HEC Alumni West Coast Stories -Olivia Malterre — HEC 2016 — Product Manager, Feedly
By: Hec Alumni West Coast
Tags: Careers, San Francisco, Hec Paris, Alumni, Product Management

“There aren’t many cities in the world that can offer incredible career opportunities and such quality of life.”

When and why did you move to San Francisco?

I am French and I used to live in Tel-Aviv with my Argentinian husband. I was interning at Costockage, a French tech startup. In Israel, the compulsory military service for citizens is a very important rite of passage during which young Israelis learn a lot of skills. It is a real springboard for their careers. We realized that, as foreigners who would not be enrolled, our career ambitions would be hindered. So we started looking for another city where we could both work in tech.

New York and San Francisco were on top of our list.

My family happened to live in San Francisco when I was 7 years old. My mother got a work assignment here with IBM. I had great memories of the city and could reach out to friends of the family for advice. So we decided that San Francisco was our next destination.

I started looking for a job in the Bay Area. It took me about 3 months to find a company that would hire me and sponsor my visa. I moved here in January 2017. I am glad I did not listen to the many French people who told me I would never succeed in finding a job in the US back in 2016! It took me 200 applications to get it and some precious help from the HEC alumni network, but it did work!

Tell us more about your first job in San Francisco.

I joined the consulting firm Fabernovel as an analyst. My job was to help French corporations keep the pulse of the US market and identify startups they could partner with. I had the opportunity to work with big groups in various industries such as Saint Gobain, Bel, or Leclerc. I was in charge of organizing strategic and interesting meetings between startup CEOs and the Boards of Directors of top French companies. I was very quickly introduced to the local startup ecosystem. That was very exciting.

What are you up to now?

After 3 years at Fabernovel, it was time to experiment something new. In October 2019, the HEC North America Alumni newsletter advertised a product manager role at Feedly. I am a news junky and I used to work in industry intelligence at Fabernovel — I thought that would be a company I would enjoy working for so I gave it a shot. I got the job and started in January 2020. I love this new role and how it gets me to impact many aspects of the success of the new features of our product, from marketing to user onboarding and comms. It’s a great new chapter!

What do you love the most about San Francisco?

Many things!

Professionally, it is the most exciting place: full of innovative startups that push boundaries and question the status quo. Living in such a vibrant economic context that can allow you to learn so much is such a privilege.

I love the liberal culture too: you are accepted and valued for who you are, no matter your religion, gender, or sexual orientation. It’s also a culture that is driven by science and data, for better and for worse. The Covid-19 crisis is the best illustration: San Franciscans have managed to keep the pandemic under relative control by adapting their behaviors based on scientific facts and showing solidarity to the rest of the community.

Finally, the Bay Area is an amazing place for an outdoorsy person like me. I cycle everywhere. We recently moved close to the beach. I take a dip in the Pacific Ocean every week, I could not be happier!

There aren’t many cities in the world that can offer incredible career opportunities and such quality of life.

What would be your advice to the HEC Alumni who live in the region?

Embrace the local optimism and the networking culture!

It is a little harder these days with everything happening online but when things get back to normal, attend as many events, meetups, and workshops as you can!

Keep an open mind with the people you meet and the opportunities that come your way, you never know what gem you can find!

Explore, get out of your comfort zone, and be bold!