Camélia El Yamani, SMIB alumna, tells us more about her professional journey in the tech industry, how the ESSEC SMIB helped her to pivot her career into this industry, and shares valuable advice with females looking to enter this industry.
#WomenofESSECSMIB: Interview with Camélia El Yamani, SMIB alumna
29.3.2021
In this series, we discover the stories and celebrate the Women of ESSEC SMIB!
Tell us about your background and career path.
After graduating from Chemical Engineering in France, I joined the SMIB program in 2017 in Singapore to get a double degree in business.
After the SMIB, I joined L’Oréal and P&G in marketing roles, and then joined Amazon as an e-commerce account manager in 2019.
I’m currently managing across the EU’s top PC accessories brands at Amazon, with a total revenue of several hundred million a year.
What does being a woman in the tech industry mean to you?
It means that there is still a lot of education to be done to stop unconscious bias. I’m not in favor of any labels: I truly believe that we are all equally capable to do the same job and the gender question should not be a point of concern.
Did you enter the industry with any preconceptions and have these changed since then?
When I joined the PC retail team of Amazon, I thought I might join a team that is fond of Gaming when I was not really a specialist but it was not the case. It turned out that to do the job, you don’t need a PC or Gaming background because everything can be learned on the job. Actually, it is also a specificity of Amazon: when you apply to a retail job, you don’t really know in which category you are going to end up!
How do you think we can encourage more females to fulfil their goals of entering this industry and why do you think this is important?
Women in the industry need to feel more confident going to events, networking and putting themselves under the spotlight. If young women see more of us in those events, then maybe they will feel encouraged to pursue a career in a tech company.
How did your experience in the ESSEC SMIB help you in your career development?
Before the SMIB, I was a chemical engineer with R&D experience in consumer goods companies. So I would say that without the SMIB, I would not have been able to be hired in the tech industry as an account manager. I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to join the master as it was a real turning point in my career!
What advice would you have for female graduates aspiring to enter the tech industry?
I truly believe that female graduates need to be more confident, know their worth, and focus on what they bring to the table. If a woman wants to work in tech, she needs to apprehend it as any other job and not be intimidated. As Oprah said, “You get in life what you have the courage to ask for”.
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