortly after the pandemic ended.

Clément has been living and working in China for almost 3 years now. After holding various positions in management control, he now works on finance projects throughout the Asia region. His current mission is to deploy a budgeting tool (EPM) across Asia for more than 6 different countries at Saint-Gobain, acting as interface between the project team in France and the local teams in Asia. This is a key role in a project that brings together several teams from different cultures. Managing time differences and reduced communication windows is one of the challenges, as is managing change to help local teams project themselves. One of the key aspects of her role is cultural mediation. In a project that brings together several cultural horizons, understanding the different ways of communicating can seem complicated, but Clément is in charge of ensuring continuity. For example, a confirmation message sent very concisely by a Chinese employee may be perceived as abrupt by a French interlocutor. There are many differences in communication style, and keeping teams in Europe and Asia motivated is a daily challenge.

Beyond his professional life, this move to China also gives him the opportunity to get more involved in the KEDGE community. The period of health restrictions having slowed down the activities of the Shanghai alumni office, Clément is gradually taking over the organization of events in order to revitalize the local network.

His aim: to offer local graduates a place to meet up, exchange ideas and keep in touch with their school.

He also notes that expatriation facilitates professional encounters:

"We have access to CEOs, CFOs and managers from lots of French companies... In France, I wouldn't have such easy access to people with so much experience to exchange and learn from."

For students and graduates aiming to go international, Clément shares three key tips:

1. English is essential: It's the key differentiator. Don't be afraid to speak it, even if you're not perfect.

2. Choose your company wisely: Favoring large groups with international operations greatly facilitates mobility and offers better expatriation conditions.

3. Boldness: Dare to tell your manager that you're mobile. "It's by saying it that career paths can be created", he insists.