Leading the team

Channel Middle East’s exclusive guide to members of the channel community and the role they play in their organization. This section asks an individual from the channel to outline their daily routine and give the market an insight into a typical day on the job…

Name: Philippe Cros
Company: Alcatel Lucent
Job title: Regional Director for the GCC region, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen, & Afghanistan.
Years in the role: 5 years
Years at the company: 13 years
Previous companies: Alcatel Lucent in South Asia, & Africa.

How would you summarise your role?

I am the general director for the GCC region at Alcatel-Lucent. I am mainly responsible for a team of ten people who are sales, presales, and account managers. The account team manages 120 different accounts for Alcatel-Lucent.

My main role is to grow the sales/revenues of Alcatel-Lucent’s top line in the region. Also, I ensure that we are productive as a team, that everyone is involved and accountable for performance and results, in terms of serving customers and bringing a variety of choice to our market. If employees are well engaged, this facilitates the execution of a strong strategy.

I meet customers specialised in sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, education and finance, while ensuring that we build a good customer relationship approach. I also have meetings with contractors and our partners.

What’s the first thing you do when you get in the office each day?

The first thing I do is I call my team members and define the action plan for the day. I make sure that we are on top of all issues and opportunities. After that, I check the media for any coverage and use social media including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to check what’s happening around the world and keep track of major events relevant to us.

What skills or qualities do you need to do your job?

The primary skills (other than qualifications) include the ability to engage and motivate my team members; ensure they achieve the assigned goals. I also need the flexibility to adapt to changes in the business environment, and openness to problems and issues. I need to ensure that my team clearly understands the company’s strategy and goals in order to be productive.

What does a typical day entail for you?

I usually have a minimum of two customer meetings, and two partner meetings. I also meet my team members to set the goals for the day. I also have to review at least one region and review new account or channel openings.

How much time do you spend out of the office each week?

I spend 70% of the time outside the office where I meet customers, partners, consultancies, contractors and telecommunication companies.

What’s your favorite part of the job?

My favorite part of the job is meeting customers. I really enjoy meeting different people, discussing issues, asking questions and finding solutions. I have this passion to understand problematical issues and to learn new things.

What’s the hardest part of your job?

The hardest part of my job is to adapt myself to the changing environment and help my team do the same. One of the most difficult situations that I have dealt with is when a team member leaves the company. I need to ensure that everyone else is well motivated, engaged, and focused on the main goal.

What criteria do you measure your performance on?

I measure my performance based on the revenues my team generates for Alcatel-Lucent, and also on KPIs that we set at the beginning of the year.

What’s been your most memorable moment in your current role?

I have two memorable moments in my current role. The first one is the Dynamic Enterprise Tour which is a customer conference which was held at Emirates Palace in Dubai. I was really proud of my team members who were able to successfully invite more than 160 Alcatel-Lucent customers to attend and interact effectively. Another memorable moment was when Alcatel-Lucent was awarded the best regional IT Networking company in the region.