In partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS)

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Beyond the Expo: UNLEASH World 2023 Insider Series with Stellantis and AWS

UNLEASH spoke with Anne Fenninger, Head of Data and Software Academy at Stellantis to understand how they're undergoing total transformation as an organization and how Cloud technology, upksilling and reskilling is playing a part in this. Stellantis is the merger of PSA Group, and Chrysler and Fiat. It's 14 automative brands and two mobility brands and Anne's role at Stellantis is to handle the training for all people being in software and data.

Topics:

Skills Development

Strategy and Leadership

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My role at Stellantis is to handle the training for all people in software and data skills because we want to support the data transformation in the whole group. It is also to grow the software team by providing internal candidates that we upskill and reskill who are then able to take open positions in this growing entity.

What are the business challenges Stellantis is currently trying to solve?

Stellantis wants to become a mobility tech company coming from the automotive industry. It’s a big shift in the business model and the way we operate our teams and our skills.

The idea is really to make sure that we can transform some people who would like to become software developers or data scientists or product managers or whatever. So we have to re-skill at scale, which is a challenge. We also have to change the mindset within the group to go deeper into a culture of innovation, technology, agility, and so on. So, that would be the main challenge that we are facing today.

On top of this context, we also have a strong partnership with AWS to be able to support the team from a technical perspective and build our data mesh and all the cloud technology around our development. And, on my side, we will focus more on training and learning, developing our cloud skills but also developing a tech mindset within the business.

We are co-designing TechCelerate, which is a program leading to change the mindset of our people to embrace a culture of innovation, customer centricity and new ways of working, and lots of other topics that are always growing! The starting point is the skills guide framework from AWS.

How do you see Cloud and technology aiding with these challenges?

With AWS we are having instructor-led training for the main cloud training. We have some webinar format sessions when we intend to change the culture and support a wider audience. There is also an additional platform with Skills Builder, so that can be complimentary to the technical training. And, more to come!

What are you most excited about as you embark on this journey of transformation?

The thing I’m most excited about is that it’s a real transformation for the group and we often don’t get the opportunity to see such a transformation from industry to tech company. It’s a completely different mindset and where I think I can add value, and what is exciting for me, is being able to help people with another background embrace new ways of working and evolve with this ever-learning mindset. This is so critical when we want to move forward with technology.

Interviewee

Anne Fenninger UNLEASH World

Anne Fenninger

Head of Data and Software Academy, Stellantis

Anne started her career in marketing, working in various roles including research manager, product manager and communications manager. Having developed a strong interest in digital, Anne took over as Head of Digital for Peugeot. Following this, she joined Prime Minister services in France, to be in charge of the digital strategy for more than 3 years, and then participated in the creation of the DS Automobiles brand, implementing their digital strategy. Anne then decided to make a shift in her career to become the head of PSA University (now Stellantis) in September 2018, followed by Head of Global Learning at Stellantis, after the merger of PSA with the Fiat-Chrysler group. Her target was to develop a culture of learning and strengthen the digital transformation, in collaboration with the Chief Digital Officer. Since the beginning of 2022, Anne has taken on a new challenge to support the transformation of the Stellantis group towards becoming a "mobility tech company”, by taking on the Head of Data and Software Academy role, with the main mission being to retrain employees across the group to gain the skills needed to join the Software teams, or to develop data projects in their division.