Mel Ginever is Head of Spend Management, Group IT at Capgemini.

She shares her journey at Capgemini, and why she is proud to work at the company.

What does a day in your life at Capgemini look like?

My high-level objective is to control and influence Group IT external purchasing relating to hardware, software, telco products and services. This involves daily collaboration with finance, procurement, and legal corporate functions to ensure full alignment on spend, sourcing and contractual matters. The goal is to maximize contract value generation, minimize contractual leakage, in order to optimize future spend opportunities. In essence, this means ensuring we are only buying and renewing what we really need and when we need it, with the aim to avoid unnecessary spending and plan for the Group IT future roadmap, whilst improving the quality of our contracts.

I have become a master at being able to quickly switch from one topic to another – whether it is driving synergy programs, deep diving into investment business cases, dealing with vendor escalations, sponsoring new solutions and reviewing associated contracts, through to presenting investments to the Group Investment Committee.

What’s the best thing about working at Capgemini?

Our inspirational people! Building relationships, networking, and collaboration creates constant opportunities to grow and develop on a personal and professional level, with the support and encouragement to take on new challenges. Working in a global role over the past 10+ years has made me appreciate and respect the diversity across our organization. Within the Capgemini culture there is mutual trust that allows independence, values new ideas, and invests for the future.

What makes you proud to work at Capgemini?

Being part of a constantly evolving organization that is current, ethical, inclusive, and sharing that journey with over 270,000 others. The pandemic has highlighted the strength and conviction of our people, and we continue to collectively excel in the past challenging months. Our company core values are really at the heart of our drive, and it has been even more important while working from home to stay connected. I have witnessed the determination of teams to continually drive team spirit, interact daily, and inject an element of fun even in these testing times.

How are you working towards the future you want?

On a personal level, it is by setting myself realistic goals that are achievable, and the stepping-stones to my success. This does not mean that I am limiting my ambition – far from it, it means that every stepping-stone takes me closer. It is so important to voice and share ambition, as progression is a much easier journey if you have support on the way. However, on a broader scale our investment in the future is to support the CSR, sustainability, and inclusion targets as individually we can all make a difference. Additionally, investment in developing and mentoring our future workforce and leaders is critical for future success.

What advice would you give to someone joining Capgemini?

Speak up! Be bold and have a voice, Capgemini is a large organization and on occasions you will need to take yourself out of your comfort zone to be heard. Remember that you will not get on with everyone but always be respectful of others and their opinions. If things do not go as first planned, turn it into a positive and learn for the future. Keep an open mind and listen to others, however, trust and believe in yourself.

Start an exciting career in IT at Capgemini 

Find the career path that’s right for you at Capgemini. As a graduate or experienced professional, you will be working with the world’s leading brands to enhance and transform the way they do business.

Search careers in IT at Capgemini - outsourcing, technology, IT consultancy and more.

Find out more