Normalienne: an asset for the company

Charlotte Vandeputte (class of 1997 in economics and management) developed a passion for numbers when she took the entrance exam for ENS Paris-Saclay in the late '90s. Twenty-five years later, she is a partner at Deloitte, where she has been for a decade, and a member of the executive committee for two years, overseeing human resources and talent development.

After obtaining her teaching qualification in economics and management in 2000, Charlotte Vandeputte initially considered a career in the civil service and successfully passed various exams. She ultimately chose La Poste, where a year-long assignment, similar to a corporate mission, convinced her to pursue a career in financial auditing. She recalls, 'It was a field that particularly attracted me, and I was convinced that I would thrive more in it than in the civil service.' With her teaching qualification providing equivalences for working in accounting, she joined Deloitte in 2001, where she has since had an exemplary professional journey.

Today, Charlotte is an auditor, certifying the accounts of major international banking groups, while also providing financial advice. She explains, 'My profession is regulated. It involves, with complete independence and objectivity, instilling confidence in the markets about the quality of financial statements, enabling institutions to be listed and borrow money. It is a profession dedicated to citizens as it ensures the functioning of the economy.'

Polyvalence and Intellectual Rigor 

Charlotte Vandeputte looks back with pride on her studies at ENS Paris-Saclay. 'The school provided me with intellectual rigor, quality reasoning, and self-confidence. Coming from a rather modest background, I strongly believe in meritocracy, which is achieved through education in a prestigious school like ENS Paris-Saclay and opens the door to successful careers in business.' She particularly values her training in economics, considering it one of the best. The academic content is both highly theoretical and applied to various socio-economic domains.

I gained at ENS Paris-Saclay a broad general culture in all areas of economics and management. This intellectual versatility, which allows making connections between all subjects with an unparalleled perspective, is essential in my auditing profession. It is indeed a real asset for any professional journey.'

Searching for Exceptional Talents 

Since joining Deloitte's executive committee in 2021, Charlotte has taken on new responsibilities in human resources and team training in France. 'My role today is also to enable young people and women who join us to achieve successful careers with us.' From this perspective, normaliens have a special place, among other excellent schools. 'Companies today need not only very good experts but experts who can synthesize different fields. When dealing with new challenges from our clients, we need to think outside the box, be creative. However, we cannot innovate with identical profiles, hence the need to diversify our recruitment sources. This is what enriches our teams and enables them to find solutions for our clients.' She admits to sometimes facing a lack of openness on the academic side. For several years, Deloitte has been engaging doctoral students (CIFRE thesis), a virtuous approach on both sides to establish links, according to her, and one that she wishes to further develop. 'On the one hand, the practical cases encountered in the company contribute to the research of doctoral students, and they, in turn, propose innovative solutions.' Additionally, the diversification of profiles also involves openness to social diversity and encouraging young women to pursue scientific careers.

For the talent manager at Deloitte, ENS Paris-Saclay has a key role to play in creating more bridges between the academic world and businesses. Students must realize that they will be a force for them once hired. 'There is an extraordinary prestige in being a normalien in a company!’ Charlotte exclaims. Indeed, not a year goes by at Deloitte without her being reminded of her status. 'Being a normalien gives you both the keys and the responsibility to advance society,' she concludes.