Pascal Combier——A Dream Seeker in ALTEN

04/05/2018

Pascal Combier, a very familiar face probably for most of ALTEN China employees, is now the technical director of ALTEN China, in charge of ALTEN China work-package and associated business activities. Equipped with in depth technical knowledge and excellent business insights, he is also frequently presented himself in a lot of important occasions such as business development, marketing, industry forum as well as job fairs. This time, by means of interview, I am about to bring everyone stories of his career.

 

 

1. Q: How does your career start and develop?

A：Fond of computing – my father brought me into programming when I was 12 – I got a Master’s Degree in Software Engineering.

After 4 years programming in telecommunications, I got the opportunity to manage a small software development team in automotive industry.

Then I moved to ALTEN China and helped to setup an infotainment validation work-package on OEM side.

 

2. Q: What are your current responsibilities?

A: My current work is to support the business team of ALTEN China to get new projects from our clients.

After having been involved in high-level discussions, I lead the technical analysis of clients’ requirements and provide a solution proposal.

I also need to provide enough information to business team to help them to build a realist quotation.

When ALTEN China gets a work-package project, I need to write and negotiate with the clients of the contract, defining the details of the project.

Later, I need to select and manage the suitable team leader in order implement the project according to ALTEN China standards.

 

3.Q：What are your opinions on infotainmentindustry and its trends?

A：The infotainment systems are more and more exciting because the world is changing. More and more people are using connected services from their smartphones to exchange, pay, search and diffuse information. We see more and more actors bringing these services inside the vehicles to simplify the daily life of users. This adds a lot of complexities inside the products and those complexities reveal new actors to challenge old automotive actors on a new playground. This makes infotainment industry very dynamic and full of opportunities!

 

4.Q：Why do you come to Shanghai?

A：I came to Shanghai because it is a very attractive industrial area where you can find a lot of professional opportunities.

Most importantly, automotive actors and interesting projects are represented everywhere (big data, electric cars, connected services).

 

5.Q: Why do you choose ALTEN China？

A: I chose ALTEN China because the proposed project was very interesting, and it was localized at a very famous OEM.

Additionally, ALTEN Group is well presented within 20+ countries with 24000+ employees, which makes it easier for me to get involved in new projects both in China and international.

The fact that ALTEN China is a French company is also a good point for me, because I can keep a link with a French company.

 

6.Q：Have you confronted any culture difference during your work and how did you manage it?

A: Patience and communication are the keys.

When you work with someone from your own culture, you do not need to explain too much about the context. This someone will mostly do what you expect from him, because you share the same logic, codes, and way of thinking.

However, when you work with someone who does not share the same culture background, then you will get surprising results. These results are sometimes very far from what you expected.

And the gap between expectations and results is so huge that it becomes funny! It becomes jokes to share with your colleagues near the coffee machine!

When you have more experience, you learn to communicate more about your expectations and the misunderstandings disappear. But from time to time, I keep being surprised!

 

7.Q：What are your hobbies and how do you manage your off work time?

A：I practice some sports from time to time. Those are important for me to keep body and mind in good conditions.

When I have time, I keep learning things about new technologies and actively following what is happening in Silicon Valley and startup communities.

 

8.Q：What are your future career expectations?

A: I just got promoted, so I am quite satisfied with my position at the moment.

The only thing I would expect from my career is to get a little bit closer to the software industry because I love software and I have now a very good understanding of it. I wish I could setup more and more projects linked

to software!

 

 

Hope you will get a stereoscopic idea of ALTEN China by this interview. ALTEN China is dedicated to being a competetent technical partner and an excellent employer. If you are interested in our work package program, please do not hesitate to contact Pascal, who will be pleased to welcome you with his professional knowledge. Please stay tuned for more infos by following our offical account