The #NEWDEAL Collection, published by Télémaque Editions

The collection #NEWDEAL, published by Télémaque Editions, aims to give voice to new economic leaders who express a different approach to their profession or their company’s strategy.

Launched in September 2022 with the first book by Isabelle Grosmaitre, CEO and founder of Goodness and co, a catalyst for these transformations in companies, the collection is enriched at the end of this year with two new works by committed leaders, ‘Let’s not abandon the middle class!’ by Garance Wattez-Richard, CEO of Axa Emerging Customers, and ‘Better is Better’ by Antoine Fiévet, President of Bel.

Explanations with Stéphane Watelet, General Manager of Télémaque Editions, and Nelly Garnier, Editorial Director of the collection.

Can you explain the purpose and ambition of this #NEWDEAL collection at Télémaque ?

SW: This collection gives voice to new economic leaders who express a different way of envisioning their profession or their company’s strategy.

The first title written by Isabelle Grosmaitre focused on describing the functioning and principles of impact-driven companies and the growing importance they are gaining in the economy. It was a testimony of her profession as a consultant focused on this topic.

Since then, with the #NEWDEAL teams and Nelly Garnier, who oversees the editorial direction of the collection, we wanted to give voice to leaders of global leaders operating in various sectors, such as agribusiness with Bel and Antoine Fiévet, and insurance, with Garance Wattez-Richard at Axa Emerging Customers.

Two original insights into the new direction of insurance professions on one hand and the ongoing agribusiness revolution on the other.

What does each of these upcoming books tell us about the positive transformation of the economy ?

NG: On these subjects of business transformation, we sometimes had the impression of a somewhat disembodied approach, through activity reports, sometimes theoretical strategic axes, etc. However, the added value of this collection is to show how these strategies and innovative initiatives are integrated into personal, individual, and sometimes intimate journeys, through awareness-raising that may have occurred in the author’s youth or early years in the company.

This also shows the commitment and sincerity behind these corporate transformation projects, far from pure marketing or opportunistic strategies. Here, we realize that these are thoughtful, sincere approaches, sometimes driven by intrapreneurs who have advocated for change internally for a long time. Each of the books also shows the trial and error involved in changing ways of doing things, the humility of the pioneer.

Finally, the fact that these two books are authored by leaders of large companies interests us because the transformation they are undergoing has a profound impact on all clients, suppliers, and the environment… It is therefore a fundamental movement that is underway.

Can you describe each of the two books to be released soon ?

SW: Antoine Fiévet’s book, president of Bel, is a dialogue around the main innovations he has launched in his company since taking over its leadership about twenty years ago. He discusses both his entry into this company and the various steps that made him aware of the need to have different relationships with milk producers, for example, to avoid a form of precariousness for them. He describes very concretely what has been put in place in his group, with his teams, to propose a different way of doing things.

As for Garance Wattez-Richard’s book at Axa Emerging Customers, she chose to interview specialists from around the world, through a dialogue, this time with professionals in the insurance and microcredit field, who have implemented innovative solutions worldwide, particularly in southern countries, to accompany the evolution of the middle classes. Solutions that can be adapted to northern countries to slow down the decline of the lower middle classes, heavily impacted by the crisis.

These are therefore dialogue books, either with external experts or with internal stakeholders, explaining how the small, or even large, revolutions in their professions have gradually taken place.

Through these testimonies, we understand that doing good is better, but above all, beyond the philanthropic approach, it is a very rational and profitable economic approach from all points of view.

We see that the profiles and subjects are very different, what is their common denominator ?

NG: The objective of these books is to be a source of inspiration for all actors in the business world, to show them that it is feasible. We can change our way of doing things, even in a large company with financial, HR, etc. imperatives, it is possible! These are inspiring books that can help build momentum, that is the logic of #NEWDEAL: to attract more and more actors from the business world into this movement and demonstrate that these dynamics can be replicated and generalized!

Behind these ambitions, these ways of doing things, can we draw the profile of the new leader of the economy ?

NG: Precisely what is interesting is that they are very different! However, they all have convictions, a real sensitivity to their surroundings to want to change things, and finally a real curiosity and openness of mind towards the environment.

Beyond these common traits, they are men and women as impulsive as they are thoughtful, with a certain ability to rally around them.

SW: These are people who did not want to choose between their values and their life in the company. A desire not to have to dissociate what they were going to build in their personal family life and what they were going to do in their company. These men and women also reveal the personal driving force that led them to lead another way of operating.

A word to finish ?

SW: In the context of business books, writing remains an exercise that takes everyone much further than they thought, far from a simple classic corporate presentation. The authors got into the game, and this resulted in “real books,” matured and personal.

NG: We went to find people who had a very developed reflection on how to reconcile economic performance and impact, but the exercise of writing took them a step further, and their post-writing approach will certainly allow them to further amplify this movement of positive transformation of their professions.”