David Gousset

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT DAVID GOUSSET

Passionate and curious in everything I do. Simplicity, Integrity and Creativity are my other values.I spent much time working in the family business during my studies. I learned about the value of hard work, teamwork, customer loyalty, and the importance of innovation, no matter the company\'s size.Following chartered accountant studies in Paris and a first eyes opening experience of six months in the UK, I decided to work abroad, move out of my comfort zone, and change a have a well-planned life. In my working experiences, I have switched back and forth from finance to operations roles to move to general management finally. 1) Finance roles in Logistics, Retail and Consulting- Reporting, budgeting- ERP Implementation- Building Internal Audit, implementation of SOX Compliance - Financing- Recruiting, developing, and training back office team (Finance, HR, Marketing, IT and Legal) to support business growth 2) Operations roles in Commercial Real Estate and LogisticI regularly moved out of my comfort zone (finance, support functions) to better understand the core business- I developed the first warehousing network in Russia. Visited all main cities and sources, rented warehouses, recruited and, with the support of the central office, trained the teams and finally commercialised it. This move from finance to operations made me see business not only as figures, spreadsheets and PowerPoint but also as made by real people, for real people- Four years later, I did it again, but on another level. I built a development company with 60 employees supporting land sourcing, design, construction, procurement, marketing, leasing, finance, cost control and legal. We develop the largest Class A warehousing network in key Russian cities.3) General management in Logistics, Retail - Commercial Real Estate, Consulting- Reorganise with the executive team, a logistic operator, to get back to profitability- Set up real estate development capabilities for IKEA business lines (Stores, shopping centres and warehouses). Manage a team of 200+- First experience as an entrepreneur. Develop, and drive a consulting company focused on soft skills, talent management and employee motivation. I am grateful to have worked in many diverse, multicultural environments, both in start-up mode and large multinational companies. All these companies had one thing in common: number 1 in their market. It was very demanding but also a great source of motivation.