Testimonial Manager – Hervé Serre

It is thanks to our pool of more than 12,000 Interim Managers on assignment in more than 12 countries that Reactive Executive remains a trusted and excellent partner. You have given us the opportunity to share your testimonials and it is with pleasure that we wish to highlight your experiences!

Discover all the advice from our Interim Managers, experts in their role, to succeed in this job!

Introduce yourself !

Hello, I am Hervé SERRE, I am 62 years old. I have a long career in France and abroad, at Bouygues Construction. I worked for 16 years abroad as head of offshore projects and head of subsidiaries. I was then, for 11 years, at the head of a Parisian subsidiary working in multi-technical maintenance and Facilities Management; 11 years to go from a turnover of 10 M€ to 120 M€. Finally, I was, for 10 years, Manager of a company that I created in 2009 and sold at the end of 2019 (10 years of strong growth, 10 M€ turnover and 70 employees at the sale).

Since mid-2020, I have been offering my skills as an Interim Manager within companies working in the building construction and public works environment.

What does interim management bring you?

Interim management is a great opportunity to offer multiple skills acquired during years of career rich in management, organization, and development.

The questioning, at each mission, the discovery of the company, its skills, its people and their professions is a real pleasure which leads to analysis, reflection, and the acceptance of differences.

The results of the strategies implemented are rapid. It’s intoxicating because we see a lot of recognition from General Management and the men and women we manage directly.

What do you bring to companies?

My years of experience in the world of construction are rich in events that allow me to have the right reflexes, to take the step back necessary for any organizational change, to avoid errors, to anticipate hazards and to secure the growth.

I therefore provide companies with the capacity for a broad vision to secure a new organization, to succeed in its possible turnaround, to ensure the future, to put management tools in place, to energize commercial action by structuring it and by giving it the benefit of a large network of customers and partners.

What are your first actions when starting a mission?

First of all, it is essential to ensure a good understanding of the mission by reviewing the key points and their objectives, by reformulating the expectations and by describing the proposed organization in the face of the context and/or the problems, by describing very precisely and clearly the expected role to avoid misunderstandings and reassure the teams.

It is necessary to be immediately in action by leaving room for observation, by highlighting its own human qualities of listening and respect to be accepted and to succeed in mobilizing the men and women of the structure.

This is how we will identify the priorities to structure the actions while involving the collaborators.

Also, it is necessary to organize an individual meeting of each member of the team to get a precise idea of ​​the expectations in order to act and be accepted as bearer of change. We must not just distribute the good word, we must, as much as possible, do and not do.

Do you have any tips for succeeding in this job?

To succeed in this profession, one must show humility and benevolence. Listening is essential and charisma must be used to reassure.

It should not be forgotten that the role of the Transition Manager is to assist and help the client reach the target he has set.

It is necessary to trace its actions with regular reporting which makes it possible to measure the progress, the successes and the failures.

And why Reactive Executive?

Reactive Executive is one of the key players known and recognized in this world of interim management.

Reactive Executive, through its large network, offers its clients from all walks of life, multiple skills. His image allows him to be asked for beautiful and interesting missions.

How do you see the future of interim management?

I am rather confident because the growth is indeed there and the specific needs are more and more present. The economic rhythm, innovation, the aging of the population, the lack of skills leave an important place to the Interim Manager because he is an expert in his field.

A company in crisis must immediately find the skills to avoid disasters by urgently replacing an absent Manager by setting up an appropriate restructuring and finding the skills to cope with the growth and development of its activity.

Reactive Executive in a nutshell?

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