About Sanofi
Industry: Healthcare and Pharmaceutical
Location: Cambridge, MA
Company size: 91,000
What They Do: Sanofi provides potentially life-changing treatment options and life-saving vaccine protection to millions globally while putting sustainability and social responsibility at the center of their ambitions.
Q&A with Elliott Bowles, Director of Enterprise Analytics
Q: Do you work directly with the students doing their graduate co-op at Sanofi?
A: Yes. As the Director of Enterprise Analytics at Sanofi, I oversaw the recruitment and management of our Enterprise Analytics co-op.
Q: What's an example of a responsibility you'd entrust to a graduate co-op?
A: Sanofi's revenue growth management team is focused on finding opportunities to use data to increase revenue, and bringing in co-ops with data analytics knowledge and a fresh perspective helps enhance our capabilities and drive innovation in our processes.
As a graduate co-op you could expect to leverage your tech and analytics skills to tackle a project at Sanofi with minimal oversight. A significant aspect of our co-op's work involved forecasting and predicting future trends by analyzing our forecasting methods across various customers and teams within Sanofi, using analytics tools such as Snowflake for data extraction and Power BI DataMart for filtering and profiling.
She provided recommendations for process improvements and developed tools, primarily spreadsheets, to identify opportunities and changes in our forecasts. Her work included a retrospective analysis to identify behavioral opportunities and the creation of practical tools. This combination of analysis and tool development proved to be very beneficial and helpful for us.
Q: What qualities do you look for when selecting graduate co-op students?
The most important qualities in a graduate co-op are creativity and a self-starter mindset. I look for someone who proactively identifies opportunities and takes the initiative to pursue tasks without waiting for instructions.
While technical skills are important, they can be taught. Soft skills, like curiosity, collaboration, and cultural fit, are much harder to develop. So, I prioritize finding someone who fits well with our team and can grow within our environment. Additionally, having a good understanding of our business is crucial. Ultimately, I'm looking for a graduate co-op who can hit the ground running and contribute effectively.
Q: How do D'Amore-McKim graduate students apply their classroom learning to co-op roles?
The MS in Business Analytics program equips students with knowledge of various tools and software essential for data analysis roles. As a result, graduate co-ops apply their skills in Python, R, SQL, Tableau, and Excel with a higher readiness compared to typical interns.
In her co-op, she worked extensively with data, extracting it from different systems, building a data structure for reporting, and developing a visual tool in Excel to present her findings. Her classroom experience enabled her to complete these tasks with minimal support. She concluded her co-op with a professional-grade final presentation, showcasing her work, its value, her methodology, and her learnings to senior leaders.
Q: How does Sanofi's mentorship program work?
At Sanofi, we had a fantastic mentorship program for our graduate co-ops and interns. We arrange a trip to our headquarters in Bridgewater, New Jersey, where you'll engage in panel discussions with leaders and participate in various learning opportunities. We also facilitate one-on-one meetings with leaders and teams to expose you to different parts of the business.
A cohort goes through the program together, which is nice because you can talk to one another about what you're working on. This cohort included interns from different schools, local to New Jersey and more remote in the US. It was a great way for graduate co-ops to network, learn, and grow within the company.
Q: How do graduate students benefit from a graduate co-op at Sanofi?
As a graduate co-op at Sanofi, you'll engage in projects that truly matter for our company's growth. For example, our recent graduate co-op completed a thorough analysis of our forecasting process, resulting in substantial time savings and process enhancements. Her contributions directly influenced Sanofi, a prominent global healthcare organization, and she had the opportunity to witness the impact firsthand.
This graduate co-op experience will help you develop practical skills and insights you can't gain from classroom learning alone. You also network with professionals in the field, which can lead to valuable connections and potential future job opportunities. Sanofi's graduate co-op program also provides you with mentorship and guidance, helping you navigate your career path and make informed decisions about your future.
Q: Do you plan to hire more graduate co-ops?
Absolutely. While our intern program evolves each year and we seek different specialties, the positive experience with D'Amore-McKim graduate co-op students makes me eager to continue the partnership.
