Interview EN

1. Laurent Gilardino, 48 years old, Business Unit Manager (building electricity for the service
and the housing sectors) in SPIE Sud-Ouest
INTERVIEWS
WITHOURSO’SPIEPEOPLE
“Mobility is an
accelerator which
allows not to go
around in circles.”
Since the beginning of your career, you move from one mission to the next from one
region to another. What have been the most important stages of your career?
Laurent Gilardino: I graduated from Polytech Marseille in 1992, and started my career
as a Business Engineer, in the South-East of France. Then, from 2000 to 2006, I was Head
of an Agency in Rennes still in the electricity sector. After that, I joined SPIE Sud-Est as a
Business Unit Manager. I was then working in very diverse activities such as infrastructures,
networks, maintenance, industry, solar energy and service sector. In 2013, I was Head of the
HVAC department, a new sector to me, in Paris. Today, I am living in the South-West and
manage 500 persons for the completion of projects taking place in this area.
Why this taste for geographic mobility?
L. G.: Each time, the proposed projects attract me more than the region. At SPIE, each of my
missions has given me the opportunity to discover a new sector, new teams and a different
culture. Even if our common values are strong, each subsidiary has its own specificities
and that’s what I find enriching.
You were a member of the SPIE Diversity Committee. What did you learn from
that experience?
L. G.: I became aware of some realities, in particular of issues such as gender-diversity
as well as ethnic and cultural diversity at work. In these areas, there is still room for
improvement in which I participate from now on. When I recruit people or when I accompany
my team’s members in their career development, I am now more attentive to provide
everyone the same chance of success. It is my responsibility.
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