3 Important Lessons I Learned in my First Year at Bureau Veritas

Though I’ve been presenting around corporate board room tables for more than 20 years, some of the most enlightening conversations still happen around the family dinner table. Last Tuesday evening the conversation took an interesting twist when my daughter decided to flip the usual script: “Mom,” she asked, “what did you learn today?” I think her eyes glazed over somewhere between the reverse osmosis process and the implications of ISO 45001, but her question—and my eager and animated response—got me thinking. 

I’ve spent the past 500 days as a new leader in a new industry. What have I learned?

Far too much to fit into one post, that’s certain. But when I look back on the experience as a whole, three themes emerge.  

?Diversification is key to growth, for individuals and companies alike. Making the move to Bureau Veritas was a significant change for me. I had spent my career focused in one industry and had achieved success by all the traditional measures: expanded responsibilities, successive promotions, a seat on the senior executive team, and a key player in the company’s future plans. But my exposure working with hundreds of clients across the Global 1000 constantly showed me that new challenges were arising in every industry – and I longed to challenge myself in new ways and diversify my own path as well. At the same time, Bureau Veritas was looking to diversify its leadership team: I am the first female member of the executive suite and my education and background is not particularly in the engineering field. Clearly this was going to be a learning experience for all of us!

I firmly believe that commitment to stretching beyond the comfort zone, defying the status quo, and intentionally welcoming diverse experiences and viewpoints – though never easy – is a true accelerant to growth. 

We have continued to diversify the BV team over the past 15 months, and it is already leading to exciting opportunities to re-energize our current business and expand our reach into new industries where Bureau Veritas can add tremendous value. 

 An entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just for start-ups. It’s been more than 20 years since I started my career at a start-up: a small but successful staffing agency in Russia that was eventually acquired by a Fortune 500 leader. It was an adjustment for me to operate within that larger corporate structure, and it taught all of us a lesson that has stayed with me: entrepreneurship is invaluable at companies of all sizes. New market opportunities and client challenges are constantly arising that require fresh approaches, innovative problem-solving, and all-in commitment to success.

When that entrepreneurial passion is adopted by an entire team at a large company, the energy is palpable and the forward momentum is unstoppable.

At Bureau Veritas, this enables us to bring our teams’ exceptional skills and uncompromising standards into even more industries, multiplying our ability to create a safer, more sustainable world for us all. It’s exciting to know that we are a key player in helping our clients manage their risks and bring safer food and higher-quality products into millions of people’s homes every day. Our impact on the world is limited only by our imagination. And at Bureau Veritas, we imagine big things!

More than ever, speed to market separates the winners and the laggards. The testing and inspection work that Bureau Veritas does every day is, by its very nature, extremely methodical and precise. Our clients rely on us to be an unbiased resource to give them the true assessment of their products, food, environments, assets, systems, processes, etc., and we are 100% committed to delivering on that promise. However, the way we run the business requires speed and agility. That’s why diversification and entrepreneurship are the key predecessors to speed. Even as we keep an unrelenting eye on the perfection of our work in the field, our leadership team needs to always be exploring new opportunities and be ready to reject or seize them—quickly. The modern world of business does not favor the laggards, and the last few decades are strewn with companies that crumbled under the weight of their own hesitation. I have always been a fierce proponent of speed, and I believe it holds tremendous opportunity for Bureau Veritas.

The faster we learn to make smart decisions, the faster we can accelerate our growth trajectory and our positive impact on the world.

Diversification, entrepreneurship, and speed. It’s a powerful combination that is propelling our success at Bureau Veritas, and can be the key to unlocking the potential of any company or leadership team. It all starts with curiosity and a desire to learn more about the world and the work around us.  

We should never stop asking, “What did you learn today?” At our dinner tables, around our board rooms, and in our own mirrors. The answers will make us wiser people, more competitive companies, and stronger leaders. And if you ever find yourself without a quick response on any of those levels, you know it’s time to diversify your experiences.

At Bureau Veritas, I’m proud that we take the challenge one step further by adding, “How can we use that learning to help our clients and communities live safer, healthier, happier lives?” It’s a question we will never stop asking, and I can’t wait to see where the answers take us in the next 500 days.