International Women’s Day – Sandrine Garriot
International Women’s Day 2022
International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated annually on 8th March, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women all around the world. International women’s day has been celebrated for well over a century, with the first one starting in 1911.
This day is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, and share stories of inspiring women.
Join us in celebrating just some of the inspirational women in our community and the empowering work they do for women everywhere.
Sandrine Garriot
Director of Global Communication, Sales Enablement & Transformation РDassault Syst̬mes
Sandrine’s determination and passion for STEM has been with her from a young age, where her interest in STEM started. Inspired by her father, Sandrine has always wanted to demonstrate that women have their place everywhere.
With more than 25 years of global experience in communications, marketing and sales, Sandrine sees the importance of continuous innovation and supporting skills development.
In her current role at Dassault Systèmes, Sandrine leads a team across diverse geographies and cultures that play a pivotal role in Global Sales teams’ success through the design, oversight, and delivery of impactful programs. She works with leaders, executives, and cross-functional teams to design & deliver effective, highly impactful sales enablement.
“This is the most exciting sector to be working in today given the challenges the world faces and young women should continually invest in learning and building new skills to grow their capital of employability”
Where did your initial interest in STEM come from?
“My initial interest in STEM started early from when I was at school and I have dedicated my entire career to it. Too many women are held back by biases, social norms and expectations influencing the quality of the education they receive and the subjects they study.”
“They are particularly under-represented in STEM education, and consequently in STEM careers. For me working in such a company was obvious, I like when the road doesn’t seem easy. I wanted to demonstrate women have their place everywhere.”
What is your current role/involvement in STEM?
“I am the current Communication & Sales Enablement Director for One Engagement Model at Dassault Systèmes. I lead teams across diverse geographies, time zones, and cultures. I partner with sales leaders, corporate executives, and cross-functional teams to create alignment and orchestrate resources to design and deliver effective, highly impactful sales enablement programs.”
“What I am enjoying the most: helping & building confidence. To do what I value the most & help girls in STEM, I am mentoring/coaching young students in STEM careers. I am amazed by so many talented girls; I am just here to develop their confidence and soft skills through peer-support coaching/mentoring.”
Tell us a bit about your background and how you ended up in this role
“I have more than 25 years global experience in communications, marketing and sales enablement, primarily in the IT and Software industry. In all these years, I found that communication is a silo breaker, bridge one person to another, you complement one knowledge to another. I have always been fascinated by three areas:
1) Technology and how it can help our world overcome many of its challenges to make it more sustainable, efficient and inclusive.
2) Linking learning/Sales Enablement strategy to execution through the most critical resources: People.
3) Creating synergies between sales and marketing to fuel fast growth
I have been with Dassault Systemes for 10 years and am constantly impressed by how for 40 years it has been innovating to provide new breakthrough solutions that shape a better future for us all, bridging the gap between the virtual and the real world: more seamless tailored learning to build tomorrow’s skills and boost sales teams’ operational excellence that raises performance.”
What is your favourite thing about working in STEM?Â
“There are 3 things that I really enjoy about working in STEM:
1) Seeing first-hand the development of game-changing technology that improves our world at a time when it is facing massive challenges.
2) Meeting incredibly smart and passionate people that want to make a difference. I get to work in an environment I’m passionate about with hard-working, driven like-minded people that want to help.
3) The sheer variety of projects that I work on. I also love the diversity and how much I can learn from a group of such intelligent and fun, genuine people.”
What advice would you give to young women interested in pursuing a career in STEM?
“I would like to tell them that it is the most exciting sector to be working in today given the challenges the world faces and that they should continually invest in learning and building new skills to grow their capital of employability”
What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
“Never give up, continual learning and be confident.”
Who or what inspires you?
“People who demonstrate boldness, humanity and courage in all aspects of their lives – the courage to suggest new paths, to speak out against things that contradict their fundamental values, to stand up for what is right. So the first person to come to my mind is my father, and I hope he is proud of what I am trying to do here.”
“Over the past year, I have been very moved by movements such as Black Lives Matter, the incredible bravery of the Ukrainian people in the face of the immense suffering they are enduring.”
“Of course, true innovators inspired me along my life. People who really want to change the world: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and of course, our own CEO, Bernard Charlès who is constantly reinventing how we can make the world more inclusive and sustainable.”
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Join us as we continue celebrating international women in our community.
