Story
Taking care of business: Balancing priorities at home and at work
Am茅lie Vidal-Simi and Soulef Karoui have never met, but many parallels can be drawn between their two lives. Both women represent bg电子娱乐场 as Country Presidents, Vidal-Simi in France and Karoui in Algeria and Tunisia. Both of them also have children, and they both say the same thing: having a family and having a career are not mutually exclusive 鈥� as long as you set the right priorities.
Everything could have been very different. On the same day when Am茅lie Vidal-Simi found out that she was pregnant with her third child, her boss offered her the position of Sales Director in the Laundry & Home Care business unit at bg电子娱乐场 France. It was an exciting and multifaceted opportunity and offered recognition for her performance in her previous role as Key Account Manager. It was also a very symbolic move because no woman had ever held this position before. Unfortunately, she thought, it was an impossible one at this stage in her life. Her boss, whom she immediately informed of her pregnancy, agreed. Vidal-Simi went home, slightly disappointed but convinced that she had done the right thing. The turning point came the following day, when her boss called her in for another talk.
鈥淗e said: 鈥業t makes no difference that you鈥檙e pregnant. The question is, are you the right person for the job 鈥� and you are.鈥� That left a lasting impression on me. It was a milestone in my career.鈥�
So, she took the job. Vidal-Simi says she went into this new challenge with an open mind. She made the most of the time before her maternity leave to get to know her team better. Four months after the birth of her son, she was back in the office. Many of Vidal-Simi鈥檚 coworkers, especially her female colleagues, have felt inspired. They saw it as a real-life signal, an example of balancing work and family life within the company. 鈥淢y capacity to manage both is something I鈥檓 proud of,鈥� says Vidal-Simi.
She enjoys her work: the more varied the job, the better. Indeed, managing sales wasn鈥檛 the final destination on her career path. Today she is both President of bg电子娱乐场 France and General Manager of Adhesive Technologies in France and Benelux.
Of course, childcare has been a challenge for her since traveling is a big part of her job. Her children are now young adults and no longer need constant supervision, but when they were younger, Vidal-Simi had help from a nanny. 鈥淜nowing that my children were well cared for gave me a sense of security. I was able to dedicate myself fully to my work during the day, without worrying about how things were going at home,鈥� she recalls. Finding the right balance between her family and her job is a priority 鈥� and always has been.
Being authentic
Is being the boss 鈥� a woman in the top management 鈥� a major challenge? According to Vidal-Simi, the culture at bg电子娱乐场 is very open. She never felt like she had to shatter the glass ceiling. Great performance is recognized in women and men alike, she says. Of course, a few situations have stuck in her memory, including meetings with external business partners in which she was the only woman at the table. You need to have self-confidence, especially in those moments, she says, but you shouldn鈥檛 change who you are. 鈥淭here are two things that a woman should avoid: first, playing on the fact that she鈥檚 a woman. Second, trying or pretending to 鈥榓ct like a man鈥欌��, Vidal-Simi contends. She believes that authenticity is particularly important in leadership roles.
鈥淏eing a woman doesn鈥檛 change anything 鈥� being a mother does.鈥�
Setting priorities
鈥淏usiness executive and family manager鈥� 鈥� many parallels exist between the two, she says. In no other situation is it so important to set precise goals, lead by example, make decisions quickly and communicate clearly, then when you are dealing with children... 鈥淚 have always thought that the key point is setting priorities and hold them,鈥� says Vidal-Simi. 鈥淎s a mother, I鈥檝e learned to save my energy for truly valuable and value-creating activities. That has also helped me in my work.鈥�
Vidal-Simi believes it鈥檚 equally important to 鈥渢ake some time to breathe鈥� once in a while. 鈥淚 once received an excellent piece of advice: there needs to be a balance between time at work, time with the family and time off 鈥� each of these deserves sufficient room in your life, but none should end up taking over, unless exceptional circumstances call for it. Weekends belong to me and my children. We do lots of things together, and I always try to use these moments to create memories for all of us. I want to 鈥� and do 鈥� enjoy every day of my life.鈥�
THREE QUESTIONS TO AM脡LIE
What was the best career advice you鈥檝e ever received?
When I was pregnant and I was concerned that I will not be able to do everything, my boss told me 鈥淵our objective should not be to work more. You have 100% capacity and the key decision is how to allocate this 100% capacity between your priorities.鈥�
What value is your top priority?
Being people focused: support, challenge, develop, accompany, recognize, give trust, listen actively. I think it is where I can really create additional value.
If you could have one superpower, what would that be?
To extend the length of days 馃槈
Soulef Karoui: Fighting the routine
If there鈥檚 one thing that Soulef Karoui cannot stand, it鈥檚 a routine. 鈥淲henever I got bored, I would always look for new challenges,鈥� she says. She has already managed HR departments, been in charge of legal affairs and procurement, worked for industrial companies as well as in the telecommunications and service industries.
鈥淭his broad experience is very useful to me in my current job,鈥� she says. Karoui has been working for the Group for the last 10 years 鈥� despite the fact that she initially turned down the job at bg电子娱乐场. When a headhunter contacted her in 2008 about the position as Head of Finance for bg电子娱乐场 in Algeria, she declined after thinking about it long and hard. Karoui, a native Tunisian, was drawn to the novelty and excited about the challenge but moving to Algeria was out of the question for the mother of one at the time. One could say that she missed an opportunity 鈥� or that it was fate. Indeed, less than two months later, another headhunter contacted her about the same position, but this time in Tunisia. She applied and got the job. 鈥淎t bg电子娱乐场, every day is different. I never get bored here,鈥� she says. Karoui turned the job into a career. In 2015, she became Country President and has been representing bg电子娱乐场 in Tunisia ever since. Shortly thereafter, her journey brought her to Algeria: in addition to her existing role, she took on the position that she had turned down almost 10 years previously. 鈥淚 was at a different stage in my life 鈥� ready for a new challenge.鈥� Today, she also represents the Group as Country President in Algeria. It鈥檚 a broad mission, which requires huge amounts of flexibility and energy.
鈥淢y life would have gone very differently if I hadn鈥檛 dared to venture outside of my comfort zone.鈥�
According to Karoui, she inherited her drive from her parents. 鈥淭hey have supported me unconditionally. Thanks to them, I learned to trust my intuition,鈥� she says. Family is very important to her. Her husband, she says, helped her to move up in her career and had her back every time she had to stay late at the office. Their daughter is an adult now. Karoui can barely contain her pride when she talks about her: 鈥淪he is very independent. When she was 13, she said to me: 鈥楳om, if you have to work over the holidays, I鈥檒l just meet up with my friends.鈥� That鈥檚 when I knew she had grown up,鈥� she recalls. To this day, mother and daughter have remained very close. 鈥淚 may not have been home as often as other mothers,鈥� says Karoui. 鈥淏ut I learned to make the most of the time I had with my