Bye Bye Cherokee !

It is now official. I resigned from my extremely comfortable job of ICT Director at Cherokee Europe, the European business unit of Cherokee International. For over two years, I have been in charge of all information and communication matters for our entire European activities and it has been great. On top of that, I was also a member of the Management Team and as such could access to a lot of information and participate to strategic decisions. Within this position, I learned a lot and had the opportunity to work on several interesting projects ranging from Sarbanes-Oxley audit compliancy to IT security, ERP customizations, or even Business Intelligence.

During a little over two years, I could work at various company levels from the company strategy to day-to-day operational issues. I had the opportunity to both maintain existing systems and implement new ones, while working with a great team. But everything has an end and May 16, 2008 will be my last working day at Cherokee Europe.

So why did I decide to leave then ?
Well, I found something that looks even better. Or to be completely honest, they found me. The new company looks better (and everyone around me confirms that), the job description and responsibilities are awesome, I will have the occasion to travel a bit more, and the package is even more attractive.

The name of the new company and my new role ? Well, you will have to wait for one of my next posts. I will then tell you everything. Just let me make the switch. ;)

To be continued...

It's Good to be Praised

Last week, I have been traveling to Paris to attend the QAD Users Conference. QAD is our ERP supplier here at Cherokee Europe and we use their product - MFG/Pro 8.6E - since ten years already.

Unlike similar events, this time I was not only there to passively attend some seminars and workshops but I was also there to present a 30-minute seminar about a Business Intelligence project I started implemented last year for my company. Two hours before it all started, I got the surprise to see Cherokee Europe awarded the QAD 2008 Performance Improvement Trophy. It happened during lunchtime and when you think "lunch" in France, you can be sure you will not be disappointed.

Soon after lunch and the trophy ceremony, I presented my seminar and was pleasantly surprised to have to talk in front of a crowded room - which is way better than an empty room. If I judge by the many compliments and nice words I got afterwards, I dare to say I did well.

But aside of my personal little success, I must see this day was really entertaining and pleasant to me. First, when you go to France, you can always rely on the legendary French hospitality: nice people, good food, and good wine. Then in this case there was the QAD team: Delphine, Louise, Dan Marie, David, Jean-Philippe, Gilles, Jean-Claude, Hans.... I would really like to thank them all for this great day. It was extremely interesting (QAD Finance 2008 is what I dream to have installed here), very well organized (Kudos to Delphine), and we all felt fantastically welcomed. My recyclable electrons will not forget this anytime soon.