Meet Pascal | Associate Strategy Consultant
“We also have many exciting internal tasks, where each of us shapes the future of diconium as a company a little bit, which is something I really enjoy!”
Pascal Dagné joined diconium as a working student in project management. Eventually he felt that it would be nice to broaden his mind and explore a different field. He came to enjoy working in the strategy department so much that he applied for a permanent position there and was able to start working immediately after completing his master’s degree. In our experts interview, he explains how this came about, what role mobility plays for him, and what he likes to do in his free time.
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Hi Pascal, if we take a look at your CV, we see that mobility is a recurring theme. Can you tell us why?
Well, I’m from Stuttgart and with all the major car manufacturers around here and the consultancies that specialize in it, I’d say the topic is omnipresent.
You’re saying you can’t escape it?
I studied business administration and economics at the University of Hohenheim, and due to the industry in and around Stuttgart, mobility is indeed one of the central topics there. Additionally, the whole construct of mobility and the automotive industry offer great opportunities to get started in the region.
But apart from that it’s just an exciting topic that is currently undergoing a major upheaval with the rise of e-mobility, connectivity, and autonomous driving technologies. These are super-exciting topics for the future that present the industry with challenges on the one hand and offer many opportunities, especially for a more sustainable future of mobility, on the other.
Do you want to become a colleague of Pascal at diconium? Take a look at our open positions! 💜🚀 Strategy Consulting / All vacancies
You joined diconium as a working student. How did you find out about diconium?
I was looking for a new working student job during my studies and simply typed “digital project management, Stuttgart” into the Google search bar. diconium was one of the first results — we’re pretty good at search engine optimization — and I really liked the look and feel that the career page gave me. I immediately noticed that all the fancy expressions in the job and company description are not just empty words. That’s what I love about diconium in general; the values we have are not just empty words, they really are an integral part of our everyday life. This is also reflected in the company’s appearance. As an applicant, I was immediately hooked.
“That’s what I love about diconium in general; the values we have are not just empty words, they really are an integral part of our everyday life.”
What exactly do you do at diconium?
I joined diconium in the digital solutions department. Agile project management was one of my main tasks. I really liked it there and the team was great. At some point, I expressed the desire to take a look at a different area: the strategy department. An HR manager and my then-director helped me make this happen, then one thing quickly led to another and I landed permanently in the strategy department. I’m very thankful to have gotten this awesome opportunity to get a feel for another department without any administrative struggles at all.
That means you switched between the units?
Exactly. I spent three months getting a taste of this new area and liked it so much that I then applied for a permanent position in this field. I really like project management but feel like strategy suits my interests and strengths more. I think the variety of projects at diconium strategy is very exciting. You can learn about a large number of topics in depth in a very short period of time and you rapidly acquire a broad range of new knowledge. I think it’s super cool to be able to delve into topics that are becoming increasingly important in the wake of digitization.
After successfully completing your master’s thesis, you also managed to get a permanent position — congratulations! Can you briefly describe your current tasks as an associate strategy consultant?
Thank you! My main responsibility as associate strategy consultant is the project work. For example, right now I’m assigned to a project related to the development of an app related to electric vehicle charging. In this assignment, my responsibilities include tracking the performance of the app’s features and coming up with potential improvements. I also support my team by providing a strategic perspective on the future of the product. Apart from the client work, we also have many exciting internal tasks, where each of us shapes the future of diconium as a company a little bit, which is something I really enjoy! In my case, this is related to improving the onboarding experience for new joiners, something that I just recently experienced first-hand.
“Thank you! My main responsibility as associate strategy consultant is the project work. For example, right now I’m assigned to a project related to the development of an app related to electric vehicle charging.”
What are the most important skills in your role?
I would say openness and flexibility. When I was working in project management supporting our Scrum Masters, for example, I had to adapt to the pain points of the customers and other stakeholders and enable them where I could. Flexibility, because the problems are manifold: sometimes technical, sometimes personal.
In my new role as associate strategy consultant as well, those two aspects are most important. In our projects we face exciting new tasks pretty much on a daily basis. Being open-minded and flexible really helps taking on the variety of complex tasks we deal with.
But openness and flexibility are important not only in my role, but everywhere at diconium. We are at the forefront of technology, always up to date and facing the future. The topics are so diverse, which is why flexibility is a huge plus.
“But openness and flexibility are important not only in my role, but everywhere at diconium. We are at the forefront of technology, always up to date and facing the future.”
You wrote your master’s thesis and worked as a student trainee at diconium at the same time. How did you manage this balancing act?
It’s not easy to juggle both but diconium has laid the groundwork for it. Communication is very important here. I told my team in advance that I’d have to go down with the hours next month due to my thesis, and then it was no problem. You can choose to work on fixed days, or you work only a couple of hours every day of the week. Working students can decide that for themselves quite flexibly, of course depending somewhat on the current needs of the team. It takes a bit of self-organization to balance your studies and your job, but if you know your calendar and communicate openly, it’s no problem.
And what about free time?
Sure, there’s space for that as well. Even in the strategy consulting department 😉. I like to play handball in my free time, I coached the varsity team for a long time and continued as a player afterwards. That’s a great balance to work. I’ve also always enjoyed social activities. Up until this summer, for example, I had been involved for more than a year with a non-profit organization promoting more equal opportunities and education for children in Germany as a tutor. I also like to travel and explore new cultures. That’s why I did a semester abroad in Japan and later worked there for half a year. It’s amazing how much you can learn by being open to new cultures. Since I worked in the automotive industry in Japan, it also strengthened my decision to stay in that field.
“I like to play handball in my free time, I coached the varsity team for a long time and continued as a player afterwards. That’s a great balance to work.”
Are there any benefits outside of work that you take advantage of at diconium?
There are plenty! First of all, the parties are very good and quite numerous. The summer party, for example, is always the highlight of the year. We have an individual mobility budget which you can use to your heart’s desire, both for your commute or for private travel. Other than that, we have partnerships with certain gyms in all of our office cities and enjoy corporate benefits in various online shops. There really is a lot to choose from.
Do you want to become a colleague of Pascal at diconium? Take a look at our open positions! 💜🚀 Strategy Consulting / All vacancies
Looking at our values: What are the ingredients for successful collaboration?
My favorite value is #collaboration. I really love the team at diconium, since everyone is highly intrinsically motivated to make an impact and really likes what they are doing. Again, openness plays a very central role here. Open-minded people that are passionate are the best recipe for a successful collaboration, which in turn creates a big #impact. People here at diconium take care of each other and help each other out whenever necessary.
“I really love the team at diconium, since everyone is highly intrinsically motivated to make an impact and really likes what they are doing.”
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