Professional experience

Digital project manager

Stradige

Dates: January 2019 to present.

Location: Aix-en-Provence, France

Stradige steers digital projects from A to Z for small businesses, SMEs, and e-commerce websites with a vital need to acquire clients online and build their digital strategy. We help them develop a sustainable competitive advantage through the following missions:

Digital marketing manager

• Acquiring web traffic: SEO / SEA / Affiliation / Advertising.
• Conducting website audits: technical / content / authority.
• Maximizing conversion rates.
• Establishing SEO-friendly editorial content.
• Optimizing e-commerce functionality.
• Promoting brand awareness on social media.

Digital project manager

• Designing UX: wireframing, prototyping, user journeys.
• Improving web performance: PWA / Lazy loading.
• Optimizing Google Core Web Vitals.
• Drafting technical specifications and project roadmaps.
• Implementing A/B testing with optimization platforms.
• Developing high-performance WordPress sites.

Web entrepreneur in e-tourism

La France à ma mesure

Dates: January 2012 to January 2019 - Duration: 7 years.

Location: Aix-en-Provence, France

I founded the tourism web guide La France à ma mesure. Its dual objective was, on one hand, to offer French travelers 150 themed itineraries across France completely free in B2C, and on the other hand in B2B to foreign travel agencies and tour operators (American, Russian, Canadian, Brazilian, etc.), to curate French partners and design tailor-made journeys for their web catalogs. As an entrepreneur, I wore two main hats:

Digital marketing director

• Directing a digital marketing team for a trilingual website in French, English, and German.
• Expanding search engine visibility via organic SEO.
• Formulating marketing action plans to establish brand awareness.
• Deploying and monitoring advertising campaigns: SEA - Print - Affiliation.
• Analyzing Google Analytics and Search Console data to refine SEO.
• Executing link-building campaigns: link-baiting, partnerships, social media.
• Leveraging digital marketing tools: Semrush, Screaming Frog, Ranks.fr, Majestic SEO.
• Building proprietary back-office software for semi-automated quote generation.
• Monitoring key performance indicators (KPI).

E-tourism web entrepreneur

• Building a comprehensive business plan to launch the enterprise.
• Constructing and managing annual budgets.
• Analyzing financial metrics: ROI, break-even point, profitability thresholds.
• Managing & supervising remote teams: Employees, Freelancers, Interns.
• Prospecting international B2B clients: Travel agencies, Tour operators.
• Recruiting, leading, evaluating, and training teams.
• Designing experiential journeys: Normandy Flavors Route, Myths and Legends of Brittany.
• Discovering and partnering with local tourism stakeholders.
• Negotiating terms with partners: Hoteliers, Activity providers, Restaurants, Car rentals.
• Publishing a market study on tourism in France.
• Networking at industry trade shows: Rendez-vous en France.

Client references

• American travel agencies: Duvine | Enchanted Tours | 58 stars | Pique Travel
• Russian travel agencies: Wild Animals Safari | Matreshka Travel
• French inbound agencies: Vis it Différent

Key results

• €750K in business volume.
• 300,000 unique visitors per year.
• 1,600,000 page views per year.
• 60% French visitors / 40% international visitors.
• 5.33 page views per user.
• 4.67 page views per session.

Tourism & corporate trainer

Fondation INFA

Dates: March 2016 to January 2019 - Duration: 3 years

Location: Marseille, France

For three years, I conducted professional training missions. I developed assessment programs (logic, general knowledge, math, and English), conducted admissions interviews, and provided detailed appraisals of candidate skills. In five-week intensive sessions, I trained candidates selected by the Regional Council in Amadeus tourism software:

Amadeus GDS

• Introduction to tourism industry workflows.
• Standard airline Passenger Name Records (PNR).
• Complex PNR & international fare pricing.
• Domestic and international ticketing.
• Passenger and corporate profile management.
• Rail booking displays.
• Amadeus Hotel reservations.
• Tailor-made tour packaging.

I also selected and trained candidates in work-study contracts with Air France to help them become certified tour guides and travel escorts.

Tour escorts & guides

• Understanding the airline ecosystem.
• Introduction to Amadeus booking systems.
• Designing guided tours and regional excursions.
• Destination knowledge and geographic mastery.
• Mastering PowerPoint and Excel for tour operations.
• Proficiency in professional tourism English.

Results achieved

• 60 professionals trained.
• 70% return-to-employment rate within six months.
• 98% trainee satisfaction rate.

Multi-site profit center director

American Express Business Travel

Dates: May 2005 to December 2011 - Duration: 7 years

Locations: Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Marseille, Monaco, Montpellier, Paris, Sophia-Antipolis

American Express Business Travel is a global Travel Management Company, world leader in assisting enterprises with managing and optimizing corporate travel, mobility, and corporate events.

Profit center director

For six years, my mission was to ensure optimal human, organizational, and technological performance of a Business Travel Center generating between €50M and €93M in annual turnover. I supervised 6 to 14 managers and 50 to 95 personnel across 7 locations: Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Marseille, Monaco, Montpellier, Paris, and Sophia-Antipolis. My core responsibilities included:

• Recruiting, leading, evaluating, and training my teams.
• Assigning an annual cross-functional strategic project to each team leader.
• Personally mentoring top 5 to 10 high-performing employees.
• Integrating staff with distinct corporate cultures following corporate acquisitions.
• Monitoring and upholding strict operational budgets.
• Virtualizing five Business Travel Centers with remote management to curtail operating overhead.
• Steering four redundancy plans over five years during industry contraction.
• Executing the closure of Marseille (50 staff) and Avignon (10 staff) locations.
• Facilitating the divestment of our Montpellier branch to Avexia.
• Formulating corrective solutions for unsatisfied clients.
• Personally managing executive relationships with key account clients.
• Managing smooth staff mobility between regional points of sale.

National project manager

I restructured nationwide operations across France to align operational costs with client service tiers: transitioning from 71 client service structures to 49, from 76 contact profiles to 48, and from 143 telephony hunt groups to 59. Since each telephony pilot represented operating costs, I rationalized redundant lines by 50%. I executed this alongside operations directors, team leaders, and Customer General Managers across France, creating a national working group of travel counselors and team leads to modernize working methods at the national level.

Client references

Gemalto | DHL | Loxam | NXP | Medtronic | Institut Pasteur | GSE | Cameron | Egide | CRNA | Intel | Lafarge | Solvay | Saint-Gobain | Cipam | Shell | Royal Canin | Spir | Ricard | Orangina | Rainbird | Ballet Preljocaj | Psion Teklogix | PACA Regional Council | Aix-en-Provence City Council | Aix-Marseille University.

Results achieved

• Employee engagement survey: 94% participation rate versus 80% benchmark.
• Employee engagement survey: 77% satisfaction with leadership.
• 0 clients lost due to service quality issues.
• 72% to 94% satisfied and highly satisfied client ratings.
• Productivity: 0% decline versus national average of -13%.
• Delivery overhead: -76% for Mediterranean BTC year-over-year.
• Transaction costs: -10% year-over-year and -23% versus forecast.
• General overhead: -66% versus year-over-year.

Business travel agency manager

American Express Business Travel

Dates: November 2004 to May 2005 - Duration: 7 months

Location: Marseille, France

Our Marseille center generated €23 million in annual revenue. I supervised six operational and sales managers alongside 40 team members. My mission was to significantly elevate team performance within six months and harmonize operating procedures ahead of a planned merger with our Aix-en-Provence site. Core responsibilities included:

Missions undertaken

• Meeting key corporate clients at least once per year.
• Leading the operational merger of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence agencies.
• Integrating, training, and developing personnel from an acquired competitor.
• Optimizing refund reconciliation processes to prevent financial leakage.
• Rapid recruiting of temporary staff to manage peak travel volume.
• Serving as national pilot site for multiple software deployments.

Results achieved

• 93.20% overall client satisfaction rating.
• 78.20% highly satisfied rating (ranked #1 agency in France).
• 100% successful integration of acquired competitor teams and workflows.
• 100% reorganization of agency operations preparing the Aix-en-Provence merger.
• 4 managers successfully promoted to senior roles at the merger milestone.

Business travel branch manager

American Express Business Travel

Dates: January 2003 to November 2004 - Duration: 2 years

Location: Aix-en-Provence, France

My first executive management role was leading our Aix-en-Provence Business Travel Center with €15 million in annual turnover. I supervised three team leaders and twenty corporate consultants. Core responsibilities included:

Missions undertaken

• Meeting key accounts on a regular schedule to review service metrics.
• Consistently delivering agreed Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Deploying swift corrective action plans upon any client dissatisfaction.
• Personally coaching high-potential talent within the team.
• Mentoring staff to foster professional progression.
• Recruiting qualified talent in competitive talent markets.
• Conducting annual performance reviews and appraisal interviews.
• Enforcing strict cost discipline against operating budgets.
• Driving operational workflow innovation to raise agent productivity.
• Leveraging computer automation tools to streamline ticketing.
• Reviewing performance metrics with approved corporate suppliers.

Results achieved

• 84% highly satisfied client score / Top 5 agencies nationwide.
• National 24/7 emergency service operated 100% by my branch teams.
• 3 team members earned internal promotions to leadership roles.
• 100% of annual performance appraisals completed on schedule.
• Operating costs contained at 5.03% versus 5.04% budgetary allowance.
• +15% leisure travel sales revenue in 18 months.
• 84% automated invoicing rate, ranking #1 in France.
• First agency in France to centralize corporate ticket issuance.

IT & quality project manager

American Express Business Travel

Dates: July 2000 to January 2003 - Duration: 3 years

Location: Lyon, France

During this era, our corporate entity transformed dramatically as American Express acquired the 80% stake held by Havas Voyages in the joint venture, creating American Express Business Travel France.

Missions undertaken

My role expanded substantially: following a near-loss of corporate ISO certification, I joined the specialized taskforce tasked with successfully deploying ISO 9001/2000 across Business Travel Centers and commercial directors in Rhône-Alpes and Eastern France. Key responsibilities included:

• Training agency managers, commercial directors, and travel consultants on quality standards and ISO 9001/2000.
• Auditing commercial directors and Business Travel Centers across external regions.
• Strengthening business proficiency and technical computing skills across operating units.
• Leading Quality presentations during regional management conventions.
• Collaborating on technical RFP responses for large corporate tenders.
• Authoring standard operational manuals and technical guidebooks.

Results achieved

• 200 operational personnel trained in ISO 9001/2000.
• Deployment of a comprehensive quality audit framework for corporate orders.
• 28 agency managers coached in team management and compliance.
• 13 commercial directors coached in quality assurance methodology.
• 17 Business Travel Center quality audits executed over three years.
• 27 best-practice sales training seminars conducted.
• Featured Quality speaker across 7 regional executive committees.
• 7 Quality conferences presented during annual Executive Reviews.
• 29 customized one-on-one training sessions completed (Amadeus, pricing, workflows).
• 38 consultants recruited over a three-year period.

Organization project manager & corporate IT trainer

Havas Voyages American Express

Dates: July 1997 to July 2000 - Duration: 3 years

Location: Lyon, France

Economic Interest Group specialized in corporate travel, held 20% by American Express and 80% by Havas Voyages.

Reporting to the Operations Director of Lyon 2000—then the largest Business Travel Center in France—I actively participated in the integration of three agencies with distinct corporate cultures resulting from the union of Havas Voyages Affaires (Part-Dieu and Écully) and American Express (La Villette).

Missions as organization project manager

• Authoring all operational procedures for network personnel.
• Optimizing computer workflows with a paperless office initiative.
• Championing company-wide best practices.
• Specifying software enhancements for internal IT platforms.
• Coaching team leaders to elevate client service excellence.
• Building objective measurement tools to quantify service delivery metrics.
• Assisting in recruitment and technical testing of candidates.

Missions as senior airline fare specialist

• Calculating complex round-the-world and multi-continent itineraries.
• Auditing fare proposals prior to client delivery.
• Constructing specialized routing to minimize ticket costs.
• Combining split-ticketing across multi-week itineraries.
• Advising corporate sales executives as technical pricing consultant.

Missions as IT & systems trainer

• Formulating customized training roadmaps for each staff member.
• Delivering instruction in Amadeus Air, Car, Hotel, and Fare Construction.
• Teaching national rail booking software (SNCF / Socrate) to agency teams.
• Instructing senior travel counselors in complex air tariff calculations.
• Facilitating best-practice sharing workshops.
• Disseminating Amadeus GDS updates and feature enhancements network-wide.

Results achieved

• 50 team members trained in Amadeus GDS and tariff construction.
• 1 personalized onboarding training plan established for every new recruit.
• Dozens of technical assessment tests administered for recruitment.
• 100% passenger and corporate database profiles harmonized.
• 5 team leaders trained on advanced management tools.

On-site implant co-manager – Pasteur Mérieux

PROTRAVEL INTERNATIONAL

Dates: 1995 to 1997 - Duration: 2 years

Location: Lyon, France

Protravel was a specialized corporate travel management firm servicing business client travel.

Corporate travel counselor

I managed corporate travel for employees of pharmaceutical leader Pasteur Mérieux in Lyon within a dedicated on-site implant (an independent mini-agency situated inside client headquarters).

• Booking corporate travel: Flights, Trains, Hotels, Car rentals.
• Issuing tickets, rail passes, and necessary travel documentation.
• Constructing complex fares: Round-the-world itineraries and maximum permitted mileage routing.
• Managing implant office accounting and administrative operations.
• Fostering deep advisory relationships and trust with corporate travelers and executive assistants.
• Collaborating with preferred vendors to ensure 100% adherence to negotiated agreements: Airlines, Hotel chains, and transport suppliers.

Results achieved

When the client decided to award its corporate travel account to a new travel agency following a competitive tender (won by Havas Voyages American Express), the client explicitly requested that I transition along with the account to maintain dedicated service with their new partner.

Key account corporate travel consultant

PROTRAVEL INTERNATIONAL

Dates: 1993 to 1995 - Duration: 2 years

Location: Lyon, France

In my first corporate travel management role, I managed travel requirements for a portfolio of corporate clients, coordinating their business trips across rail, air, lodging, and vehicle rentals.

• Booking travel in strict adherence to corporate client travel policies.
• Issuing tickets and hotel vouchers within strict service deadlines.
• Prompt and accurate invoicing for all transactions.
• Consistently delivering exemplary service quality.
• Maintaining daily relationship management with client travel coordinators.

Results achieved

Following the successful conclusion of this two-year assignment, executive leadership appointed me to assume the co-management of a dedicated client on-site implant.