[PROFILE] Frédéric VANDUYNSLAEGER - A Ch'ti in New York

Can you introduce yourself in a few words :

My name is Frederic Vanduynslaeger (Grande École 1998) and I'm originally from the North of France.  I graduated in 1998, specializing in "Audit and International Management".  

I'm 49, married to an IÉSEG graduate [Audrey Duflot] from the same year, and have 3 children (21, 19 and 15). I now live in New York, where multiculturalism is so prevalent that pronouncing my name is not a problem!  

I joined IÉSEG in 1993 after passing my baccalauréat C, at a time when the school was a rising star. Even back then, the international nature of the curriculum appealed to me. In my fourth year, I went to Leeds (England) as an exchange student. I was tempted by Arizona, which I'd discovered on a Wild West raid in high school. However, I didn't take the plunge at the time, preferring the proximity of a country already so different from our own, despite being just across the Channel! In my fifth year, I chose to take the DEA in Management Science (from the University of Lille 2) at the same time as those at IÉSEG, so as to obtain both diplomas at the end of the year, thanks to joint courses on corporate strategy in particular, and a joint dissertation as well.  

What memories do you have of your studies at IÉSEG? Any anecdotes that stood out for you during your studies?  

I've definitely picked up a lot of anecdotes over the years. Looking back, I'd say that what stood out for me was that students worked a lot - sometimes in last-minute mode, with late nights spent in the computer room completing reports (hey, yeah! Not everyone had a laptop back then!) - and had a lot of fun too. Student life was really dynamic, and belonging to the Catho was a plus. To illustrate, the IÉSEG gala evening was a really cool event, but it was also nice to go to the annual gala of the Icam (Institut Catholique des Arts et Métiers) for example.  

Do you still keep in touch with your classmates? with the school? 

I remember being told: "The friends you make here are your best friends for life!  

For a number of years after graduation, my wife and I kept in touch with our best friends from IÉSEG. There were marriages, children and so on. Then, with time and distance, contact became less frequent. But when we exchange news, we still feel close. And it's also great to meet up with friends you've lost touch with for a long time or so, and realize just how far you've come.  

Otherwise, I've always kept in touch with the École, and I've been to the premises in Lille and then La Défense several times, to take part in workshops or conferences organized by the alumni network, for entrance exams, for the École's 50th anniversary gala, etc. And I've been impressed by the atmosphere. And I've been impressed by its evolution and influence over the last few decades.  

What have been the milestones in your professional career? Where are you today?  

I've changed companies seven times in the 26 years I've been working for the company, which represents as many different stages for me.  

In my fifth year, I was lucky enough to do my final dissertation with KPMG Consulting. KPMG was the sponsor of our class. At the time, the big audit and consulting firms weren't yet recruiting many IÉSEG graduates. I got a job as an auditor in KPMG's Lille office. For me, it was the best way to start my career, while also putting off for a while the choice of a business sector in which to specialize.  

Then consolidation came calling: I had an opportunity that I seized to join the conso department of Atos (SSII), which was then merging with Origin, Philips' IT subsidiary.  

After auditing major accounts in the North of France, such as Auchan and Bonduelle, I discovered the international arena, with subsidiaries on different continents.  

I then wanted to continue with consolidation, but return to the firm in a consulting role, rather than as an auditor. In my mind, I couldn't see myself starting my career in consulting. I felt I needed to have acquired experience in a particular field.  

That's when I left my native Nord for the Paris region. The years I spent at PwC in Advisory were just what I was looking for; I was involved in projects to set up reporting-consolidation tools for major groups such as Total, and in assisting with accounts production at GDF, among others.  

When I left PwC, I went back to the corporate world, to banking to be precise. I didn't think it was possible to work in the banking sector because I hadn't specialized in it, but it was my function - reporting-consolidation - that led me there. My decision was to take up a managerial position, to work with a team over a longer period of time and with all its components.  

And from banking - HSBC - I moved into insurance a few years later, joining the Insurance division of the Crédit Agricole Group, still in Paris. I broadened my scope of responsibilities and my managerial experience. The decade I spent there flew by with so many interesting projects, challenges, developments and encounters.  

The next stage at BNP Paribas Cardif gave me a greater level of responsibility and management than at Crédit Agricole, but ultimately represented a form of change that was too much a part of continuity at a time in my career when I wanted to give concrete expression to my desire for international experience (because my scope was France; BNP could have offered expatriation opportunities, but not for a few years...).  

Joining Moody's Analytics in Paris was quite a cultural change after all those years spent in groups of French origin. I was looking to get back into a consulting role, with customer facing, and in an international context on a daily basis. So I worked on developing the IFRS 17 solution, marketing it and implementing it for insurers and reinsurers in the EMEA zone.  

I then took advantage of the pandemic period to prepare my relocation project and make it a reality. With the support of a business case, I was transferred to the New York office. Today, I'm a Customer Success Manager for our insurance and reinsurance customers in the Americas, developing and strengthening our partnerships.  

My next step could be to realize another dream I've always had: to become an entrepreneur! Achieving it in the US would be particularly exhilarating!  

What is your proudest professional achievement?    

Overall, I'm proud to have followed my own path and to have made choices in line with my convictions. My greatest source of pride is my expatriation to New York at Moody's Headquarters in the World Trade Center, close to Wall Street. Quite a symbol for me, having spent my entire career in the financial sector. I'm delighted to have had a vision, an ambition, and to have succeeded in achieving it. I'm also delighted that my family will be able to benefit from this exceptional experience.  

Do you have any advice for the final class?    

Do something you enjoy and believe in your dreams: nothing is impossible! Even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unknown, you'll be incredibly proud to have taken the plunge afterwards!    

Do you have a question?   

- Email: frederic.vanduynslaeger@gmail.com  

- LinkedIn