Meet Remy Mentelin
I’m the Customer Service Manager for the French business unit. I’m responsible for the customer-facing aspect of the business, so I look after everything from freight management and logistics, to working directly with customers.
Twelve years ago, I started at Refresco almost by accident. During my last year at university, I needed to find a work placement as part of my course, and I wanted to stay in the area. My girlfriend (she’s my wife now) and family were close by and I was also a volunteer firefighter, so I felt a responsibility to stay nearby.
There aren’t many people who can say that their grandmothers have been instrumental in their career trajectories, but I can. She suggested Refresco and - of course - I was skeptical. Fantastic career opportunities don’t usually present themselves on your doorstep, do they? But, as it turns out, it was advice I’m really glad I took. Stepping out of your comfort zone can mean relocating halfway around the globe, but it can also mean embracing opportunities that you might not have considered.
Now, 11 years later, I’m the Customer Service Manager for the French business unit. I’m responsible for the customer-facing aspect of the business, so I look after everything from freight management and logistics, to working directly with customers.
Today, I’m working at one of the four factories in my region. My day has taken a familiar form - meetings with my team, reviews of reports. I’m aware that I could be thrown a curve ball at any moment, but it’s a rhythm that I know well.
At Refresco we’re often required to act before we’ve got all the information. This is something I’m comfortable with and I notice that it’s a trait shared by many other successful people within the company. In my work as a firefighter, during leadership training in Belgian forests and in my day to day working life, what I’ve found is this: success comes from balancing the skills we already have with embracing new opportunities to learn.
"At Refresco we’re often required to act before we’ve got all the information. This is something I’m comfortable with and I notice that it’s a trait shared by many other successful people within the company."
- Rémy Mentelin, Customer Service and Distribution Manager, Refresco France
As a company, that’s how Refresco has grown. It’s certainly how I, personally, have grown. It’s no coincidence that I share many of the values that Refresco has, and when I look at colleagues who’ve also moved through the ranks here, they do too. After all, what is it they say? Adventure comes to those who seek it. I think that pretty much sums it up.