Continuing our "Talent from ECAM" series, we'd like to introduce you to this sixth portrait.

Through this video and article, we'd like to highlight the profile and career path of Olivier de PARISOT (ECAM 87).

From his atypical career path, from his degree to the creation of his entrepreneurial projects, and including his early career in the construction industry, Olivier de PARISOT looks back on his career and experience as an ECAM engineer and entrepreneur, in an interview with Baptiste Montrocher.

Watch the video interview on our Youtube channel: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1TYz5EVkf4&ab_channel=AssociationdesAlumniECAMLaSalle

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Baptiste Montrocher: Olivier, what's your background?

Olivier de Parisot: My entire career path has been in the construction industry.

After an initial period of a dozen years in production management positions with the majors, I went on to specialize in a strategic management cycle that led to executive positions, first with a leading construction inspection company, then with a German manufacturer of formwork and shoring equipment.

This was followed by a period in which I held development director positions in construction engineering companies. Then I finished my period as a salaried employee with a leading energy services company, where I was in charge of a sales team.

And for the past two years, I've been pursuing an entrepreneurial project by setting up a sales agency and recruitment firm.

Baptiste: What does being an ECAM engineer mean to you?

Olivier : Being an ECAM LaSalle engineer means being confronted with technological challenges throughout your career. It means working as part of a team to solve current and complex problems.

ECAM engineers use their ingenuity and skills to collaborate with other technicians and non-technicians, such as partners and customers.

I think being an ECAM engineer requires a combination of technical skills, thinking, collaboration and communication to solve real problems.

In short, it means being an ingenious engineer.

Baptiste: What role does networking play in your life?

Olivier : So, the network plays an extremely important role in my life, because I think it's what enables me to connect with other professionals in my field of activity, but not only that, to find job opportunities, which is important to share knowledge and experience, and also to collaborate on projects that may be more personal.

For me, the network is what helped me broaden my professional horizons from the small world of public works to the world of construction.
And it's what helped me strengthen my skills by enabling me to complete a cycle of specialization and also to obtain career opportunities.

I think it's important for engineers to connect, to stay connected with other professionals to develop their network.

What's important is that this is done throughout one's career, either by maintaining face-to-face meetings or by using today's other possibilities offered by social networks, for example.

Baptiste: What are you particularly proud of today?

Olivier : I'm particularly proud today to have been able to realize my entrepreneurial project.
Why is that? Because I'd been thinking about it for several years. It's also a project that gives me a great deal of freedom of action on a daily basis, which I can say I've never or very rarely had in my career as an employee.

It's also the pride I take in the process of developing this project, starting from an observation, considering several solutions, selecting the one that was the best in my eyes, and today, developing it on a daily basis to make my company sustainable and visible.

Baptiste: An ECAM engineer but also a connected entrepreneur?

Olivier : Yes, I'm a connected entrepreneur, because I think the starting point is my ECAM engineering training, which opens our eyes to techniques and technologies, and also makes us curious.

Of course, I think of myself as a connected entrepreneur in the sense that I use digital tools to develop my online presence, for example, to develop relationships with prospects and customers, and also to automate certain sales prospecting tasks, for example. What attracts me to new technologies is above all the impact they can have on our daily lives, and more particularly the impact they can have on the energy transition.

And it's in this sense that I came to represent a Dutch company, the "smart lighting" specialist, and the impact of these products, in the eyes of their customers, the industrialists, is very, very important because they provide truly significant energy savings.

Baptiste: Who has inspired you along the way?

Olivier : In the course of my career, or rather at the start of my professional career, I was lucky enough to meet someone who was an inspiration in the sense that he enabled me to quickly acquire the codes of the construction world.

When I graduated from ECAM at the end of the 80s, only a small fraction of the class were already going into this sector, and this person quickly gave me the codes, and that's what enabled me to quickly reach positions of responsibility in the world of building and civil engineering.

Baptiste: Do you have any advice for younger ECAM Alumni members?

Olivier : Yes, I'd like to give them a few pieces of advice.
The first would be to continue training and learning throughout their careers, and to develop their communication skills.

Because today, it's important to know how to communicate ideas well, to know how to listen and work collaboratively, to find out what they're passionate about, to focus on what they're passionate about to become experts in that field and thus be able to differentiate themselves on the job market, to establish professional relationships with colleagues, mentors and other professionals, and finally to always be ready to adapt to new technologies, new working methods to stay competitive.

Baptiste: Any final words?

Olivier : Well, to conclude, I'd like to give you three good reasons why I think the ECAM engineering profession is a very fine one.

Firstly, I think we have an impact on society because we design new technologies, improve production processes and develop new infrastructures.

We're creative because we're constantly looking for innovative solutions to the challenges we face.

And finally, our work is extremely varied, because we cover a wide range of business sectors and areas of expertise.

Baptiste: Thank you Olivier!

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