[FEATURED MEMBER] Arnaud Fréret

Arnaud Fréret

Talent Manager - Operations, Sales & Marketing, Technical & Performance
Veolia

What is your role?

In summary, as Group Talent Manager, my role is to ensure the suitability of human resources, that is to say of the group’s employees, to the organization’s needs, in all locations and across all entities, on a branch known as “métiers”, which covers everything from marketing, sales, development and project execution, to operations, technical expertise and R&D. Concretely, this means having a cross-functional view of key and open posts, current projects and development challenges, as well as knowing the company’s employees, as much those actively seeking mobility as key contributors and potential talent, for development and succession planning. It is also to define, with the métier concerned, the broad training programs which will enable us to roll out quickly skills that are indispensable to the success of our growth strategies: we have to be capable of preparing our employees for the evolution of our professions to ensure both our employees’ employability and that we are supporting the group’s development. 

What is your hidden talent?

The electric guitar. A few years ago, I played at festivals in the middle of the Omani desert!

What do you like the most about your job?

Playing a part in subjects that are central to Veolia’s strategy, and therefore central to environmental transformation: by having a key role in the human resources which support this strategy, in particular working directly with the métiers, we understand the big issues coming up, including recycling batteries from electric vehicles, plastic recycling, protecting biodiversity, access to water and sanitation, decarbonizing energy production, reducing the energy consumption of buildings and supporting industries towards the circular economy. It’s a fairly unique opportunity, and Veolia employees share that feeling in my opinion!

Any advice for people new to the profession?

Do they need it…?! Rather an observation to share. At a time when we are talking a lot about the “uberization” of work and how it is possible to change profession with just 1 week of training (or is that just what they want us to believe?), environmental transformation is bursting with complex and future-facing professions: seize them now! We will not make the environmental transformation happen from our sofas. We will do it by grabbing holding of it, each of us in the modest way we can.

About Veolia:

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With nearly 179,000 employees worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions which contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them.
In 2019, the Veolia group supplied 98 million people with drinking water and 67 million people with wastewater service, produced nearly 45 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 50 million metric tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of €27.189 billion in 2019 (USD 29.9 billion). https://www.veolia.com/