Delphine | Consultant, INDEFI

CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF IN A FEW WORDS AND DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT POSITION?

After obtaining the baccalauréat, I did a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance at the Université Catholique de Lille. I was in the « top class » so I was able to do my entire second year in Canada at MacEwan University (Edmonton). During the exchange year, I got involved with two amazing organizations: one doing drama of improvisation, the other working for sustainable development. With this team, we came with a solution to reduce food waste on the campus by renting tupperware: the GreenBox. I did an internship every year of my degree: at the Ministry of the Environment (France), at a manufacturing facility and at a startup company in Lille.

I wanted to learn more about consulting and sustainable development, so I looked at the Master Finance & Strategy at Sciences Po. During my gap year, between the first and the second year of my master’s degree, I did an internship at EY in financial auditing and at an investment fund as an ESG Analyst.

I was also the committee president of WeStart, an entrepreneurship association at Sciences Po.

In second year, I chose to specialize in Strategy. I then did an internship at McKinsey as a Business Analyst. I was a very interesting experience; I got the chance to work on three missions in the “Sustainable Practice”.

TELL US ABOUT THE COMPANY YOU WORK FOR AND WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN DUTIES?

INDEFI is a consulting firm specialized in Private Equity and ESG. Its missions are mainly Due Diligences and Vendor Due Diligence, usually for investment funds. The firm is divided into three functions (Private Equity, ESG et Asset Management) which allows us to work on varied assignments. Each day can be different as a consultant: we often have expert calls, market research, benchmark, team meetings or meeting with a client, report, presentation, and detailed record. In addition to our “business” tasks, we can also get involved in some projects or pro bono to boost the firm’s offerings and support initiatives or charitable projects.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB?

What I enjoy the most is the range of subjects and the integration of ESG in our missions. The later, I believe, should be more integrated in corporation’s global strategies. Especially considering recent extreme climatic events. Of our recent projects, I have a special fondness for the “Red Cross Insertion”. With my team, we created an environmental impact action plan and then accompanied them over one year, implementing it in all their affiliates. I was an environmental audit of their entire network.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR MASTER’S DEGREE?

My experience at Sciences Po had a profound impact on me and was very instructive overall. I was very stimulating, I had interesting professors, speakers, and courses. I had the opportunity to discover other subjects et some additional curses (outside the core curriculum of the Master): geopolitics, entrepreneurship and drawing classes. Sciences Po taught me to be curious, to work for the common good, to be open-minded and to go be outgoing.

WHAT WAS THE COURSE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST?

All my courses were fascinating, either the first or the second year, but I would say that the one that impressed me the most was Responsible Advantage course led by Michel Fredeau and Fabien Hassan because it combined strategy and sustainable development: two subjects I was very interested in. We had speakers who were experts on their subjects, and the fact that we were in small group allowed us to speak freely.