David Achille joined Keesing when he reached a personal milestone — turning 50. “I wanted to get out of my comfort zone,” he says about leaving a sports newspaper role for Keesing. “What attracted me was the freedom to implement my action plans, their international presence and ongoing developments. Keesing respects people and gives me the tools to succeed.”
In his role as Commercial Director for France, David enjoys motivating a team of 65 people on the ground and in the office as they provide traditional and new brands to the market. “My job is to take care of assets and lead and motivate my team as we also produce a new brand called Megajeux to the market. It sells next to our traditional products like Megastar and Sport Cérébral,” he says.
One of the main challenges David faces is not gaining customer acceptance but getting buy-in from vendors with this new brand. “Our bigger issue is how to distribute our new products with the agreement from supermarket chains who don’t want to put them on shelves because they’re outside the traditional scope and they’re not familiar with them.”
Now I can give my team the freedom to grow
Before David joined Keesing, he worked in a pyramid organization structure that didn’t motivate people. “Now I can give my team the freedom to grow. If people understand goals and share information in an open environment, they understand the context of the company or market and it’s easier to motivate them,” he says. “And even during Covid when everyone was isolated we were still able to launch Megajeux, our new brand. It’s very special and a real achievement that reflects our great teamwork.”
What does David enjoy most about Keesing? “With a team-based organization structure, everyone can speak freely and share their ideas, which is very important to me. We are more intelligent together than alone. It’s the kind of company where we make decisions together.”
An avid nature lover, David enjoys scuba diving and mountaineering in his spare time and has climbed the French Alps and Nepal mountains several times. If you ask David why you should join Keesing, he says, “Keesing is a proficient and reactive company where employees are at the center of everything and where your opinion matters.”
In a nutshell:
- Title: Commercial Director
- How long with Keesing: 2 years
- Country location: France
- Keesing in one word: Openminded
- Favorite puzzle: Sudoku