Thomas Gendulphe took over the reins of Cross-Systems and Wide last November. In an interview with ICTjournal, he explains what his priorities were for his first 100 days as General Manager and how he intends to develop the IT service provider’s activity in the region.
You took over the reins of Cross Suisse 3 months ago. What motivated you?
Both the company and the project. I had known Cross for many years, as a customer and as a competitor. I knew the commitment of its employees, the quality of its client portfolio and its achievements. When Christian Poyau, CEO of the Micropole group, contacted me to revitalize the company, I was immediately interested. It also responded to a wish to return to Switzerland after several years abroad.
What did you do during those first 100 days? What challenges did you have to overcome?
We have real talents and a very strong commitment to the company. There is a soul in Cross. On the other hand, it was necessary to adapt the organization to be more in line with market expectations. My first concern was to meet the employees to understand their concerns, their expectations and to explain the new project. I then quickly set up a management team to support the change. The challenge is that this is supported by all employees and not just by management in a top-down logic. At Cross all the managers come from the field, myself included. We therefore have a practical knowledge and a proximity with the operational which is felt in the cohesion of the company. The result is a strong collective that greatly facilitates things.
What perception do you have of the market and of the demand from French-speaking customers?
Romandie is a very mature market compared to other regions such as Spain where I have worked in recent years. Clients are aware of the level of investment required for their projects to be successful. However, we have been experiencing strong pressure on prices for ten years, which has forced us to develop nearshore offers. It is now a necessary condition to be competitive, whether for multinationals or local SMEs, especially since a psychological brake has jumped since the generalization of telework. The other striking characteristic is the level of demand in terms of quality. Being active in Switzerland for 40 years, it is integrated into our DNA.
How do you plan to develop the activity of Cross in Switzerland? Where do your priorities go: to the offer, to the skills, to the marketing, to the positioning?
Firstly by giving priority to French-speaking Switzerland, which has not been the case in recent years. We will be more present and more visible. We will continue the development of Wide, which is the first digital agency in the region with emblematic projects. Then by putting more energy into the marketing of our new offers, particularly Data, for which the market has strong expectations. The Group’s expertise is very significant on these subjects, which correspond as much to the challenges of the Business Lines as to the requests of the IT Departments. I am thinking, for example, of Data Governance or the Cloud. Finally, by deploying our hybrid local+nearshore model which gives our customers a price and capacity advantage.
If you had to stick to a few indicators, what would tell you a year from now that you are on the right track?
The first is the commitment of the teams, because it is a collective project, an adventure that we share together. The others already appear implicitly in my previous answers: activity in French-speaking Switzerland, progression of new offers and progression of the hybrid model. The traditional financial performance indicators, of course, remain present but are a consequence of the smooth running of the transformation.