Mathieu Boulestreau, Class of 2017

Mathieu Boulestreau (credits: Technopolis)

Can you describe your academic and professional path?

I joined Sciences Po in 2011 after my baccalauréat in Angers. I did my bachelor's degree there, with an exchange at the London School of Economics in my third year.

For my Master's, I joined the Corporate and Public Management dual degree between Sciences Po and HEC, which offered a wide range of courses, straddling the public and private sectors and enabling me to remain a generalist. During this programme, I took courses that focused more on public service and did a work placement at the European Commission's DG Competition, as well as in crisis communication.

At the end of this dual degree, I joined the Public Sector team at PwC, a consultancy firm among the Big Four, where I stayed for 2 years before moving on to more specialised structures. First Technopolis group, a consultancy specialising in the evaluation of public policies and research and innovation policies; then, 4 years later, Camber Collective, my current structure.

Camber Collective is an American strategy consultancy that focuses on impact projects (i.e. projects that meet social and environmental objectives and missions), mainly in the global health sector, but also on issues of ecological transition, gender and economic prosperity/development, and whose specificity is to have an approach centred on equity in all its dimensions.

What were the major stages in the development of your career plan?

Although a career path is built up first and foremost through experiences and encounters that we don't always control, I can identify 3 main stages in the construction of my career plan.

First of all, when I finished my studies I wanted to join the public sector consultancy sector because of my strong interest in public affairs and public service, but without joining the administration. In fact, the diversity of assignments offered by the world of consultancy is rare and formative for a young graduate who is still searching. I discovered a way of working and a position that I haven't wanted to leave since, as well as people who continue to inspire me today.

The second stage in my career was the discovery of public policy evaluation (of which the work of the LIEPP at Sciences Po is a very good illustration), with its analytical and science-oriented approach. Systematised for european projects and increasingly practised within local authorities and public establishments, it is often carried out by consultancy firms, which have the advantage of a certain neutrality and an external viewpoint, beneficial in particular in gathering information from the parties involved in public projects. After a unique, rewarding and successful experience at PwC, it was the desire to repeat this type of project that led me to the second company in my career, specialising in evaluation, where I was able to develop this skill.

The third stage of my career revolves around development aid. I had the opportunity to carry out evaluations of health and economic development projects in partner countries such as the Comoros, Senegal, Ethiopia and Thailand for the French Development Agency, Expertise France and the Belgian Development Agency. It was in this context that I developed an interest in international projects, particularly those run by NGOs or international organisations, with which I now work.

What are the main aspects of your current job?

I am a strategy consultant, a profession whose approaches vary according to the specific needs of each project and each client. I mainly work for NGOs or international organisations, assisting them with their so-called ‘strategic’ projects, in other words those involving the direction of the organisation, or complex transformations. I work to develop analyses that can inform my clients' systemic choices (which activities to develop, why, how, etc.); to solve their various problems (how to involve the end beneficiaries - communities, refugees, etc. - more closely in the organisation's management); or to support the development of multi-player initiatives (such as coalitions of international organisations).

For example, I helped overhaul the strategic plan of USA for UNHCR, the fundraising arm of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the United States, and took part in drawing up a joint action strategy for the Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition, a coalition of the main players in global health (WHO, UNICEF, GAVI, Global Fund, Gates Foundation...) aimed at rationalising health campaigns (vaccination, distribution of mosquito nets or food supplements, etc.), which are burdensome for communities and local health systems and mobilise significant resources.

I am currently supporting the pilot implementation of this strategy in two countries : Nigeria and Ethiopia.

What contribution has your training at the School of Public Affairs, and more specifically in the Corporate and Public Management dual degree with HEC, made to the position you occupy today?

Generally speaking, I would say that the intellectual baggage and working method taught at Sciences Po and HEC (based on fact-finding, adaptability to different subjects and the presentation, including orally, of clear conclusions) have been particularly useful to me in my work as a consultant. The cosmopolitan nature of the student bodies at these two institutions also contributed greatly to my familiarity with a multicultural context that I now experience on a daily basis.

In addition to the diversity of high-quality teaching offered by both Sciences Po and HEC, which makes it easier to discover and explore your interests, I would also like to emphasise the importance of the alumni networks.

In fact, it was through contact with an alumna that I was able to identify an internship vacancy at the European Commission, which I applied for and which gave me valuable experience for my first job interviews.

Would you have any advice for a student or future graduate?

Choose a path that inspires you, not on the basis of its supposed prestige, and do not hesitate to get in touch with alumni, who most of the time have an open door (or LinkedIn account).