Jennifer Swertvaegher - Participant 2017-2018
This project has opened a new career path for me. I feel that I now have all the tools in hand to make a reasoned decision about my future career.
Role
Jennifer Swertvaegher managed The Impala project. The objective was to gain a thorough understanding of the glass market and the business environment in four selected countries – Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal and Angola – and to make recommendations on how best to enter these markets.
Responsibilities
Exploring four countries over a limited period of time was very challenging., Jennifer collated detailed information (facts and insights) about these markets, comparing their dynamics, the differences and similarities between them, in the glass and construction markets. The work done by Jennifer will allow AGC Glass to be quickly operational and benefit from the right network to effectively start their operations there.
How she benefited
In addition to gaining an insight in business structures and activities, Jennifer also developed a way of working on a day-to-day basis in a challenging environment such as Africa. Managing her own project, with a clearly-defined goal, also required managing her working hours in a way she hadn’t done before. This job involved much more planning, responsibility and decision-making, so her skills in these areas developed tremendously during the past year. “The project allowed me to experiment with my skills in a completely new environment, and the conclusions were very valuable to me”, she says.
The company – AGC Glass Europe
AGC, the world’s premier flat glass company, produces, processes and distributes flat glass for the building industry, the automotive industry and other industries (transport, solar power and high-tech). The AGC group has 200 companies in over 30 countries with more than 50,000 employees, focusing on 4 main business segments: Glass, Electronics, Chemicals and Ceramics. The European HQ are based in Louvain-la-Neuve.
“By exploring 4 countries, Jennifer brought to us a diversity of perspectives that were extremely valuable and allowed us to balance the findings, to select the priorities and to adapt the entry strategy for each country instead of adopting a ‘common approach’ for all.”