Since it began in 2010, the EVE international seminar has trained almost 1,800 managers and leaders. In all, 94% have returned full of enthusiasm after this experience and, even several years later, have spoken to us about what has changed for them in their professional and personal lives.

Before the opening of the seventh EVE International seminar, let’s hear from those women for whom EVE marked a turning point in their lives.

 

Raising awareness

 

“EVE was a real wake-up call for me. I left convinced that I could do much more than what I had already been doing on a daily basis (in terms of diversity).”

Laurent Venot, L’Oréal

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

“The tone was well-pitched and balanced, especially because of the men who had been invited. At the same time, I also found it interesting that there were fewer of us men than there were women, because this configuration allowed me to understand first hand the gap that exists between talking about a problem and experiencing one: for the first time I was in a minority!”

Jean-Marc Lagoutte, Danone

 

 

Decentering experience, learning about recentering

 

“I left EVE with the firm belief that limits are more inside our own minds than in the real world.”

Caroline Nicaise, Crédit Agricole

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

“Since EVE, I now know that I can do things differently. I know that even when my diary is packed, even though there are constant emergencies, and we have our noses to the grindstone, at some point or another we have to get back to what is essential.”

Isabelle Garrouste, Crédit Agricole S.A.

 

“EVE creates curiosity. Even better, it creates a network that is founded on curiosity. And a solid and promising network, a real goldmine of genuine relationships that are built to last. It infuses you with the energy to make it work for you, in your life, in your team, in your environment…”

Jean-Christophe Laugée, Danone

 

 

A thousand and one inspirations

 

“EVE is a fantastic opportunity to be inspired.”

Veranita Yosephine, Danone

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

“My openness to the world was triggered by the EVE seminar.”

Aude Barth, Orange

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

“It’s an exceptional program, a unique experience of encounters with exemplary women.”

Christine Lagrée, Caisse des Dépots

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

 

The power of the motto “Dare to be yourself and unlash your potential”

 

“At EVE, I learned to listen to myself better, to draw out the resources I needed to move forward. I believe that EVE is a unique program, thanks to its focus on personal development that helps each person to move forward in their own way and at their own speed, without feeling guilty or hindering the progress of anyone around them.”

Anne-Claire Berg, Danone

 

“I left this program with the feeling that we can all gain by daring to be more authentic and staying true to ourselves.”

Carole Toniutti, KPMG

 

“When I returned to work after EVE, I asked all my teams to dare. As a community, men and women of the company, let’s dare to act as a diverse group.”

David Brainville, SNCF

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

“EVE was a realization that you need to accept your own choices. Once you understood that, a huge amount of options open up in front of you.”

Julie Caredda, KPMG

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

 

Spirit of transformation

“What makes EVE different from other, perhaps similar initiatives, is that the accent is placed on ‘being’ and not ‘doing’. The deep ‘being’ of individuals helps to articulate the intellectual, physical, spiritual and emotional dimensions of each person.  Yes, there is definitely a real lever for transformation right there.”

Diego Gaspari, Crédit Agricole S.A.

Complete interview in the EVE webzine.

 

“At first, EVE was a real breath of fresh air, an energetic booster for enthusiasm. In the long term it meant taking a step back, looking at interactions in another way: I now approach management situations with greater insight. And with boosted confidence. And more boldness too, which is a result of being more confident. I realized at EVE that in reality, I had long been hoping that I could start being myself, being confident, to stop behaving in the way that people expected me to, but rather to define my own model. This realization transformed me.”

Marie Guillemot, KPMG

 

 

Towards the leadership of tomorrow

“I became fully aware of my responsibilities as a manager and this helped me to define the sort of leader I want to be, a person who conveys real values and has a positive impact.”

Sara Righenzi, KPMG

 

“The EVE program expresses a vision of leadership that had a big impact on me.  What Joanna Barsh said about ‘sponsoring’, which involves pushing the other person using their own momentum, and supporting them positively, is a golden rule. Someone did that for me, and that’s what I want to do now with my own teams.”

Bénédicte Javelot, Orange

 

“After taking part in EVE, I changed my management style: I learned how to manage remotely, and how to give a vision, and influence in a very collaborative way, through partnership.”

Allessandra Mangionne, L’Oréal

Complete interview available in the Those Who Dared series

 

Quotations have been selected and presented by Marie Donzel and Valérie Amalou. Translation : Ruth Simpson.