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Published on 13.07.2026 
I grew up near Valenciennes and lived in Lille for several years. After completing a DUT degree in physics and chemistry, I totally changed career paths to work at B2S in Valenciennes—which has since become Konnecta—a company specialized in customer relationship management (CRM) and digital services for businesses.
I was promoted several times and served as a manager for six years. I then joined Vérisure as a sales manager before returning to school and earning a master’s degree in business strategy and management at SKEMA Lille.
After gaining experience at Malakoff Humanis in direct sales, I wanted to explore the world of startups at Nextories (formerly e-déménager), where I continued to work in customer relations and telesales.
I then joined Papernest (a FT120 scale-up) for five years, where I led and developed B2C FR Market production
I’ve been with Sqwad—the company that’s revolutionizing customer relations—since 2025.
Joining a startup that was founded in 2021 is a personal challenge. Sqwad is experiencing strong growth and has an innovative business model in the customer relationship sector. The company stands out for its business model, which is based on independent contractors and is 100% “remote”1. This positioning is unique and requires a different approach to structuring operations.
I found it very interesting to help build a model that is still in its early stages, to help structure the organization, and to make progress on key operational and strategic issues. I had already worked with Sqwad as a service provider when I was at Papernest. So I was aware of how their business model differed from those of traditional players. I was convinced of their added value, which made me want to join them.
1 Employee who works remotely, from wherever and whenever they want
Sqwad is a company specialized in customer relationship outsourcing, a sector in which France is home to several very large, long-established companies: Webhelp (now Concentrix), Konnecta (formerly B2S), Téléperformance (world leader)… These organizations have employees and recruit within a 40- to 50-km radius of their physical location.
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As for us, we rely on a network of over 20,000 independent agents located around the world, which allows us to recruit anywhere and offer our clients unparalleled flexibility:
It’s a win-win model. To compensate for physical distance, we developed Sqwad 360, a proprietary platform that allows us to manage teams in real time, continuously monitor performance, and recreate a “virtual call center” that feels just as personal as an in-person setting.
In addition to independent remote agents, we need on-site management staff. So we needed to find managers with experience in telemarketing or customer service, ideally with industry-specific expertise (energy, insurance, telecommunications, etc.). However, when I arrived, the company had only one location: Paris.
The local job market there isn’t the best place to recruit this type of candidate on a large scale.
Lille is both a personal choice—since I’m from the region—and a practical one, because the Hauts-de-France region is a leading center for telemarketing and customer relations.
The Metropolis has operational expertise, seasoned managers, and a very dense network of companies in the sector. I quickly persuaded our management that it was the best strategic location for our operations.
Currently, we are a team of about ten people, and we will be adding one or two more employees every month.
Naturally, I had looked into other options, including the cities of Reims and Rouen. The Lyon area was also quite relevant.
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While the quality of the labor market was our top priority, another factor played a role: the support provided by regional economic stakeholders. In this regard, we were impressed by how quickly our contacts responded and took action.
The Hauts-de-France region was the first to respond to our request and has supported us very effectively. My goals were simple: to find suitable office space and quickly recruit the right candidates. Within a few days, I had the right contacts, the right HR liaisons, the right job postings, and sound advice. And all this was free, with top-notch service!
The support isn’t just a one-time thing; every month, we have regular contact with Nord France Invest or Hello Lille.
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As for the offices, I was already considering Euratechnologies, but we were presented with several options.
Above all, we benefited from very helpful HR support (posting job listings, referring qualified candidates, local contacts, etc.), which saved us a lot of time.
It took us only three weeks from the time we decided to set up shop in Lille until we moved into our offices.
We want to build on our momentum in France, which will lead us to open additional locations across the country, as this will allow us to be closer to certain customers, facilitate face-to-face meetings, and strengthen our relationship of trust.
We also want to strengthen our international growth, because our business model lends itself perfectly to this—we don’t need to open a physical location in every country. We already operate in many European countries (Italy, Spain, the Benelux countries, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and have a presence outside Europe (Canada, Quebec, and certain states in the US).
We are currently growing at a rate of +40%, but this growth is set to accelerate further. Since I arrived, we have opened a location in Barcelona—in addition to Lille—to serve as a multilingual hub for Southern Europe, a city with a long-standing reputation in the contact center industry. Other locations are being considered, particularly in North America…
Alexis Barbay, a native of the Hauts-de-France region, was well aware of all the benefits Euratechnologies had to offer when he discussed setting up a location in Lille with his managers.
It is a major hub for business creation, one of the largest incubators in France—if not in Europe—and a highly renowned institution.” It’s also a place where you can easily build a local network of partners, service providers, business contacts and even potential customers. It’s a connection accelerator. Their strength lies in their ability to provide adaptable and flexible spaces very quickly, which is a perfect fit for a rapidly growing company like ours.
Highlighting the quality of “made in France” customer relations, Sqwad’s manager emphasizes the versatility of regional talent:
This is unique in the Hauts-de-France region because elsewhere, skills are often very sector-specific.” Here, a single candidate can excel in three or four different industries, which suits us perfectly since we operate in energy, insurance, education, retail, and so on.
Yet another reason why our region is so attractive to companies that specialize in customer relations.
Dorothée
Rémi
Dorothée and Rémi are your primary points of contact for any project in the customer relations sector. They will support you every step of the way as you set up your business in the Hauts-de-France region.
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