Interview with Philippe Gigon: Sales Director and Member of the Management Committee at TD Synnex France – Objectives, Challenges, and Tips

After joining TD Synnex France in 2006 as a Large Accounts Field Sales Representative, Philippe Gigon progressed to various managerial positions. He was appointed sales director France in October 2023 and is also a member of the management committee

What are your two main objectives as sales director and member of the management committee?

Philippe Gigon : The first objective focuses on the implementation of the commercial strategy with our major account approach while responding to market capillarity. These actions are done in close collaboration with the other members of the management committee via long-term objectives. This organization makes it possible to identify opportunities and growth drivers, namely profitability objectives, sales development, turnover growth and market share.

My second objective focuses on optimizing the performance of my sales teams by rolling out the strategy at all levels. I delegate part of the responsibility and ensure that the teams are motivated via HR talent management and skills development tools. We also evaluate qualitative objectives, particularly on collaborative work which ultimately allows us to maximize sales.

Getting teams to work together, particularly marketing and sales, remains one of the main challenges encountered: how do you deal with it?

We are fortunate to have a member of the Management Committee who represents each profession. I promote a collaborative culture (idea sharing, mutual recognition), with regular meetings to satisfy and respond to customer needs, lots of communication and a specific budget allocated to develop sales for a category of partners. This involves common communication and overall goals between teams.

It is imperative to share the same vision and contribute to the same efforts. Marketing thus contributes to the development of sales and the gain of market share. We constantly evaluate our performance via our key indicators (ROI, impact of the incentive on turnover, etc.). This challenge remains quite easy to meet if the collaborative culture is close.

What are your recruitment tips?

I have 75 people in my organization including 6 people who report directly to me. Our cross-functional organization breaks down silos. We integrate sedentary salespeople and field salespeople. By bringing together several teams into one, via the “global sales force”, we put the customer at the center. Since Covid, the requirements of candidates have evolved. The first criterion, which is not always easy to answer, concerns teleworking and staggered hours. We focus on an employer brand-oriented approach.

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We have been labeled “Great place to work” and have worked on numerous surveys, hand in hand with our HR teams. In our organization, co-optation works rather well and is accompanied by a bonus. We are also used to finding our candidates via LinkedIn. As a final area, I would mention work-study training which makes it possible to support and retain resources trained in the organization and culture of the company.

How do you motivate and retain your teams on a daily basis?

First of all, through recognition and appreciation via very simple “tips” that I apply to myself. Every morning, I go around the set to say hello, celebrate progress… We have a recognition program to celebrate success. It is simple and effective: we give a “Bravo”. This can be given by a collaborator external to the organization who will want to distinguish an employee.

We also work a lot on training and professional development opportunities. We encourage internal mobility and the sharing of career plans in order to best support our teams in their careers. I make it a point of honor to create a positive work environment based on mutual support and collaboration.