From a very young age, I've always had this desire, this deeply rooted conviction, to contribute to a positive impact, to "make sense." But these were convictions, not a profession. During my studies at HEC and then as I began my career, I had a professional project that was both very clear and not at all precise...

When I started, it was truly groundbreaking: sustainability, impact, it wasn't compatible with business. It was disruptive. My professional project was often poorly received, criticized. But I persisted. I remember an article in Le Monde about fair trade. It was one of my first inspirations. I thought to myself, "It exists, it's possible." And so, from one possibility to another, from small seeds scattered here and there around the world, adventures were written. I've been committed to impact, sustainability, responsibility, in my work and in my life for twenty years now. I find meaning and passion in it, fueling my drive to continue. 

I had my first experiences in the nonprofit sector - in West Africa, in Canada - and then I chose to join the private sector because I saw the possibility of generating an impact on a much larger scale. I took on the challenge of mobilizing the forces of business in a positive way. And I promised myself never to forget why I made this choice. 

I spent the first decade of my career in the water sector: preserving a resource as rare as water, ensuring access to this resource for health, food security, large cities in emerging countries, rural communities... After 2 years based in Chicago working for a leading global environmental services company, I was deeply questioning. We could do so much better, go so much further.

I was very young, but I had nothing to lose, so I wrote to the management. In a few words, the message was: a virtuous company creates value for society and the planet, and in return, it creates the conditions for its sustainable growth. Profit and impact, it's both. I threw this message in a bottle; I didn't necessarily expect a response, but I wanted to be true to myself and say that I had tried.

I encountered wonderful leaders, and a position was created for me at the headquarters in Paris. Let's give it a try. We are making inroads, new markets, creative solutions to align our business imperatives with our long-term sustainability goals. And from social business to impact investing, from pilot projects to mass markets, from partnerships with other companies, rural communities, development banks, researchers, and innovators, from sustainable supply chains to ecosystem restoration... solutions emerged, and sustainability became ingrained in the business model of major corporations. 

I am now a global director in charge of sustainable and smart agriculture for a leading international company in the agri-food sector. I am passionate about my job, which gives me the opportunity and responsibility to generate impact. 

I'm not exactly sure where this passion comes from, probably from my childhood. I am of Mexican father and Franco-German mother descent. I grew up in a very cosmopolitan neighborhood in the south of France. All of this has given me the opportunity since I was very young to see very different situations, to become aware that we're not all handed the same cards, to question the meaning, the scope of our actions, the role each of us can play. My grandfather was a prisoner of war. He became a farmer. I find these agricultural roots in my work. 

Going back to the topic of company, there is the notion of transition, of transforming the business model of an organization. So that, little by little, people, capital, resources, teams, the company's model can be redirected or reinforced to create value, impact, and meaning. This requires patience, courage, concrete and demonstrative examples.

In many cases, it's necessary to demonstrate very concretely that these new business models work and deliver, in order to then accelerate, attract capital, and scale up. But a big part of my work is understanding point A before thinking about going to point B, it's identifying the starting point.

A company always does at least one thing particularly well. It's this strength that needs to be identified, then defining an authentic, credible project that reinforces these strengths. That's where creativity comes in to reconcile business imperatives with a sustainable vision. It requires pragmatism and empathy to engage individuals and organizations. Part of this work is very factual, analytical, quantifiable. It's precise and concrete. Another part involves individuals, relationships, communication, emotional intelligence. It's dynamic, and it speaks to the heart and gut. 

Today, as a leader, I have a responsibility to carry. The transition from intensive agriculture to sustainable and regenerative agriculture must be driven with ambition, with will, with rigor..., while recognizing the time needed for natural cycles. The power of impact is to multiply all resources by finding them wherever they are.

There is a potential in every employee, a well of resources and passion that, in a routine and uninteresting job, remains untapped, but if understood, revealed, and encouraged, can achieve great things. And if a company's mission and a leader's role allow to unlock this potential in each employee, then the collective strength of that organization becomes something else entirely. All resources are then oriented towards creating value, and the company, like its ecosystem, feeds into a virtuous model. 

Everyone in a company, deep down, is interested, driven by the opportunity to contribute to something useful and virtuous. No one is fundamentally driven by the desire to destroy our resources or do things that make no sense. It's just that the subtlety lies in finding each person where they are and creating a partnership. When you're able to tap into an individual's motivation and values in their work, it's no longer just a job, it's a passion. 

The company I work for directly sources from over 3,500 farmers, potato producers worldwide - often we have the opportunity to work with the 2nd or 3rd generation of farmers from the same family. We have a long-term relationship with these farmers whom we consider our partners. And after all these years, we see that climate change is visibly impacting them. Droughts, floods, diseases, and recurring and extreme weather events jeopardize the resilience of our farmers, their ability to make a living from their profession, and their competitiveness.

It is our responsibility to support them in the face of climate change, just as they have supported us for decades. It's our turn to support them and find ways to restore soil health, make the agricultural sector sustainable, and more competitive in the long term.

We have committed to having 100% of our potato cultivation areas adopt regenerative agricultural practices by 2030. Practices that regenerate soils, promote biodiversity, optimize water and agricultural input use, and contribute to offering healthy and sustainable products to our customers and consumers.

Driving this transition requires identifying pioneering farmers who are eager to test new agricultural practices or who have already done so and seen results, engaging with the next generation of farmers who want to take up the profession, and ensuring that these economically and technically viable models can work. We invite our farmers to be part of this transition, to come and share their perspectives on these practices. It's a long-term collective effort. 

I believe that each of us has the opportunity and even the duty to be a changemaker. With every action we take, at every moment of our career or life, we have the chance to decide, to make a choice, and to choose a cause to invest ourselves in. There are many causes worthy of commitment. But I'm thinking of all the farmers, men and women I've met over the years, these remarkable individuals in rural communities I visit all over the world: they are the real changemakers. They are far too humble to realize it, but they are the ones who inspire me the most. 

At the heart of this transition lies the new generation. A generation for whom sustainability, social, and environmental impact are the norm, the expectation, rightly so. I don't want to disappoint this generation. I have been deeply disappointed by some and greatly inspired by others myself.

Perhaps this is my greatest motivation today: to live up to the very legitimate expectations of the younger ones, those who expect leaders to act in favor of economic, social, and climate justice. I consider working in sustainability both a chance and a responsibility. I strive, as best I can, to act with exemplary behavior. Aristotle wrote: 'We are what we repeatedly do.' So, I try to ensure that every day, every meeting, every trip, every decision, every exchange or idea, counts repeatedly and contributes to making a small difference. 

I believe that every day we must ask ourselves, challenge ourselves, reinvent ourselves, have the courage to ask, 'What am I going to do today?' I don't believe in 'business as usual': in business, either you have the courage to make a decision that elevates and enriches your company and its ecosystem, or you destroy or impoverish it. There is no neutrality or 'just passing by.' It's up to each of us to act. 

And I also believe that the only sustainable business model, the only one that lasts and creates value, is the win-win. There is no lasting model that allows you to enrich yourself by impoverishing others. There is no worthwhile battle for a tiny piece of the pie. There is: joining forces to make the pie grow so much that then everyone will have more than enough to have their share. 

Another important point is to remain optimistic, even if it's difficult given the world we live in. I try to cultivate a form of humble confidence. The humility to acknowledge all that we do not know and all that remains to be done. The confidence to remember: it's possible with great effort. And if we decide to do that humbly, we have the power to do great things, so that's what motivates me.

I have met too many people who move mountains and give no excuses, and I owe them this optimism. I owe it to them to believe in what they do. I owe it to myself to support and strengthen what they do as much as possible. So, that's rather my optimism, without being naive and unaware of the world we live in, but to say to oneself that there are small cracks that we can make grow. 

Finally, being a changemaker also means being generous. Personally, I may have spent about 10 years of my career giving without expecting anything in return. It's more of a way of being than a calculation. And then there came a point in my career when I started receiving solicitations, requests, opportunities from all over the world. Join this board, give that interview, advise that leader, take on that responsibility... I didn't understand it right away, and then I realized that the person I had helped ten years ago, twenty years ago, had a breakthrough and made their way, they referred to someone else, and here I am with this position, that recommendation, this press article. Thus, networks are created, fruitful connections grow. Maybe that's why we're talking today. Who knows.