Interview d'Alumni : Christophe Hanckowiak, Information Management Regional Manager, Eurocopter

Christophe Hanckowiak (ISG Promo 1996) est Information Management Regional Manager pour Eurocopter et basé à Texas Arlington (USA). Il partage avec nous son expérience.

Can you present the company in which you work ?

Established in 1992, the Franco-German Eurocopter Group is a division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace and defense-related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. There are currently more than 11,300 Eurocopter helicopters in service in 149 countries. We support over 2,900 customers. In 2011, we confirmed our position as the world's number one helicopter manufacturer with sales of 5.4 billion Euros, orders for 457 new helicopters and a 43 percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. Overall, the Group's helicopters account for 33 percent of the worldwide civil and parapublic fleet. Eurocopter's strong international presence is ensured by its subsidiaries and participations in 21 countries.

Can you tell us about your occupation (job) in a few sentences ?

I am based near Dallas, TX at our American subsidiaries, even though I work for the French headquarter. As Information Management Regional Manager for the Americas (I know it's a long title!) I manage all Information Management activities (IS + IT) including core applications, enterprise systems and infrastructure integration between the EC Group IM and all subsidiaries, affiliates and partners in the region. We have a total of 5 subsidiaries in the Americas (Canada, US, Mexico, Chile and Brazil) including 2 of the 3 largest of the Group with the US and Brazil). I cover a total of 8 sites with a total staff of 50+ IM employees. Due to my job and responsibilities I am spending over 50% of my time traveling either in the region or in Europe ... but I love it!

Why did you choose to live abroad? And more specifically in this country ?

I was always attracted by the US ... probably because my father was coming here so much for business that I've always wanted to see it and discover it by myself. ... so the choice of the United States was very natural to me. I had an opportunity to come to the US in 1995 for my ISG internship, which I did in Nashville, TN. It was a great experience in the heart of the country music world! During this internship I decided to pursue the adventure and moved to Texas to start a dual master program at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). I graduated in 1998 with an MBA and a MS in Management Information Systems. After school I had to do my military duties and decided to do a CSNE in the USA for Eurocopter (working at the American Eurocopter subsidiary, which hired my afterwards) ... To make a long story short, I now have been in the US for 17 years and I hold a US citizenship. I married a French woman (met in the US) but both of my children are born in the US.

What memories do you keep at ISG ?

I have great memories from my years at ISG. It was a fun time yet very enriching and diversified.

What do you think that ISG has brought you in retrospect ?

Today most people are specialized in an area but have no clue what is happening next door (meaning in other departments). By having this broad understanding of how companies function, I was able to quickly show how different my training was and why I was bringing something special to the table.
In my first years at Eurocopter, back in 1998, I became in charge of deploying CRM in the US. I used that ISG training every single day!

Can you give three tips for young ISG ?

(1) Be passionate ... make sure you enjoy what you are doing. Don't settle just for a job that pays bills! It will make the next 40 years or so of your life so much easier.

(2) Get competitive ... Think of every project as a challenge and set out to do your assignment better than anybody else. Make sure you surprise everyone, including yourself (!), by doing outstanding work, and be proud of it. Once you enter the business world, make sure to keep this attitude.

(3) Be ethical in everything you do ... Jack Welch wrote (talking about his 275,000 employees while CEO of GE) "(...) they don't need a policeman, or a judge. They only need their consciences as they face the mirror each morning". This is so important in today's companies and it will be, I believe, a key piece of the puzzle that will help you get far! It has been for me!

... that being said, don't forget to also have fun!