First who, then what!
"First who, then what", is Extia's trademark. The starting point is the "Who", the person, their aspirations, and talents, to then co-constructing the "What", a project with meaning and added value for them and for Extia. Convinced that well-being at work generates performance, we recruit our employees for what they are, and not only for what they do.
A simple but inspiring idea!
How can an organization achieve excellence? A simple idea taken from a book by Jim Collins will strongly inspire Arnaud Frey, Extia's President and Founder. According to the author, it is better to surround yourself with the best collaborators (first who) and foster permanent debate within your company (then what) than to start from a well-defined strategy and then recruit people who will decline it. This intrapreneurial approach, resolutely focused on the individual, will profoundly influence Extia's model. First who, then what!
The intrapreneur wall
Extia owes what it is today to the hundreds of intrapreneurs who have been able to appropriate the company playground, transforming their ideas into clear projects, and their achievements into successes. A big thank you and a huge bravo to them, hoping that they are sources of inspiration for future Extiapreneurs! Why not you?
As much a competitor as an (ingenious 😊) engineer, Arnaud created Extia in 2007. He was then 30 years old and wanted to escape from a "classic" business model that no longer satisfied him and curbed his initiatives. 16 years later, Extia has 2,500 "Who", and even more "What".
Ambitious and fearless, Justine spent 3 years in Paris before settling down in the North. She opened the Lille agency in 2015 and made it a successful model. 4 years later, onwards to Nantes with the ambition to do even better in the West!
Adventurers at heart, they both want to combine the desire to go international with business opportunity. In 2016, they moved to Bucharest and opened the first non-francophone agency: Extia Romania. The adventure continues in 2024 with the opening of Extia in Milan.
Always true to himself, Arnaud created the sponsorship centre in 2015 after 2 years spent at Extia as a Systems and network engineering consultant. His objective? Allow Extians to get involved in the causes that matter for them. Arnaud has since supported more than 52 solidarity projects, and this is just a start!
A consultant specializing in telecoms, David took advantage of an inter-project period to challenge himself. In 2015, he created the Telecom Design Office in Aix-en-Provence! The success was such that the Design Office was quickly developing, and can now be found in Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Paris. What’s next?
If there is one Extian with a taste for challenge, it is Marouane. He began his adventure in 2017 as a Consultant and then moved on to the job of Business Manager to finally became Business Unit Manager at Extia Grand Nord. After 5 years in France, he decided to take Extia beyond European borders: our Canadian agency was born!
A passionate Information Systems Security Manager and a competitive Service Delivery Manager, all with a nice dose of cybersecurity, and here's the perfect example of "First Who, Then What"! Having joined Extia in 2021, our two agents immediately set themselves the challenge of creating Cyber by Extia, Extia's all-inclusive cybersecurity offering. Learn more about Cyber by Extia.
For Jean Baptiste, a new year signifies the launch of a new agency! His journey began in 2017 in Lyon. In 2019, he entered a new phase of his adventure with Extia by opening an agency in Bordeaux. The following year, he relocated to the Toulousain department of Extia before establishing an agency in Niort/La Rochelle the year after that. In 2023, he was appointed Director of Development for the Sud-Ouest and Rhône-Alpes regions 🚀 What will be his next achievement?
Well being and performance
What if well-being at work and performance go hand in hand? At Extia, we are convinced that it does. Since 2007, we have grown from 3 to 2,500 Extians, while maintaining a high level of satisfaction among our employees. A satisfaction that we measure very, very often and which is reflected in our continuous presence on the Great Place to Work® ranking for more than 10 years. How? By creating a stimulating professional playground, in which everyone can be themselves, progress by trial and error, and give free rein to what they want.
A model that works
Growth in headcount and turnover and evolution of our Great Place To Work® France ranking.
The Extians at the helm
Our favourite figures
Our management team
Founding President
Chief Executive Officer
Group Director of Human Resources, Communication, CSR and Transformation
Director of Coordination and Business Development
Group Performance and Innovation Director
Group Finance, Legal and M&A Director