Estelle Yafi
Can you tell us about your career path?
After graduating from the Media Chair and ESSEC (after internships in TV channel, venture capital funds and eCommerce at Amazon), I joined a more traditional career path in strategy consulting at Roland Berger. I only worked there for 1.5 years, as I was quickly caught up by the desire to continue working in the field of innovation and digital transformation. That's why I joined a small innovation consultancy, Rebellion Lab (based in San Francisco and Las Vegas). First from Paris, then from the San Francisco offices where I moved in January 2016.
Rebellion Lab was soon acquired by FABERNOVEL, a firm specializing in transforming major French groups. The exciting projects multiplied (Digital Academy programs for the biggest groups, technology and competitive intelligence programs, learning trips aimed at the Comexes of major groups), and I ended up running the San Francisco office, made up of around fifteen consultants/designers/finance/HR.
Attracted by the tech industry and high-impact projects, I joined the micro-mobility start-up Lime, which was growing rapidly at the time. I was responsible for several strategic projects, including the RFP for the city of Paris and the partnership between Lime and Allianz.
After a detour to Los Angeles for 1 year, I returned to France and joined GAFA Meta (ex-Facebook) to develop WhatsApp for Business.
What is your current job ? What are your main missions ?
My role is to educate and support major French and European groups on how WhatsApp can truly transform the relationship between brands and consumers. Some of the key customers I work with on a daily basis : Air France, Bouygues, Carrefour, Auchan, l'Oreal etc.
I work with teams all over the world (Product, Marketing, Legal, Public Policy, Communications) to build trusted customer relationships and deploy WhatsApp across all key stages of the customer journey.
What do you like about your current job ?
What I enjoy most is being "customer facing" as they say. I love interacting directly with customers to understand their challenges, strategic priorities and ambitions.
I like to call on all the incredible resources Meta has at its disposal to respond to customer challenges. My job is extremely cross-functional, so I can't work alone in my own corner. I have to speak the language of all the teams I interact with: the legal, marketing, product and other teams.
Finally, working at Meta means working in one of the most innovative companies on the market (Generative AI, Virtual/Augmented Reality etc.).
What motivated you to join the Chair and what did you get out of it ?
I've always been passionate about the entertainment/education/innovation industry. The Media Chair met all my expectations in terms of the courses I took and the meetings I had with industry leaders. These meetings were always a breath of fresh air and a real source of inspiration.
My main takeaway is that no matter how far we've come (internships, first jobs etc.) if we're passionate about this industry, we'll always be able to make our way in it. We've met some fairly classic profiles, others more atypical (media career followed by a stint in politics).
The Media Chair itself has changed a lot since I graduated. It has turned the corner on tech, training for new professions such as Product Management and Product Marketing.
The Media Chair reflects the industry it addresses: constantly changing and extremely innovative.
What is your best memory of the Chair ?
My best memory of the Chair is my dissertation work with two other Chair alumni (and now very close friends).
We spent several months working on the subject of e-books, at a time when their use was just beginning to blossom. The subject fascinated me. And when I reread it sometimes, I think that our intuition more than 10 years ago was pretty good.
What advice would you give to the students of the Chair or to those who are interested ?
I'd tell them not to hesitate for a second and apply. And if you're already there, take advantage of everything the Chair has to offer. With a particular focus on meeting the students/alumni/speakers. What you'll take away from the program are the personal and professional experiences that will inspire and guide you. Listen, ask questions, have coffee with alumni, add people who interest you on LinkedIn, be curious and dare to express your ambitions/doubts/projects.
What · What is the question you would have liked to be asked ?
I can't think of any in particular. All questions are welcome!