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🎀 Pauline Bessoles, our Partnerships Manager

30 Oct 2024 5 min read

Pauline, our Partnerships Manager, is sharing her experience at XWiki! From Cahors, France to Barcelona, Spain, from product and operational work to a more commercial position, she is always open to adapting and learning new skills! She was familiar with the open-source world before joining the team and for her, XWiki's culture can be described with the word ‘’trust’’. Dive into our newest article to discover more about her one-of-a-kind experiences and perspectives!

Pauline
in 5 things
XWiki-Pauline-Bessoles.webp
  • Favorite artist: Georges Brassens
  • Best book ever read: L'arte della gioia, de Goliarda Sapienza
  • Dream destination: Any place accessible by train
  • Quote you live by: None
  • At the office or remote? Remote

Tell us about yourself

Hi, I'm Pauline, I'm from a small town in the south of France called Cahors, which I like to return to often!

I like to meet new people, and I have a deep interest in politics, literature, hiking, and acting. I live in Barcelona, but I enjoy a lot to travel back to France from time to time, to see my family, my friends, and colleagues.

πŸŒ„ The journey to XWiki

What were you doing before XWiki? Did you change careers when joining our team?

Before XWiki, I was working in a small company providing an open-source software called Decidim, mainly to the public sector, to organize votes, petitions or consult the citizens. I got involved in the Decidim association that maintains the software, where I still volunteer, and moved to Barcelona last year.

I decided to change roles when moving to Barcelona, to find work where I live, but in the end, I chose to work at XWiki remotely because the company seemed very nice!

Furthermore, I joined XWiki as a Partnerships Manager, leaving product and operational work for a more commercial position in order to learn new skills!

What is it like to be working in the Sales team at XWiki?

It's the first time for me working in a Sales team, and I must say, I really enjoy it!

The XWiki sales team is all about honesty with clients, professionalism, and has a deep knowledge of other teams processes and product specificities. I really enjoy it, as I was coming from a more technical team in my previous position.

πŸ”Ž Open-source impressions

Was open source something you had an interest in prior to XWiki?

Completely! I strongly believe we have to find new production models to address the challenges of the future (and the past), and the technology sector can offer interesting new forms of organization, as free, open-source software (FOSS) does. I am also interested in open science and open data projects.

What's the open-source value you identify with most?

It's definitely the values of collaboration and community that I identify with most because I really like meeting new people and building strong collectives.

XWiki-Pauline-20-years-anniversary.webp

βŒ› Being an XWikier

How was the integration process at XWiki for you?

As I live in Barcelona, XWiki paid for a ticket to Paris so I could meet the Sales team for my first days, which helped me a lot feel integrated from the start.

And even when I came back to Barcelona to my remote life, I always felt welcomed by the colleagues I was interacting with, and they all helped me a lot to understand the company and its processes.I particularly noticed the quality of the HR onboarding — very human, efficient, and warm!

What were the biggest ways in which XWiki changed during the time you've been around?

When I arrived, I noticed that almost all the tools used internally were open source. It was great, because even in other open-source oriented companies, I never saw that many OSS tools used, and I enjoy it very much!

We have still one or two proprietary internal tools left, but we are in the process of migrating from them. It's sometimes a painful and difficult process, but I love that we're committed to it.

If you could describe XWiki's culture in one word, what would it be?

Trust.

Favorite memory up until now at XWiki?

I made some very good memories at the 2024 Seminar, but my favorite was the karaoke on the last night before we left. I had met almost all my colleagues by this point; we were singing and dancing, and I felt very happy and connected to everyone.

And, of course, the hilarious games of table football, beach volley, and pool table, as well as the great HR activities!

XWiki-Pauline-with-Stefana-and-Ioana-20-years-anniversary.webp

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