[PORTRAIT OF AN ECAM DIRECTOR ALUMNI] Didier GIOVANNINI - ECAM PROMO 1979 AML

SCHOOL

How did you get to ECAM?

I did all my schooling, from kindergarten to high school, at a La Salle school in the Paris region, in Saint-Denis (93). With a Bac E (Maths and Technique), I was looking to enter an engineering school, or a BTS course: I was accepted at several places, and I chose ECAM thanks to the advice of my Maths teacher in my final year of high school.

What stood out for you during your training?

The first two years were particularly difficult and demanding, but there was a certain solidarity between us! I made some real friends during those five years. I also discovered how to get involved in extracurricular activities and associations, and I was President of the ECAM4 Student Office.

What advice would you give to the graduating class?

For the young people leaving today: I'd tell them to enjoy their work, so as to get up every morning with enthusiasm. As a former career guidance counsellor, I would also add that they should be aware that a CV is built up, job by job, and that it seems preferable to answer the question: "how will this new job help me in the future?"

Although I've never taken the plunge myself, a word of advice: think about entrepreneurship!

WORKING LIFE - PRO CHALLENGES

TODAY, a few words about your career?

Having been exempted from military service, I joined the EDF Group straight away, in 1979, in the Distribution Division. I stayed there for over forty years, in 10 different locations, from Pas de Calais to Vaucluse, from Brittany to the Rhône Alpes region. Each time I was transferred, I changed jobs, in very different fields: management, expertise, industry leadership, management, human resources, etc.... Sometimes in the field, sometimes in the regions, even at the company's head office in La Défense. I've even had the pleasure of creating my own job!

What does Engineering mean to you?

Above all, it's a state of mind and a capacity for analysis and problem-solving.

It means knowing how to mobilize, delegate and trust those around you.

It's about learning how to help employees grow, and creating the conditions for their own personal fulfillment.

Any other personal/professional challenges you'd like to mention?

On a professional level, what impressed me most : I developed employees' capacity for participative innovation, their ability to improve and, above all, to make this known, and the involvement of management in creating the right conditions for this.

On a personal level, I've been involved in associations at every stage of my life, a way for me and my family to forge new friendships at each new location. A common thread: my involvement in the Mouvement Chrétien des Cadres et dirigeants (M.C.C.) or how to reconcile one's role as a corporate executive with one's faith as a Christian.

THE NETWORK / YOUR COMMITMENTS TO ECAM ALUMNI

What does the Network mean to you?

The notion of the network has continued to develop and take on new forms, notably through the "web".

But networking is important: we're always stronger together!

The network also means sharing experiences, between generations, between different cultures, etc...

Tell me about your role in the association!

I wasn't looking for a specific role, but I wanted to get involved. I agreed to take on the role of regional coordinator and promotion delegate. Incidentally, my geographical mobility within EDF led me to take part in the work of eight regional groups. Some of these groups, such as "Nord-Picardie", are crucially lacking in volunteers: this is an appeal to those reading this!

More recently, I've launched a Passion group on genealogy: another way of "networking" by sharing a hobby, here too a form of mutual aid with comrades!

What motivated this commitment?

It's a bit intuitive: I'm still attached to the school. For me, the most important thing is to help schools, young people and friends who have left school.

Working in Paris in the 2000s, it was Alain Dhorne (ECAM 1976 and former Chairman of the Association), a long-standing friend, who recruited me to the Association's Board of Directors.

I was then asked to become a Director of the ECAM Foundation in 2013, a role I held until 2020. For various reasons, I left the Foundation to run alongside Pierre Damnon in the elections to our Association in June 2020.

The final word?

An anecdote: in 2012, the Chairman of the EDF Group wanted to intensify the "social elevator" by creating a new scheme: a diploma course to enable employees with a Bac + 2 to become engineers by going back to school. That's how I came to work with ECAM to integrate employees into work-study programs, at the rate of 2 or 3 employees per GIM class.