Céline Schillinger

I grew up in Bordeaux, France in a family passionate about art, culture and travels. I studied political science as the general interest appealed to me, but felt attracted by the pace of private business. So I added corporate communications to my curriculum then got a first job in a small IT business whose main market was China.

This raised my interest in business operations and Asia. I left France aged 23 to look for a job in Vietnam. A small business consulting firm hired me as their country representative. Four years later I joined a client as a sales manager for Asia Pacific, before moving to China as the general manager of their radio business. Overall, this has been 10 years in non-pharma businesses, in Asia Pacific.

In 2001, I joined Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi in France. What attracted me there were the human values and care for protection I felt during the interviews. Over 17 years, I held different positions across International Human Resources, Int’l Business Operations, Strategic Planning, Project Management, Marketing and Quality.

In 2011 I started an exploration of activism, co-creation, social networks, leadership transformation and how all of this can help business performance. Not always easy in a strictly regulated industry… but my work has triggered tangible and significant change globally and received multiple awards. Before founding We Need Social, I was Sanofi Pasteur Global Quality Head of Innovation and Engagement.