Jean Pierre MOTA, VISCONTI Partner Coach, welcomes Xavier Daubignard, CEO of SPIE ICS, today.

Who is Xavier Daubignard?

Xavier, 49, with three children, is an engineer by training and for 18 years, he has worked for the SPIE group, an independent European leader in multi-technical services in the field of energy and communications.

For the past three years, Xavier has been managing director of SPIE's French subsidiary dedicated to digital transformation jobs, called SPIE ICS.

What are the major steps that led Xavier to become CEO of SPIE ICS?

Xavier has been present in the SPIE group for 18 years. Three words summarize his career: loyalty, commitment and entrepreneurship. It was important for Xavier to evolve in a group that promotes entrepreneurship and that has strong values: proximity, performance and responsibility.

Xavier has held six different positions at SPIE. Their common components: transformation challenges and important change management to be implemented (to bring entities closer together or strategically pivot...).

The last challenge he was given was the takeover of the group's ESN: SPIE ICS.

Is it difficult to change sectors of activity?

Rather, Xavier sees this change in sector as a great opportunity to understand a new market, that of digital technology, which reacts differently from the markets linked to the energy transition where it used to evolve.

This forced him to question himself, to carry out phases of understanding and actively listening to the environment. This change was therefore not seen as a difficulty but as an opportunity and Xavier took up this position with great enthusiasm, humility and curiosity.

In his external growth approach, how does Xavier choose his targets? What are the conditions for success for an acquisition to go well?

External growth is part of the SPIE group's development model and, even more so, for digital service activities. This field is still extremely fragmented, so there are still great opportunities for growth.

The digital field is also evolving very quickly and it is always necessary to renew oneself in order to offer customers technological offers corresponding to their needs. There is therefore a need to focus on external growth.

To buy companies it is important to look at several points.

- The acquisition must correspond to the strategy of both companies: the purchaser and the transferor. The industrial project built must make sense for both parties.

- The second point of vigilance concerns the sharing of values and the need to have a common cultural base. Xavier would not embark on an acquisition without being certain that the targeted company shares SPIE's fundamental values.

This core of values must be perfectly embodied by the management team.

People and culture: these two points are fundamental in the acquisition of a business.

Focus on the acquisition of Infidis

With Infidis, we are illustrating the first point: that is to say, the strategic alignment SPIE ICS had formulated, when Xavier arrived, a new strategic plan for the 2020-2025 term of office with six strategic axes.

Infidis corresponded to one of the axes, that of penetrating more strongly into the field of services around the data center. So it was natural that they were interested in this company.

How does the integration of a company of 100 people into a group of more than 3000 employees happen?

There is always a risk. It is obvious that this represents a significant change and that parameters will be changed. But SPIE knows how to make the teams feel integrated and keep the spirit of entrepreneurs.

Infidis was above all a team of 60 entrepreneurs who wanted to give their company a future. They needed to enrich their offer in terms of technological coverage.

The industrial project built together therefore responded to the strategic will of the two companies. Joining a group requires changing the contours of the playing field.

There are principles to respect, tools to put in place to establish a common vocabulary. This unavoidably causes transformations. But care must be taken to preserve the ability of the purchased company to continue operating its business, because this is the first reason for its acquisition.

Three big tips for our listeners?

Among the best practices that lead to success when acquiring companies, Xavier would mention:

- Quickly integrate the purchased companies into the purchaser's information system. It is necessary to speak a common vocabulary, especially in terms of management;

- Ensure a good level of communication is maintained. During the acquisition, a joint industrial project is defined. In this integration phase, which must be carried out with great rigor, communication plays a central role.

There is a lot of acculturation, with support from the management team that joins SPIE ICS. A lot of energy must therefore be invested in communication and common understanding in order to respect both parties;

- Do not oversolicit the purchased company. There is always this risk, when acquiring a smaller company that must continue to operate. There is a promise of business continuity and the creation of additional value.

It is therefore necessary to regulate the way in which external growth teams are solicited to avoid “overwhelming” them with requests.

In conclusion, when the industrial project is well built, we collectively write a very good page