American Express Global Business Travel

Her background? After working for a business and leisure travel agency, Julie arrived at KDS as a Support Specialist in 2009. She rapidly progressed to the position of Service Manager. She grew to understand the importance of this role with customers and how she could become a key element in the relationship between them and the organisation. A few years later, with the hope of sharing and transmitting her knowledge and building on the skills of her team members, she moved to a role as Team Leader, which then paved the way for her to become the head of this department, which has a special place in her heart.

Her daily life? Julie manages a team of around thirty people based in France and the UK and monitors the department's activity and KPIs. She also ensures that customers are satisfied and that the service delivered meets their expectations. In addition, she handles business forecasting to ensure that teams deliver revenue and are suitably staffed. Since the department offers a value-added service, she is also responsible for promoting it, and she remains a point of escalation both externally and internally.

Her project? Julie would like to deploy the executive support service everywhere Neo is available while also sharing and developing the team spirit that defines both the team and the company. And, of course, to never stop learning: even after more than ten years in the same company, she's still learning something every day!

His background? With a Master's degree from Epitech, Sullivan joined KDS in 2018 after three years at ESN with a desire to find out more about how the world of business travel works behind the scenes while also contributing to high-level projects.

His daily life? Sullivan works on complex problems using a panel of cutting-edge technologies (.NET Core, Docker, Vue.js, TypeScript, AWS) and clearly defined development and integration processes, collaborating with colleagues from all backgrounds in a relaxed atmosphere that fosters dialogue and mutual support. As part of the SMP team, he has worked on two major project components: the Hotels API, which provides a hotel reservation workflow for applications, and the administration platform, which allows the API to retrieve the configurations for each different client.

His project? He would like to develop his technical skills with DevOps (AWS) and front-end (Vue.js, TypeScript) technologies while expanding his knowledge of the .NET stack. In addition, he wants to develop his project management and team management capabilities.

His background? In 2008, having completed his studies as a telecoms engineer, Louis-Marie joined the Consulting department at KDS. He worked there for ten years (including the last three in England) as part of the Global Integration Services team. In 2018, he joined R&D on the SMP (SupplyMarketPlace) project.

His daily life? Writing and rereading code to meet product needs and discussing with the Product team and his teammates to understand and reformulate their needs. Finally, being available at all times to communicate and restore the service in the event of an emergency. Keeping his technical capabilities up to date has posed a challenge, but he has been able to bring his organisational and communication skills to the team.

His project? Currently a Scrum Master, he would like to move into more of a leadership role that would allow him to leverage his knowledge of the company and his desire to make SMP a straightforward product.

Her background? After getting a BA. in Literature in high school, Charlotte attended a university specialising in communication but soon realised it wasn't for her. She then enrolled in a business school and, after two years of studies and a year abroad in the UK, she did a Master's in digital marketing and… communication. She joined KDS as a Marketing Assistant in 2017. Her duties and her team evolved, and in 2021 she became responsible for the Business Development for Neo, one of KDS's solutions.

Her daily life? Being a Swiss Army knife! Her responsibilities range from design and video editing to event organisation, managing the marketing automation platform, content creation, and assisting the Support and HR teams on projects – all in one day.

Her project? To develop managerial skills and pivot to a more strategic role to define a marketing strategy that supports Neo salespeople in their efforts and objectives.

Her background? Névine studied Computer Science at the American University in Cairo before working in Egypt for two years. She followed that with a doctorate in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at INRIA, where she also worked as an engineer. Névine joined KDS as a developer in 2001. After ten years, she took up the role of Product Manager to move into Product and Functionality. Since 2017, she has been a Product Director responsible for travel content. Névine's career path at KDS is typical: employees can follow their aspirations, develop their skills in-house, and even transfer to a new line of work.

Her daily life? Her motto is maximising customer satisfaction. She works closely with partners, customers, and the Neo teams to achieve this objective as a unit.

Her project? To continue enriching the content and offering innovative, new features to Neo users while never losing her enthusiasm.

His background? Bertrand's career path isn't the most typical. After studying at business school, he joined KDS in 2005, working in customer care as an Account Manager. He spent two years in the Paris office and two years in London before returning to France and leaving the technology industry for a few years to join the world of consultancy. He rejoined KDS at the end of 2015 to assist with the sale of the company, and he has been VP of Product since September 2018.

His daily life? He oversees all the activities of the Neo product ranges, but he is also part of the Executive Board. When it comes to product, he works with his teams on building the roadmap around the product strategy. His management approach is relatively simple, favouring objectives over monitoring. He likes to discuss and debate with his teams, preferring a collective approach to unilateral decision-making. On the Exec side, he participates in the management of all the company's activities, working with his colleagues to ensure a positive relationship with the Board. His favourite part of this aspect is overseeing the organisation's well-being and encouraging interaction between the departments.

His project? To extend the geographical borders of the solution to new markets. For example, Neo has recently launched in North America: a significant challenge for the company since this is the largest market in the world. About the Product department, he aims to grow in terms of user experience, which is at the heart of the product strategy, and to consolidate his knowledge in analytics.

Her background? Anaïs joined KDS in 2016 as part of a Master's sandwich course in Human Resources Management. Her objective was to gain a fully rounded understanding of Human Resources. She wasn't disappointed, mainly thanks to the manageable size of the company, which allows the HR department to be very versatile.

Her daily life? She is responsible for the HR strategy and thus collaborating with the executive teams of the various departments or following up and offering advice on talent management and skill management topics. In a nutshell, she is at the forefront of HR initiatives.

Her project? To continue to evolve professionally and personally, take ownership of her new responsibilities as an HR Manager, keep learning every day, and develop her managerial and HR skills.

His background? After graduating from ESIEE Paris in 2017, Shabir joined KDS as part of the newly formed SMP team, created just a few months before he arrived. This has allowed him to see the project from its inception and contribute to its various evolutions. It has also allowed him to work on the different parts of the project and focus on the areas that align with his personal career goals.

His daily life? Developing, testing, deploying and monitoring an API based on modern technology (.NET 5, AWS, Docker) as part of an international team, with a particular focus on security.

His project? To learn new things every day and work on challenging issues with high technical value. Upgrading his project from a technical standpoint gives him access to an extensive panel of technology, thus developing his technical skills.

Julie joined KDS as a Support Specialist as part of a sandwich course in 2015. Her Master’s in Business Management and Strategy combined with the technical nature of her position then saw her take up the role of Service Manager. Day-to-day work: Working closely with other teams (Products, Developers, Project) to ensure that customers are satisfied and that they get the most out of the tool. Julie has also struck up a very positive relationship with the customer base, acting as their voice within the company. Goals: Julie hopes to continue her development at KDS, putting her skills and knowledge of the product and customer relations to good use, perhaps within a more technical department. Alexandre Le Burlu While studying to become a developer and despite loving the world of development, Alexandre realised that he didn’t really like developing itself. After two years in the user support department, first with a service provider and then as an intern, Alexandre joined the quality team in 2015. Day-to-day work: Being part of the world of development without actually developing! Alexandre is part of the Scrum team, working alongside developers and product managers to keep Neo running smoothly and to integrate new developments.
Goals: In addition to his ISTQB training, and thanks to his test experience, Alexandre now has the opportunity to take an Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) assessment with the support of KDS.

Emmanuel’s career path at KDS is a fairly typical one: after an internship developing expense management solutions with the KDS Expense Team during the first year of his Master’s, he did a second-year internship with the Project Team in Romania before joining the company on a permanent basis as part of the SMP team. This team develops an “API Product” that allows internal and external applications to receive and interact with the best travel content. Day-to-day work: Developing a high-quality back-end solution with modern technology (e.g. .Net Core, Docker, RabbitMq, Redis, etc.) as part of a friendly, international and multicultural team that continues to expand. Goals: To develop his technical skills and to continue learning about new technology in order to grow on a professional level. Emmanuel enjoys the wealth of knowledge on offer at KDS, not to mention the desire for employee development.

Son parcours ? Après avoir obtenu son diplôme d'ingénieur (incluant une année en échange au Canada), et une première expérience dans le Sud de la France, Raphaël a rejoint Amex GBT en 2010. Il officie depuis comme Software Engineer dans l'équipe Connectivity, qui unifie en une API générique le contenu voyage des principaux fournisseurs de la Travel Tech.

Son quotidien ? L'équipe étant en place depuis le début de Amex GBT, et l'industrie du voyage évoluant constamment, la gestion de la dette fonctionnelle et technique est un sujet primordial. A son niveau, en plus du code, cela implique de prendre des initiatives pour contribuer aux évolutions de l’équipe, notamment pour les innovations technologiques.

Son projet ? Continuer à apprendre et mener l'équipe vers les technologies innovantes qui permettront de répondre toujours mieux aux nouveaux besoins fonctionnels.

Edouard started out at KDS as an intern as part of his degree. His goal: to never stop learning. This was in April 2011, following a university exchange programme in the USA. At the time, Edouard developed features as part of a large .Net software solution in an international environment. Day-to-day work: Edouard, who now manages 20 people spread across multiple teams in different countries, remains passionate about his craft as a developer and continues to ensure that Neo is simple to use, despite the underlying technical challenges and the complexity of the ecosystem.
Goals: To never stop teaching others while continuing to learn. To this end, Edouard also teaches C# and Java at EFREI, an engineering school.

Son parcours ? À la fin de ses études secondaires, Fiona a été invitée à se tourner vers une carrière d’avocate ou de médecin, mais aucune de ces options ne l’attirait. Elle était davantage intéressée par l’ingénierie et la façon dont les ingénieurs résolvent des problèmes. Elle a donc fini par passer un double diplôme, en ingénierie et en informatique. Jeune diplômée, Fiona a rejoint Ernst & Young. C’est durant son poste au sein d’une entreprise technologique australienne et le boom du début des années 2000 que sa passion s’est confirmée. Elle a ensuite rejoint plusieurs start-ups en APAC, avec des échecs et des réussites. Pendant 10 ans, elle a ouvert des bureaux et exporté des produits en occupant plusieurs rôles et fonctions, sans jamais regarder en arrière. En quête d’un nouveau challenge, elle rejoint Amex GBT en 2016, où elle commence à travailler sur une nouvelle solution technologique qui est aujourd’hui Neo1.

Son quotidien ? Rendez-vous, discussions en équipe, feedback sur le service client, réunions et séances de planification font partie de son quotidien, ainsi que son rôle de mère. Elle s’octroie 30 minutes de marche à l’air libre pendant lesquelles elle est censée ne pas penser au travail, mais pendant lesquelles elle réfléchit alors à des idées d’amélioration pour aider les gens à travailler plus efficacement et plus facilement. Une fois sa (première) journée de travail terminée, et les enfants bordés avec une histoire, elle se remet à travailler pour consulter le feedback client et mettre les idées auxquelles elle a pensé en pratique.

Son projet ? S’assurer que toutes les PME ont l’opportunité de tirer parti de Neo1 dès aujourd’hui, ainsi que de toutes les idées que son équipe mettra en place. Elle est prête à donner le meilleur d’elle-même, à développer ses compétences et à soutenir le développement de son équipe et de notre plateforme.

Son parcours ? Après une classe préparatoire scientifique, Fabien rejoint Telecom SudParis. Il intègre KDS en 2002 en tant que développeur. Il évolue rapidement vers un rôle de management et prend en charge les évolutions techniques stratégiques de KDS. Depuis l’acquisition par American Express Global Business Travel, le rôle de Fabien s’est élargi en ajoutant à son portefeuille des produits de GBT, tel que Supply MarketPlace, GBT Mobile et les produits messaging. Fabien est Vice President of Engineering depuis 2019.

Son quotidien ? Se diviser entre 3 continents : ses équipes sont réparties de la côte ouest des Etats-Unis à l’Asie, avec des développeurs, des ingénieurs QA ou des Product Managers. Son rôle est de les aider à développer les produits qu’ils fabriquent en mettant autour d’eux les conditions nécessaires à leur succès.

Son projet ? Aider le business à être de plus en plus performant pour que les utilisateurs aient les meilleures expériences. Cela passe par l'ensemble des produits qu’il considère comme uniques et géniaux, mis ensemble pour en faire quelque chose de supérieur, ce qui permettra de décupler la valeur du travail des équipes.