Andrea Messali (TBS 2008) - Senior Buyer at Guerlain

"The network is more than important to evolve. It’s not enough to be good in your job, you have to know how to communicate and how to be proactive."

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Andréa. I’m 35 years old and work with LVMH, for the House of Guerlain.

Why did you chose TBS for your studies? Tell us about your time as a student at TBS!

After I finished my prep classes in Nice, I visited all the business schools around France. The city of Toulouse, the ambiance while I did my orals, and the school’s reputation are the reasons I chose TBS.
I did the Grande Ecole Program with a specialization in Supply Chain.
I also did a gap year to refine my professional goals.

Have you any stories about your year to share with us? Were you part of a student association at TBS?

I was a member of the Le Petit Tou association, the city guide.  It let me try out lots of restaurants and, being a shopping addict, I combed the city looking for the best places.

What are you doing today and how did you get to this point in your professional career?

My first purchasing class at TBS piqued my interest. I wanted to do a gap year to confirm that that was what I wanted to do. After my end-of-studies internship with Total, I immediately went to work at Nestlé as a Junior Packaging Buyer for several factories in Europe.

My goal was to work in purchasing, and build my career experience in a large company.

I’m still in the purchasing department, in charge of packaging purchases for Guerlain cosmetics.

After working 10 years in purchasing, I still love my job.
The buyer has a central function within a company, in liaison with internal (marketing, supply, quality, finance) and external (suppliers) actors.
It’s a job that constantly demands performance; no two days are the same. As a buyer, you have to respond to the company's strategy, and bring innovation and solutions to both marketing and logistics issues.
Because the job requires a lot of travel, I take trips throughout Europe and see countries like India, China and Russia.

What advice would you give to TBS students and/or Alumni, who are looking to follow your career path?

The network is more than important to evolve. It’s not enough to be good in your job, you have to know how to communicate and how to be proactive.

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