Portraits of Télécom SudParis - Portrait of Benjamin Allouche (TSP 1998), Founding Director of Asturias Conseil

Benjamin Allouche is a graduate of Télécom SudParis, Promo 98. He worked in consulting, then as an independent consultant for a major group.8 years ago, he setuphis own consulting firm, Asturias Conseil.Let's take a look at his career path and his know-how.

What has Télécom SudParis brought you?

On a personal level, I've met a lot of people with whom I'm still in touch today. Many of them are friends and people with whom you form strong bonds and enjoy seeing again. For example, following a reorganization of the coworking space where the firm was based, we had to find new premises at very short notice. By chance, I found myself in contact with an alumnus of the class and, quite naturally, he offered to share his premises temporarily. I find there's a certain sense of belonging - and pride of belonging - among alumni.

What is your professional background?

First of all, I did my final year internship in an electronics laboratory, modeling network behavior. This internship made me realize that I didn't want to be a developer! Then I joined a small firm, Siticom, which was later bought by Devoteam. Then I joined La Poste's Group IT Department. At that point, I realized that it was the consulting field that appealed to me, and that the weight of organizations didn't suit me; I needed to evolve with agility. When you're a consultant, you work on a project, for a clearly identified customer; you see the results straight away, and it's very satisfying. So I started out as an independent consultant, notably for the SNCF, working on operational and technological aspects. As an employee, I had a feeling of security, but that's just a feeling. Indeed, we rarely have the opportunity to influence the evolution of the organization, particularly in terms of management or restructuring, with a takeover for example.

Could you describe Asturias Conseil for us?

We're a small firm of 10 people in a buoyant market. We help key accounts manage their IT. The most important thing for us is to understand their strategic challenges and support them in implementing them at IT level. Of course, this requires an understanding of the technical issues involved, but it also means addressing all the dimensions (economic, organizational/governance, HR, CSR, etc.) that are specific to IT. This complementarity of different dimensions is in line with my training at Télécom SudParis.

My day-to-day job as a manager is to get all my colleagues on board with our corporate project, to maintain a strong commitment. Salary is important, of course, but it's not enough; you also have to include them in the decision-making process. To this end, we have set up several committees: Human Resources, CSR, Communications/Marketing and Business. Each committee has a leader whose role is to lead the process and discuss the various subjects with the members (3/4) in order to make collective decisions that combine the different points of view.

For my part, I'm keen to remain operational and available in the event of project difficulties. Some customers absolutely want to work with me, because they are long-standing customers.

When I set up my own company, I realized how important it was to identify and understand the values that drive me. This enables me to choose the right candidates, those who are like me and those who complement me.

What advice would you give to someone wishing to set up a business like yours?

When you're young, with no commitments and no children, the risks are low, so now's the time to dare! It's not necessarily necessary to have a brilliant idea, having a good idea can be enough, but above all you have to do things right. Not everything can be anticipated, so let's take things one step at a time, define a target, stay aligned with your values, and - to use the sailing metaphor - tack towards your goal according to the direction the wind is blowing.

Interview by Kelly Zhang (IMT-BS student)