PosterNews – December 2010

Matthieu was nominated by Andrew Wait for his outstanding performance in his role as an International Business Manager. When asked how Matthieu went ‘above and beyond’, Andrew states, « Matthieu is as resourceful as they come; he can make something from nothing. He is versatile: analytics, new content, PR, technical projects – Matthieu does it all. He has great fundamentals, he is thorough, careful, and complete in his approach to work. He quickly got confortable with the complexity of the business ».

Rookie of the year award: Matthieu Dejardins (PosterNews Magazine), December 2010

You joined Art.com less than a year ago. How does it feel to be recognized for the Rookie of the Year Award?

As a concept, I think recognition of an individual as well as team effort is definitely a key to create positive employee motivation. Remember people do things for their reasons not yours!
We are in a creative industry and everyone should be encouraged to use their full talents to impact our business and contribute to the company’s success.
To reach my goals, I had a lot of support from the Technology and Merchandising teams as well as specific mentors that I would like to thank. I am pretty sure they will recognize themselves.
Again, it is a collective “win” (to use Geoffroy’s terminology) and not a “one-man show”!

Tell us about your role here at Art.com

Good question… The International Department has a gravitational position where we need to interact with every department: Finance (to budget & to adapt our client payment options), Merchandising (to localize our offerings & to launch new collections such as RMN), Technology (to transform our dreams into reality), Customer Support (to enhance the shopper’s satisfaction), UIE (to shift browsers into buyers) and every acquisition channel (to drive/engage visitors to the conversion funnel).
The spectrum is quite large I would say!

What do you enjoy most about working here?
The potential that each employee has to make a difference. Each one of us has so many opportunities that it is even dangerous… You really have to focus your attention on the most productive initiatives by assessing all the time your priorities. People will feel more motivated if they work in an environment where they are challenged and still have the opportunity to innovate. This also implies that you are granting them with the freedom to make decisions. I am not a strong believer in micro management. If you don’t take ownership, you won’t ever truly fail, but you probably won’t ever succeed either.

Please tell us about any hobbies/activities you are interested in outside of work
As an “exotic import” (cf. Andrew Wait), I like to travel and discover other cultures. My project for next year is a worldwide travel tour that I will complete with my wife. It was our wedding gift and after 2 years, it is time for us to enjoy 8 different countries in 25 days. I also like to smoke Cuban cigars drink an old Caribbean rum after a gargantuesque dinner, clubbing until the end of the night, exercising with my coach after an hangover, reading books that I will never finish because in the meantime I found another interesting one, going to social event and emulating my mind with new ideas and possibilities.

Is there anything else you’d like our employees to know about you?
No thanks. You already know too much about me.