Testimonials
The Alliance, in addition to its cooperation agreements, is a structure made up of men and women working together, two cultures in close, regular contact for their mutual enrichment. Meet Thierry Brisson.
Thierry Brisson
Thierry Brisson
French/Australian, 49 years old.
Pilots two Renault-Nissan cooperation entities, known as Cross-Company Teams, in the International operations department and is Deputy Director of the Iran project.
Personal details: began working at Renault in 2000, just after the signing of the Alliance agreement.
A passion for working abroad
"I have always loved working abroad. That's one of the reasons I work for the Alliance today as a pilot for the two regional cooperation structures which cover Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Cross-Company Teams (CCTs) are cross-functional Renault-Nissan organizations headed by two co-leaders, one Renault and one Nissan, each with their respective pilot. Their mission is to research, suggest, validate and implement projects and synergies for the Alliance.
Our international operations cover four major areas: reduction of distribution costs, development of the commercial contribution, optimization of the application of our industrial investments and international development.
Within this framework, our projects, while very heterogeneous, always take care to maintain the separate brand identity of each partner. Some examples: the pooling of back office resources in South Africa, the consolidation of networks in the Maghreb and the Gulf, and even the cross-manufacturing of products of one of the brands in the plants of the other partner, such as with Scénic and Clio Symbol in Mexico.
The Iran project for which I am Deputy director is a direct offshoot of the Alliance. It was Nissan which made it possible for Renault to re-enter into contact with Iran in late 2002 and early 2003. This project has developed into one of Renault's major international development projects, with the signing of a partnership agreement in late 2003, the creation of a Renault subsidiary in Iran in 2004 and the launch of Logan in the country scheduled for mid-2006."
The Alliance: enrichment on a daily basis
"The Alliance means regular contact and meetings with our Japanese counterparts. Technology is of course our ally, with e-mails and intensive use of videoconferencing. But this is not a replacement for direct contact, so we also often organize face-to-face meetings as well. Not only in France and in Japan, but also in the field, in regions where we have joint projects. Our last CCT meeting was held in Casablanca, Morocco.
Like all Alliance staff, I participated in an intercultural training program on Japan as well as practical seminars on how to work together. It is true that certain clichés can be confirmed through regular contact. For instance, our Japanese counterparts have a special gift for attentive, silent listening which can be disconcerting to us, and they tend to easily conform to the consensus and to superiors in a way which we need to follow, even though sometimes our Latin-based culture incites us to prefer a more active approach. Since 2000, we have learned to understand one another and to work together."
