CEO of Conformat
December 2018
An audacious woman entrepreneur
After graduating with a degree in electronic engineering and an MBA in marketing, Marie-Hélène Baudoux worked in the automotive sector for over 25 years, holding a variety of posts for the industry’s biggest players. In 2013, while she was taking stock of her career, she saw the opportunity of taking over a company in the pharmaceutical sector that needed turning around. Driven by her entrepreneurial spirit and desire to start a new adventure, she bought Conformat with the sale of her house and the support of BNP, BPCE and BPI. Besides modernising, the company needed a new ambition for its future. Today Conformat is the French leader of cleanroom consumables, and supplies of all the big pharma companies. In 2017, with a team of 28 people, the company recorded revenues of €17m and it manufactures its own products.
The Stanford program was a revelation
Identified as a daring woman by BNP Paribas, she met Martine Liautaud at the Women’s forum on the Women Initiative Foundation’s Transatlantic program and went on to participate in the Stanford program.
Impressed by the quality of the program, by the people she met, and the pertinence of the questions discussed, Marie-Hélène decided to set up an office in the United States with the aim of duplicating the success story she wrote in France. Convinced that partnership and mutual aid drive performance, getting support and developing her professional network became a priority.
Mentoring, a growth enabler
When setting up her American office, Marie-Hélène realised that mentoring would help her development and she saw that she needed help with legal, real estate and tax issues – all complex areas. So; Martine put her in touch with her mentor-to-be, Marie Landel, who founded a consultancy in the United States. “A mentor is like a big sister, she supports you and cools your reckless enthusiasm.” The Women Initiative Foundation is a source of energy for which Marie-Hélène is most grateful: “I must thank Martine for having founded such a Foundation, and for having developed the Stanford program with BNP Paribas. The mutual aid that you advocate is fundamental for each of the mentees.”
To find out more about Marie-Hélène Baudoux,click here.
