- In public you often expand on the concept of HR as a strategic partner. Can you tell us yet again what this signifies to you?
Xavier Chéreau. Indeed, I do tend to qualify the HR role as that of a strategic partner rather than of a business partner. I don’t really like using the latter term, as it relates to a slightly outdated vision of the HR support function. Today, the HR division has to be able to act and intervene ahead of the Group’s transformation actions. Understanding all the significant economic issues at stake is essential in order to be relevant and to support the full set of stakeholders, both in the company and outside it, so as to wholly understand the environment in which we live. If for instance we take today’s auto-sector, then this means having an understanding of the complete topic of CO2, as well as that of international auto-sector competition. HR has to know how to evolve in this highly complex universe and to identify the major levers for transformation processes.