Valerie Huet

Meet Valerie Huet. Partner & Alliances Director, Western EMEA

• A Technology Industry expert
• With Hitachi for 6 years
• Born and raised in Paris, France
  
  

Leading a Diverse Team

When I became the Western Europe manager, it really opened my eyes to the different cultures and profiles of employees we have here at Hitachi. This can bring challenges with the different languages, different profiles of employees from scientists to engineers with varying maturity. Having such rich diversity makes us a strong team, I have learnt that everyone brings something different to the table and everyone has the possibility to grow.

Helping the team to balance their health and wellness is really important. For example, people from the Nordics may not be working at the same time as the ones from Italy and certainly would have a different way of life. I’m always discussing with my team about our personal lives; trying to understand how they are working and how they are living – this makes them comfortable to share their reservations and concerns with me. They are free to say: “Hey, Valerie. I need some time for my personal life, Ok?”. Overall, it works. There is trust and care. I want my team to feel good and I want them to succeed. Coaching and mentoring are really satisfying.

Keeping the Balance

Like everyone, I work a lot. But I always try to keep a level of balance and aim for one personal project every year to feed and nourish my brain. It could be about growing my gold handicap or moving house. This helps me stay focused and allows me to forget about work. Having a balanced life and approach towards everything has a great impact personally and professionally. It makes me think differently about how to address my teams’ challenges and to evolve my own way of living. Work fulfils us, but having personal projects outside of work is good for the soul.