[Commitment Story] - Delphine Jegoudez

I joined the Rennes School of Business, then still known as 'Sup de Co Rennes', in 1993, after 2 years of preparatory classes in Paris. We were the class of 4. It was a gamble to choose Rennes, but success was already in the air: the atmosphere of the school, its international reputation, its energy, the role of the associations: all the ingredients were already there!

For me, my community life revolved around the organisation of the Careers Forum. It was quite an experience in events management, and one that I've used again and again throughout my career, and as recently as last year, when I was organising a Forum for our company's suppliers.

In my third year, I was able to take advantage of an incredible partnership with the Business School at Imperial College, which had just opened and was to become the 4th British MBA. Finding myself the only student with no professional experience in a class of young (and not so young) dynamic experienced managers was a culture shock, but what an enriching experience!

As a young graduate, I joined France Télécom, which later became Orange, and which I left only for a 5-year 'infidelity' in London.

I stayed with the company because I was able to carve out a path made up of many twists and turns: from international business development to local marketing, from team management to key account sales, from strategic marketing to R&D... but above all, in 2008, I went back to school, with a master's degree in sustainable development at Dauphine, to branch off into CSR and environmental, social and societal concerns.

For the past 15 years, I've been trying to align my personal values with my professional activities by seeking to define, implement and lead the CSR policies of Orange, its subsidiaries and its suppliers.

• Can you tell us about your job?

I'm currently CSR project manager in the Orange Group's purchasing department. I make sure that the suppliers of our subsidiaries, mainly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, respect the objectives set by Orange in terms of respect for the environment and human rights.

• Tell us a nice moment / an opportunity you had thanks to the Alumni network

Last year, I signed up for an RSB photo workshop. Not to learn photography, but to have my portrait taken! I'd been needing a decent photo to illustrate my CV for a long time, so I thought this was my chance.
So here I was on campus in Paris on a rainy winter's evening. And there, oh surprise, the photographer was none other than Jef Roze, a colleague from class 4!
As well as the magnificent professional photos that I use and abuse to shine on the networks, I was able to have a great time and reminisce with a new friend.
I highly recommend his services : www.jefroze.com

• What's your greatest achievement?

I'm extremely proud to have been teaching CSR at Rennes SB for nearly 7 years, initially to international students at the Summer School, then to 3rd year students on the Grande Ecole Programme, and since the start of the new academic year to work-study students on the Digital Marketing Master's programme.

I love meeting up with the students, trying to share with them my passion for environmental and social issues, but also challenging them and hoping to get them to see things in a slightly different way... Reconciling the courses with my professional activity can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, and I often feel like I'm back in the classroom, but it's all for a good cause.

However, I would say that my greatest achievement, at least the most recent one, is not teaching, but being elected to Orange's CSE (Comité Social d'Entreprise) in November 2023. That may seem strange to you... but it is to me too!
Let me explain: in 2020, I took part in the creation of France's first ecological trade union, Printemps écologique, of which I founded the Media and Telecoms branch.
The trade union is the only structure that allows a company's employees to legitimately address its management, including on environmental issues. Traditional trade unions are still cautious on this issue, so we simply decided that we had to create our own structure!
It took a few years for this little eco-union sprout to germinate, but we are now starting to put forward lists in union elections, getting very good scores, and therefore having elected representatives, who will push companies, managers and employees alike, to commit themselves more strongly and more quickly to the environmental transition. We urgently need this.
Ecology leads to everything, even trade unionism!

• What advice would you give to a recent graduate?

It's about not letting yourself be pigeonholed, but always looking further ahead, differently, from different perspectives. The school's philosophy, 'Unframed Thinking', is exactly that...

• Do you have a hidden talent / passion?

I discovered meditation during my stay in the UK.  The practice changed me profoundly and I wanted to share this experience by becoming a teacher myself. During COVID, I led an average of one session a day for several months. Since then, having returned to a busy professional life, I've devoted less time to teaching, but I still practise every day. It's both a way of life and a philosophy.

• The final word?

“Life is a garden, not a road. We enter and exit through the same gate. Wandering, where we go matters less than what we notice.” ― Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

Find Delphine on LinkedIn