Geoffroy Van Went, production manager, has been with OpenBox for almost 2 years. He is primarily in charge of the P3 Logistic Parks project in Seclin, near Lille.
Portrait in a few questions. (3-minute read)
What is your background?
I am an engineering graduate, from HEI in Lille, with a specialization in building and public works.
I started in French Guiana where I completed my end-of-study internship at Vinci. I naturally continued with Vinci, holding several positions as a works engineer and project manager. I worked on projects for AUCHAN, Aéroports de Paris, SNCF Gares & Connexion, including the construction of a hangar in the secure zone of Roissy airport, the redesign of the Eurostar area at Gare du Nord, the renovation of Montparnasse station, and the new boarding hall at Orly South as part of the Grand Paris project.
Then I moved to Lyon, where I worked for Vinci's subsidiary, Campenon Bernard Nucléaire, on nuclear civil engineering projects.
How did you end up at OpenBox?
I joined OpenBox in early January 2022.
After 10 very enriching years in a large group, I wanted to experience something entrepreneurial. The Covid period interrupted that, but I was open to a different professional experience. My meeting with David Fitoussi, Bertrand Chabanne, and Loïc Thomas was pivotal. I immediately wanted to work with these people! There was a dynamic unique to a young company, autonomy, and a spirit of sincerity with clients that resonated with me and appealed to me!
I knew that at OpenBox, I would have more autonomy and freedom, which also comes with significant responsibility in implementing the company's decisions that bind us all.
I was also attracted to the types of projects handled, which have strong commercial, financial, and technical challenges.
What are your current responsibilities?
I have several responsibilities:
I am in charge of production setup as well as managing new business until delivery. I work closely with a team of project managers and construction managers.
During the project, I ensure that our client relationship aligns with OpenBox's values: trust, commitment, and collaboration.
A part of my job involves acquiring new clients, particularly end users, who are very receptive to our Co Design&Build offer.
Additionally, Loïc, David, and I work on the company's strategic choices and the direction we want to take for the next five years within committees.
Thus, the environmental issue, to which I am very sensitive, finds its way and integrates into the strategic choices we make.
What do you appreciate about OpenBox?
Without a doubt, the Co Design&Build offer. The transparency and collaboration with the client, the sharing of cost savings made on a project with the client! It’s very stimulating, from a marketing and sales perspective, to represent a unique and original offer. It’s an innovative positioning with real potential.
Transparency is a tool that allows us to move forward confidently. We practice it from the start of a project. It’s not a magic wand we pull out at the right time for us. For it to work, trust must be built from the beginning. It requires a lot of rigor and precision in our daily management and in our communication with the client.
Within our team, Co Design&Build is embodied by free speech. The team expresses its desires, needs, what we want to do together, and its obstacles. We don’t leave things unsaid. We move forward with our different personalities.
I enjoy this way of working among ourselves and with clients, with sincerity that smoothens project management and relationships.
A key word?
Flexibility. It’s our strength. We know how to adapt depending on the project size, the sector, and the client. We are responsive while taking into account the client’s needs.
A story about OpenBox, its team?
A few weeks before my official arrival, OpenBox invited me to its end-of-year dinner. As soon as I stepped into the office, they made me sit down to have my caricature done! Everyone was getting their portrait drawn. As an icebreaker, you can’t get more direct than that! It set the tone for a relaxed atmosphere with people who don’t take themselves too seriously!
What I love is this: interpersonal relationships, the interdependence of one another, and how we manage to value both the individual and the group. In each project team with partners and the client, it’s important to consider these relationships.
