Q&A with Henri
Henri is head of data and analytics at our Paris office.
When did you start at Radiall and what did you do?
I joined Radiall in 2012 as a financial controller. I was in charge of producing the consolidated financial statements. I rapidly switched lanes as I gained proficiency with data management and reporting solutions.
Can you tell us more about your current role?
I am head of data and analytics. My job is to design and implement solutions to support executives and operations with their data requirements. Our department is mainly focused on the delivery of dashboards in Qlik.
Can you describe your professional journey?
I started as a financial controller. As mentioned before, I was in charge of producing the consolidated financial statements and was also responsible for the preparation of the budget. Eventually my team and I integrated Qlik, a data and analytics service platform that allows us to load and transform data in order to deliver governed dashboards and reports to a large audience.
What do you like most about your work?
I enjoy getting to work with different aspects of the company. I’ve had the opportunity to innovate our processes, to not only track and manage data but now use it to plan ahead in almost any department I’m working with. I enjoy getting to share this work with other business oriented people, looking to change the way they budget and analyze the financial plan.
What is a typical day like for you at Radiall?
It’s typical for me to have a very different experience from day to day. I follow the data to identify an issue and then form a solution. It’s important to know how to read the data and figure out how to address the problem using different methods. So a typical day is, by essence, atypical.
What's the best advice you have for people wanting to pursue a career in your field?
You have to be able to work on a team. I frequently work with human resources, finance, sales and IT just to name a few, and with that, good communication is really important when there are so many moving pieces. Someone wanting to pursue a career in this field should have an interest in technology and learning processes that determine solutions based on varying factors; basically, they need to be a nerd with good communication skills. This person should also be curious and interested in learning more about anything/everything.
What’s been your proudest moment in your career at Radiall?
I am overall proud of the work that my team and I have accomplished. We introduced Qlik back in 2018, and I can’t believe how much we have done since then. I’m most proud that data has matured our way of thinking and has people asking questions they didn't before. Radiall has been recognized for this innovative platform and we are incredibly proud of the fact that our use of Qlik is one of the best in the market! And this is just the beginning. We have so much more in store for the future…
Where do you think Radiall will be in five years?
Radiall is growing at a steady rate. Of course, there were a few setbacks with the pandemic and the economy the last few years but Radiall bounced back quickly and is projected to maintain growth. In the next five years, I expect we will go beyond the scope of traditional business intelligence use cases as we will offer real-time data services and we will start to utilize AI, leveraging its capabilities to streamline data analysis and enhance the way we do business.
What does the data show was the biggest challenge for the company over the past few years (markets growing or not growing)? How did we navigate through that challenge to see the growth we have now, according to the data?
The biggest challenge for Radiall over the past few years has been how each of the markets slowed because of a weakened economy as a result of the pandemic. We tracked our progress and worked closely with business units and marketing to create a plan that would support market growth and sales. We took the time to understand customer concerns and challenges, so we could best provide solutions to meet their needs.