In 2021, when Altesia had barely three consultants (in addition to the partners), Manon joined the team in the middle of the pandemic. Today, four years later, she is on the verge of becoming a senior manager.
In the meantime? Thirteen assignments, a recognised expertise, a mentoring role, and above all a real involvement in the company’s development.
From a small team
to a collective adventure
When she joined Altesia, Manon Vandenplas was not yet familiar with consulting.
“ I applied on a gut feeling. I was looking for a human-sized organisation, a place where I could thrive, learn, and feel like I belonged. ”
One month after her arrival, she started her first assignment. Very quickly, the pace picked up. She moved from project to project across a wide range of sectors, with one common thread: supporting companies at key moments. Fundraising, ERP implementation, reporting creation, structuring a finance department: Manon became a valuable asset, particularly in the life sciences sector.
“ What I like is that every assignment is unique. I’ve worked for five clients at the same time, with fixed days for some, and more flexible work blocks for others. It allows me to build skills very quickly, while adapting to their needs. ”
Leaving a lasting impact with clients
Most assignments last a few months. When they come to an end, Manon takes care to prepare the transition by training the teams, or remains available in the long term in case of questions.
“ I find that the moment when you finish an assignment is always a strong one. You arrive in a company, integrate, understand, structure, bring a method… And then you leave. But you know that what you’ve built continues to live on. I’m thinking of one client, for example, for whom we created the finance department from scratch. I put the reporting in place, structured the team, and when I left, someone was able to take over my work without starting from zero. ”
It is this ability to build sustainably that is Altesia’s strength, and what gives meaning to the assignments.
An evolving role,
growing trust
Over the years, Manon has seen her role evolve. She became a mentor, leads new consultants during onboarding, and will soon step into a senior manager role. Whenever possible, she also contributes to commercial development—through her network or thanks to the trust of former clients who recommend Altesia.
For her, it’s simple:
“ If I had stayed four years internally within a single company, I would never have had access to so many situations, types of clients, and contexts. I learned incredible things in strategy, project management, and of course finance. And I always had Altesia as a reassuring base. A kind of ‘safe place’ to recharge, grow, exchange ideas, and ask questions about the issues we encounter in our assignments. ”
While client assignments are important, reconnecting with the teams in Altesia’s offices is just as essential. Many consultants choose to spend their remote-working days for clients from Altesia’s offices.
And when they are not on assignment, consultants also have the opportunity to work on internal projects, for example to structure and share a common knowledge base, or to implement tools.
Thus, between assignments, Manon has also developed many internal projects. She is notably the “champion” of the Monday tool, used to track assignments by consultants.
“ I’ve also delivered training in finance, management control, cash flow, consolidation… ”
Watching the team grow
Since she joined, Manon has seen the team grow from three colleagues to more than 60.
“ I always make sure to welcome new consultants by scheduling a one-to-one during their first week. It’s important for me to really get to know everyone. All the more so because afterwards, I give them training sessions that are part of the onboarding. It’s very important to me that people know who they’re dealing with. ”
Manon also has this human connection with the partners.
“ When I arrived, I was ‘the new kid’ and it was my second professional experience. Today, they trust me with many things. It’s very rewarding. ”
A company true to its values
Manon has seen Altesia change offices three times to make more room for the growing team, open new BUs and structure its processes. Yet she points out: “What hasn’t changed is our human foundation. We’ve grown, but we’ve kept our soul.”
She also stresses the importance of team moments.
“Teambuildings are always very strong moments. That’s when you feel just how close-knit we are as a team, and how much we share, even though everyone is working on their own assignments.”