Pierre-Albert Thomas - Marketing & Sales and Global Technical support

‘I’m Pierre-Albert Thomas and I’m Marketing & Sales Director Southeast Asia & Japan as well as Global Technical Support Director at Rousselot. I joined the Isle sur la Sorgue plant company in 2003 as Technical Support (TS) Manager for Japan, Spain and South Africa. It was my third job; I have an education in food science and microbiology and began my career with a Swedish company in food processing equipment, then a French company in ingredients. 

Two and a half years after I joined Rousselot, I became TS and application Lab Manager in China, moving there in 2006. I stayed there for five years. At the time, we offered TS to our clients in Europe, the USA and South America, but not in China: we had production plants and our sales teams there, but nothing in between to support customers in harnessing the full potential of the products they bought from us. China was a fast-growing market for us, and it was vital for us to build a strong TS structure there. To this day, Rousselot’s ability to help customers from product purchase to full optimization is a great strength. Gelatin and collagen solutions offer many possibilities and customers rely on us to help them realize that potential in their situation. It’s very rewarding for both parties when we do that successfully.   

When the TS team in China was up and running, in 2011, I relocated to our headquarters in Son, the Netherlands and became Global TS Director. Then, in 2014, I moved back to my native France, settling near the site in Ghent, Belgium, where our Expertise Center brings together a number of vital functions, such as TS, R&D and our leading Application Lab.  

A Frenchman in Shanghai 

The move back to France was also a personal choice, after seven years of being far from home. I definitely recommend working abroad for a time. I’m glad Rousselot gave me the opportunity when I was in my early thirties, because it takes a lot of energy. I was pioneering in a very dynamic setting. Mind you, in China, everything is dynamic. I lived in Shanghai, a city that never, ever stops being noisy and full of action. To me, it made Paris feel like the countryside. Also, I really enjoyed the cosmopolitan mixture of cultures and backgrounds there, and meeting people from professions far from my own: photographers, artists, musicians – nowhere else have I encountered the mix of people I was thrown in with in China. These five years were a very exciting part of my life so far, both personally and professionally. 

The pride and humility of being French 

Being abroad gives you a different perspective on your own country. One thing you discover is that in your home country a lot of things work quite well; this can be quite a discovery for a French person like myself! A simple example is how in countries like France the protection of the environment is well developed – far more so than in many other parts of the world. But the opposite is just as true: some things at home are far from perfect. Arriving back at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and stepping onto an escalator that doesn’t work and hasn’t worked for quite a while, you instantly realize that this would never happen at any major airport in Japan or China. Moving abroad and back makes you feel proud and humbled at the same time about your native country. 

Actually, this is one thing I really like about Rousselot: Rousselot people around the globe are open-minded and embrace diversity. We  really believe in listening to customers, and it helps us to connect easily with partners from different backgrounds all over the world.’ 

From innovation to customer care 

The fact that I hold positions in Marketing & Sales and in Technical Support illustrates how the two are integrated at Rousselot. The value chain is an integrated whole, from innovation right down to customer care. I spend about half my time in each role. The change for me when I was given a role in Marketing & Sales next to my TS job has been helpful. In Technical Support, you know you have an impact on the customer and on the value chain, but in marketing and sales, you are accountable for quantifiable results. It has helped me to perform better in both areas: Sales calls the shots in terms of what customers need most from us, but all of the other links in the chain together deliver the impact. Teamwork is everything.’ 

Find out more about Rousselot’s Technical Support teams:  

https://www.rousselot.com/services/technical-support