Portrait of Anne Laure BAJEUX (ISA, 2009)

• HELLO, can you briefly introduce yourself?

Anne-Laure Bajeux, I'm 37 and have been living in NYC for 10 years with my husband and 5-year-old child.

I'm originally from Herlies in the Nord Pas de Calais region, where I was raised on the family farm by parents for whom the value of hard work was very strong.

I've been working for 6 years at a company based in NYC that makes Icelandic yoghurts called Skyr, which are rich in protein and delicious even with sugar. I'm Senior Director of Innovation and Sustainability: a position I created and transformed, notably by creating the Sustainability department in 2023.

• We're going to take a trip down memory lane. Can you tell us about your university career: training, specialization, associative life, projects, internships?

After high school, I was very passionate about food and agriculture, but didn't really know what to do. The idea of trying the ISA came from my mom, who had heard about it, and that's how I started the agro-food, environment and agriculture engineering course.

After the first year and the internship on a farm, I decided to focus more on the food industry. I was fascinated by the creation of new food products and chose an R&D and Quality internship in an industrial kitchen for my first engineering internship. It was there that I first understood how agri-food groups work, and in particular the weight of marketing and sales functions in product development decisions. After that, I knew that the competition would be fierce when I left school and I built up my career path to stand out from the crowd: an internship at Carrefour Creteil in the grocery department, a sales internship for Villars chocolates in Paris and all this helped me to get into Danone and start my career in marketing.

During my years at ISA, I created the entrepreneurship association with 2 other students, because we all had a passion for business creation. I remember moderating a round table alongside Jean Marie ... which brought together ISA alumni entrepreneurs - a lot of stress, but also a great memory!

I've always strived for top marks and recognition from others (teachers, colleagues, parents...). In my final year, for the end-of-program marketing project, I had to create a marketing and innovation plan to turn around a declining business - a free-form project over several months and with no predefined outcome. What anguish! I remember not knowing what to do with this request, being lost, with no way of receiving confirmation, of knowing whether the project was on the right track. My team and I were awarded last place in the group - what a failure! and I remember the teacher sharing that we had done "too much" - that there were some good ideas, and that if we had stopped at those few good ideas, the result would have been totally different. The lessons didn't come immediately, but I still think about them regularly:

• 1. • self-confidence is an essential ingredient for working innovatively, moving into the unknown and sensing when a trend is important or not
     • you need to be able to step back when you're working on a project or a subject, to see the situation in its full context

• What's your best memory of your studies at JUNIA (HEI, ISA and ISEN Lille)?

Student life and the lifelong friendships I made with people from different backgrounds. A sharing of passions and knowledge that has continued for 15 years and without which I wouldn't be the same.

The break, a 5-month work contract abroad between 2nd and 3rd year, was also one of the highlights of the curriculum. Setting off on an adventure to discover who you are when you're away from your routine and your points of reference, and coming back to school to discover a whole class of classmates who have changed so much and gained in maturity.

• When you were studying, did you already know what you wanted to do and what job you were aiming for?

My internships helped me find out, because I didn't really know anything about the food industry and the jobs it could offer. Understanding "how it works" enabled me to find what matched my desire to create products to meet everyone's needs.

• What has been your career path since graduating?

My end-of-year internship at Danone put me on track for a career in food marketing, and I worked in Paris for Bel and Mondelez, legendary brands such as Petit Lu, La vache qui rit, Belin and Mikado, for 5 years. I left Paris for NYC and it took me 1 year to find a new position, during which I learned to "sell" myself in a very competitive market. Again, self-confidence was a big issue and I had to grow and move on to overcome my feelings of inferiority in a culture I didn't fully understand. When I started at Sabra, my career took off after meeting managers and mentors who helped me develop. This enabled me to take up an innovation position in my current company, where I then progressed with the business by developing the "innovation strategy" function and creating the position of sustainability.

• What are the main tasks in your job?

In innovation, my team is in charge of collecting and studying consumer trends, prioritizing the most interesting and promising innovation ideas, and managing product development projects in partnership with all corporate functions.

In sustainable development, with the help of consultants and an experienced network, I have created a unique vision for our business and our brand, which has enabled us to bring together our management committee and start investing in the measurement of indicators and the first impact reduction projects. We have a 3-year plan which I hope to accelerate as momentum and results allow.

• How has your network (school, alumni association, family, professional) played a role in the development of your career?

Perseverance - I feel I'm always moving forward in life as the person you don't expect, or from whom "you don't expect much". And in response to this, I fight relentlessly for what I believe in. I'm often told to "pick my battles" and I'm working on that, but it's also an advantage.

Authenticity - it's often said that the best agriculturalist is "grounded". I think that my family, as well as the ISA, have enabled me to build a foundation of sincerity, of authenticity, which is my signature in a world where political sense is also very important.

Curiosity - being an engineer means asking lots of questions and trying to answer them, and this scientific side makes me curious and able to challenge the status quo without fear, because I'm confident we can find an answer.

• As a female engineer working in a professional environment that is often considered and stereotyped as masculine, would you have any advice for current female students considering a similar career path?

Build up your self-confidence so as not to be limited by stereotypes or the limits imposed on us by others. Self-confidence is knowing how to receive constructive criticism with curiosity and use it to our advantage, to progress day by day.

Find other women (and men too) who inspire and support them. Create a strong network of friends, mentors and acquaintances by being a woman's first ally. As a woman, I sometimes find myself being all the more critical of other women, but over the years I've learned to recognize this bias and be a strong ally through friendship, coaching or mentorship.

• Another message to pass on?

Approach challenges with curiosity rather than fear - If the solution isn't ideal, every challenge can still be a chance to learn something.