>Magali Boyer, Sales Manager, Geodis Calberson, Le Mans, France

"...In the beginning they were surprised to be working with a woman..."

I started out in the branch's inbound goods department in 1988. Twenty drivers used to surge onto the bay every morning with their own personalities and their own tempers, but none of them ever said a wrong word to me.

My way of maintaining a good relationship with everyone was through dialogue rather than issuing orders. This said, it was not easy: I started work at 5.30 in the morning with a 2½-year-old child definitely far from ready to get up!

I did several jobs until I became the manager’s assistant. I then decided to apply for a sales position in 1998. I love meeting potential and current clients in their specific environments. In the beginning they were surprised to be working with a woman, which was not really the norm 9 years ago. Through my operational experience however, I have managed to gain their trust and thus develop my portfolio of business.