Meeting with Adrianne Chinetti, head of PT Yasulor (Indonesian subsidiary of L’Oréal specialized in manufacturing operations)

Adrianne Chinetti : After my Bachelor degree, my first aspiration was to be in the army as a pilot in the Air Force, so I did 2 years of Military Engineering School. But I quickly realized that it was not my world, so I decided to go for my second passion: Perfumes and Cosmetics!

I continued my studies in a general engineering school in the North of France named ICAM, covering technical knowledge and management skills. It gave me the basics on plastics, physics, mechanics, electricity etc. and also taught me about management. During this period I also spent 6 months in Germany doing research on plastics. It was a rich experience where I met people from all nationalities which clearly opened my eyes and widened my horizons with regards to internationalization. After that I finished my advanced studies with an internship at L’Oreal (Rambouillet factory in France) as an Operator, Filling Leader and UP Engineer.

But my real professional learning comes from the field. I have always worked for L’Oreal where I have been very lucky to be offered different exciting and challenging positions over the years. I began in Chimex, in Pau, where I worked on the project of production transfer between le Thillay and Mourenx. After 2 years I took the position of Process Leader, and then UP Manager. I strengthened my technical and chemical knowledge, but most importantly I learned that being a manager is being responsible for your people and for whatever happens to them.

I then moved to Paris, to Product Development for the Garnier brand. I worked on sun care products first, and then on all Garnier products for the Eastern market. We launched deodorants, coloration and more. I really loved the development job, especially the interaction with DMIs, R&I, Zones, Packaging, factories etc. The excitement to create something new is the heart of our company somehow and our team was great.

After 3 years, I went to China to develop the CPD (Consumer Product Division) development team. Still development and its excitement but another adventure: new cultures, new suppliers, a market under construction, a new cosmopolitan team, and a fascinating city: Shanghai. I stayed there for three and a half years.

And for the last 2 years I have been in Yasulor. Accepting to be the director of this factory was a challenge. To be honest, I hesitated at the beginning but I have been really well guided by my manager. We speak about cost to produce and cost to serve. Today, as a Factory Director, it means to be able to control all the areas, while developing flexibility to answer to moving markets. But in Yasulor, you do that the Indonesian way: embrace the challenges with a smile and a great team spirit!

Adrianne Chinetti : I cannot remember any time in my professional life when being a woman generated an obstacle. I always had open-minded managers in this respect (often women themselves). For me, at work, being a woman is a “non topic”: I try to be myself, with my strengths and weaknesses. And I try to do my best, for my team, for the company and to enjoy doing my job on a daily basis. I think everybody is motivated and driven by the same principles, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or religion. But for sure being a working mother requires organizational skills to be able to conciliate professional and personal time. We try more and more to base the evaluation of people’s performance on deliverables and not on time spent in the office. We are still in a learning process but we are getting there.

Adrianne Chinetti : Economic performance and gender are not antagonists. As I said previously, before giving a chance to a gender we always give a chance to the individual. There are as many skilled women as there are skilled men. I can promise that since we have many in Yasulor.

The challenge is more about convincing the market and the candidates of their own capacities and to continuously challenge them to exceed and improve their knowledge and professional capabilities. We have to provide the opportunities for all individuals that aim for perfection and encourage their continuous improvement to reach it.

We need to give to women the confidence to take more responsibilities, to show them that they can be excellent in their job while being good wives and mothers if that is what they feel they need. We need to give the example. And I think that women in management positions have a responsibility for that as well.

Adrianne Chinetti : Probably the fact that most women have their babies in their early 30s, which happens to be the time when men grow in responsibility. Then the difficulty to conciliate professional and personal life and the frustration that can occur in both areas.Finally the fact that women are sometimes less confident in their capacity/skills (that’s what my men managers are telling me at least).

I think the key battle is to allow women to enjoy work and responsibilities, while giving them time for their family. Every woman will have her own limit, same thing for men. It is up to the individual to align this and is up to the management and HR to support and find solutions that can bring win-win results.

Ultimately it is up to the individual to identify what drives them and motivates them to improve themselves. Modern tools convey a lot of solutions, but we must end the idea that work dedication is measured in office hours, that part time work is a parking lot… Also, we should open again the doors of career evolution for women who are a bit older, have fewer responsibilities within the family and are ready for professional challenges.

This said, changes take time, I believe we are on the right path in L’Oreal for that. But as managers we have a role to play by giving the example in this field and empower women in their working lives.

Interview by Christina Hillebrand (L’Oréal) and Marie Donzel, for the EVE blog, with the involvement of Stéphanie Oueda (L’Oréal).