Meeting with Danielle Dufour, Head of Regional Clients in France
Can you present your job and your missions? Is being a woman an advantage or a handicap for you?
I am Head of Regional Clients at CA Indosuez Wealth (France). We cover a large part of France through 6 offices in Lyon, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lille and Toulouse.
My mission is to unite men and women around an ambitious and evolving client project. Ambitious because the wealthy clients that we support, particularly business leaders, expect answers in terms of offers, process and prospects. Scalable, because the world is changing at breakneck speed. We have to invent things and not just replicate them, which is what artificial intelligence does very well. Our clients want to make sense of their investments. They want to share emotions, to share experiences with each other, to meet innovative projects and we must be at their side to help them do so. In our business, management positions are rarely entrusted to women because they require great availability due to the breadth of subjects and numerous trips, which are not always easy to reconcile with a family life that must remain precious and balanced. Nevertheless, I am proud to have recently recruited a woman as the Director of the Nantes branch.
What is your point of view on diversity?
The world of wealth management is unsuspected for its dynamism. It requires a wide range of skills, regardless of gender. Enthusiasm, curiosity and interest in human capital are the main catalysts. Beyond gender diversity, I therefore believe that diversity is essential.
How do you combine professional and personal life?
In order to succeed in reconciling a very busy professional life and family life, organisation is the key word. You also have to know how to trust and delegate to those around you, and not hesitate to recruit talented employees to fertilise our ecosystem.
How do you see the company's development in terms of gender diversity?
Crédit Agricole is committed to promoting gender diversity. It is embodied by its Chief Executive Officer, and the women of the Group are very generous towards those who could support them and contribute to increasing the number of women in management positions in particular. However, a woman's career in a couple is very often considered secondary. It is up to each woman to think deeply to define her priorities and her level of fulfillment, and up to the company to help them make their choices.
What advice would you give to the younger generation?
I would advise people who are considering a similar position to encourage diversity in order to create a circular dynamic and agile bridges between everyone. I would summarise the required qualities in 3 points.
- Brain: to be constantly intellectually nourished, to read, to think...
- Courage: to be consistent in effort and mood, and being able to absorb hazards because at the end of the day the only constant is change!
- Heart: you can't do this job without loving people deeply. Affectivity and closeness are essential to make them progress and evolve oneself.
February 24, 2020