“My watchwords? Inspiration, energy and vision!”
Head of Schindler’s Moroccan subsidiary for six months, Mr Julien Sonnerat was fortunate enough to take part in the adventure of the Swiss specialist in lifts, escalators and moving walkways in China and Asia Pacific. Indeed, before landing in Morocco, this native of Annecy, a small French town of fewer than 100,000 inhabitants located 40 km south of Geneva, spent 10 years on the Asian continent. It was above all in China that he spent the most time and held various positions of responsibility, including that of Chief Financial Officer of the Swiss industrial group’s Chinese operations. An adventure that “truly forged the man I am now”, confides this graduate of the École spéciale des travaux publics, du bâtiment et de l’industrie in Paris. “We did so many things: building the largest escalator and rolling equipment factory in the world, and above all taking advantage of the continuous emergence of this country to achieve double-digit growth, mainly driven by growth in China and Asia Pacific but also in part of Africa.” To progress as he has, this civil engineer met mentors who gave him the advice he needed to improve. “I am proud to have worked in China with the two most important people at Schindler today”, says the man who worked at Deloitte before joining Schindler in 2005. Mr Sonnerat is referring to Mr Silvio Napoli, former head of Schindler Asia Pacific, current Chairman and member of the Group’s Supervisory and Strategy Committee, and Mr Thomas Oetterli, CEO of the company in Switzerland. “Although they are two entirely different personalities, they are charismatic leaders capable of moving mountains. They made Schindler’s history in China and they are making it today around the world”, he adds.
Peaceful and challenging: life in Morocco…
After such a rich adventure, Mr Sonnerat arrived in Morocco at the end of 2017 to achieve new feats. On a personal level, Mr Sonnerat admits that life in Shanghai was not particularly ideal for raising his two children. “When they were very young, my children had to stay indoors at home because of the severe pollution in Shanghai”, he confides. Better still, the move to Morocco drastically simplifies travel to see his family, who live in France. Life in Casablanca also had its advantages on a professional level. “Schindler in Morocco is a human-sized SME that runs very well thanks to my predecessor. But above all, it is the point of contact with our partner companies in West Africa, one of the most dynamic markets in the world”, he states. To manage his Moroccan teams well, the young executive applies three fundamental rules. “First, I seek to inspire my teams and give them a reason to work, then to give them the energy and the desire to do their best and finally, to establish a vision for our company, which consists of providing quality service to our customers and remaining the leader in our market”, explains this lover of French detective novels. And it starts with simple gestures: saying good morning to everyone with a smile, communicating constantly, keeping his doors open and instilling in his staff pride in working for the company. And the results are there. In recent years, Schindler in Morocco has won several major contracts to equip the largest buildings. For him, his company embodies the Swiss presence in Morocco. “Switzerland is present in Morocco in certain hidden sectors but plays an important role in the transfer of technological know-how”, he concludes.