Adeline Barras

Adeline Barras, a 2012 graduate, is a Technical Sales Representative at Dow. She talks about her job and what was the determining factor in her recent hiring by one of the leading chemical industry groups, a partner of ECPM.

"It is an integrated function within a very specific division of Dow. Dow Formulated Systems develops and markets fully formulated, custom polyurethane systems for customers in a wide variety of industries, with applications ranging from construction to wind power, from furniture and home furnishings to shoe soles and sports equipment.

I am responsible for a portfolio of customers, from the development of customized solutions to sales negotiation, support and technical advice. However, my role also includes taking charge of the development of this market segment by winning new customers and introducing new, particularly innovative products, while anticipating market needs and developing a high level of competitive intelligence in my territory (France and Benelux). Finally, I take an active part in defining the group's strategy in order to consolidate and develop Dow's position on the world market.


My training at ECPM and at the School of Management (EM Strasbourg) have both prepared me ideally for this type of position; the ECPM, because of its advanced and very complete training in polymers, and thanks to which I can now be a force for technical proposals within Dow, and EM, where I followed the Master of Business Administration (MAE), because of the general culture and the training in business tools that this school gave me (marketing tools, training in Business Case, Financial Analysis and structure of an EBITDA etc.).

The trilingual training at ECPM was an asset when I was hired by Dow, but it was also thanks to my internships that I was able to develop the international character that Dow was looking for... Indeed, as an American group, we communicate most of the time in English, but it is also a certain openness to multiculturalism and the ability to work with people from very different backgrounds that are appreciated.

Being the contact between R&D and Marketing and Sales functions during one of my internships was important for Dow: it shows a certain capacity of adaptability. During the professionalization year, I was able to travel and implement tests for the company abroad. It is this type of experience, which requires autonomy and initiative, that Dow was looking for in a technical sales representative position. During a conference in Brussels, which I learned about through a company I was working for as an intern, I met Dow's Human Resources "Europe" who introduced me to this position. One of my former co-interns at L'Oréal had done an internship at Dow on the same site where I am based today. I was able to analyze the important points to emphasize during job interviews. For Dow, this reflected my interest in the position and the group. The networking I developed during my internships was therefore clearly decisive for my recruitment."