Interview with Caroline CELLE: Group Treasury & Financing Director

Name : Caroline Celle 

Function : Group Treasury & Financing Director 

Seniority, responsibilities and experience at ADDEV I joined the ADDEV Materials Group in May 2023 (9 months' seniority), where I'm in charge of Group Treasury and Financing. Managing the Group's cash position means ensuring the Group's day-to-day liquidity and optimising and securing the company's financial flows. 

As for financing, this involves finding partners and financing solutions to support the company's growth needs (external growth/investments, etc.). 

My experience at ADDEV may be recent, but it's very rich, as I helped refinance the Group's debt and I'm currently working on setting up a management tool to optimise the Group's cash flow. 

Before that, I worked in large groups and medium-sized companies, and I've been in this business for 16 years.  

What studies have you done and why?  

After the baccalauréat, I only had a vague idea of what I wanted to do: work in a company and have responsibilities. So I decided to go to a preparatory class and then a business school. I specialised in finance in my 3rd year at school, then in treasury thanks to my end-of-study placement in the Casino Group's Finance Department. Working in a group on one side gave me an insight into the different facets of the job.   

In your opinion, do financial professions suffer from gender inequality? 

Finance is still a very male-dominated field, but I've never felt or suffered any disparity with my male colleagues, or even any inequality on the part of my hierarchical superiors: for example, today only 17% women hold finance positions, compared with 46% in marketing and 58% in human resources.                  

What advantages and difficulties have you encountered in your career? 

I find my job strategic and stimulating. You have to be adaptable and curious about economic issues, IT developments and international standards. For me, it's important to find your own path, to love your job so that you can learn, progress and move forward every day. The other essential point, which is not always easy, is to manage to combine professional and personal life harmoniously. 

In your opinion, and based on your experience, have things changed for women in recent years and what are the remaining obstacles (education and business)? 

Things are changing for the better, because more and more women are working in finance (particularly in audit) and want to have the same level of responsibility as men. The glass ceiling is gradually being broken, and it's partly thanks to them! If you want it, you can get it. At the same time, we are witnessing a collective social and societal awakening, and companies are having to adapt to these changes. For example, companies are now increasingly involved in CSR initiatives where they are challenged to meet certain commitments, such as gender equality quotas. 

What advice would you give to women who want to enter a profession like yours, and also to employers looking for profiles? 

Finance is a very interesting profession, where you need to be proactive, rigorous and good at interpersonal relations. If you have these qualities, go for it!  

As far as employers are concerned, I'd say that we need to help women to see themselves in the company by deconstructing the image of male leadership, supporting talent, offering training and creating networks...