4. Media guru Cédric Petitpas on building a career in film, joining Google and why London is the city he calls home

Hello, bonjour, ni hao and salut. Welcome back to the Impact around the World podcast. I'm Cassandra Pittman, EDEC's country manager for the UK and Ireland and host of the show. I'm pleased to welcome my guest today, Cedric Petipas. After graduating from EDHEC in 2002 with a master's in management specializing in law and taxation, Cedric launched straight into a film production career. After 10 years working for a Paris based animation studio. In 2014 he made his way across the channel to join YouTube's team here in London where he is now head of kids partnerships. Cedric, welcome.

Thank you for having me.

So I'm really interested to talk with you specifically about your work because you work in YouTube kids. I think you were part of the team that launched the app, right, the YouTube app in France, Germany and the UK, is that right?

Correct. So we launched the app more than five years ago now, so 2015 originally in the US and then we rolled it out sort of by language so the UK came next and Australia and then we started doing like big, big markets or, or like large markets like Russia, Brazil, Latin America and then it made its way to France and Germany. We took that language approach because everything in the app needs to be. It's not like your main YouTube which you can as an adult open with some business English here. No, it has to be in the local language.

And the reason I wanted to ask you about it is because my hypothesis would be, feel free to tell me if I'm completely wrong, that business would be going gangbusters now with the lockdown, that parents would be more and more turning to tools like YouTube, YouTube, kids in the app. Is that right?

Definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when we saw massive growth in engagement, especially during the first lockdown, you could, you could tell a little bit after like once, once lockdown eased and summer arrived that people had had it. Yeah, I, I even read an article in the New York Times that said like quoted a kids, a kid saying I watched all of YouTube. Yeah.

Like age six or something.

But that's across that the board. I mean I think, you know, Disney launched Disney plus right before it. So I think they definitely leveraged that that situation or gained from it.

What made you want to work in not just film production but in production for children?

It came a bit by chance but because I started in film. Film. So.

Film film?

Yeah, yeah, like normal non, non animated fiction. And that's what I set out, I'd set out to do back in the day. I, I went into business school, wanting to be a film producer. Was passionate about cinema. Still am. But essentially what I wanted to do was have a work or profession that with which I could travel and speak languages. And I discovered, like, doing my. And it's easier. I can't remember how you call that the.

The gap year.

Yeah. I spent half of the year working in the international sales division of Studio Canal.

Mm.

Which was essentially selling movies to distributors abroad. And I had no idea I didn't have that professional. My radar before, but I. But I thought, well, this is actually exactly what I want to do. And then came this. So I spent a bit of time the end of that year in Germany working for a film production company there. And animation sort of came a bit randomly. A friend of mine who was at the time forwarded me this job posting. They said they were looking for someone who spoke German. And I interviewed and got the job. Spent the next 11 years there. But I think things happen for a reason. And I sometimes say, like, animation found me. It's. It's an incredibly rich industry that is not as cutthroat, I think, as film or TV can be. I've made a ton of friends all over the globe. It's very international because budgets are huge. So you rarely can finance an animation show from, like, in one country. Or at least you couldn't at the time before streamers.

Okay. So animation costs more than.

Oh, yeah, a lot.

Okay.

Yeah. Your. Your budget for a series is about 8 million euros, so it's hard to find it, even.

Wow.

With all the support we get in France, you know, and the obligations that broadcasters have, still have to invest in local production, you couldn't get your financing from France only. So you had. We did tons of corporates with Canada. You had all the treaties between countries, tax incentives and all that that applied. So, yeah, it was great for that. So it essentially made me travel and speak languages.

And was that that desire to do things internationally and use your language, was that part of what attracted you to EDX specifically?

Not necessarily, no. I can't remember at the time because, like, all business schools have international programs and back in the day, because I'm one of the older ones at the board, didn't. Certainly didn't have the international.

Footprint.

Yeah.

Footprint that it now has were the courses. So now, you know, we're the only grande de cold to be taught entirely in English. At the time. Was it in French?

Yeah.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, A couple of classes were in English.

Okay.

But, yeah.

Yeah. So things have changed. Yeah. I think it's so interesting what you said about they were looking for somebody with that spoke a bit of German and so you got the interview. Languages feels like one of those skills that will always help open doors.

It does. It's a useful accessory to have and it definitely opened doors and it helps you just connect with other cultures, understand the workplace in other countries, which in business is crucial. And that's what I find fascinating now is being able to tune in and adjust to other, other to my colleagues around the world now that I, you know, within Google now, like I speak almost all of my languages every week.

Yeah, that's amazing. That's amazing. So I think when most people that are, you know, not in the film industry, not in the production industry, think about people who go into the quote unquote, creative industries, they don't think about going to business school. Is there a reason that you chose not to go to, for example, film school and you chose to go to business school instead?

I think I had the opportunity to go to Classe Repertoire and then, and then business school and I thought, okay, I need to do that now. Like, I don't have a second chance for it, so I might as well go there.

And if I, you know, so, so forgive me for my ignorance, but what does that mean? You had the opportunities. I mean like your grades were so good that your teachers were saying, go do this. Yeah, okay, yeah, A little bit of.

Input from my parents, honestly. And then, yeah, I just went along. Yeah, ended up at edec. Great school. I loved it, especially for all the experience I gained in the association. So I was part of the, which was, which is the, the association that organizes a. Or used to. I don't know, I don't know what if they're still up or what they did this year. I have to find out. They organized the short film festival in Lille.

Okay, yeah, yeah, amazing. And again, I feel okay, so we're going to go to business school. You know, law and taxation is not the obvious again to a layperson's choice for somebody who wants to go into film production. So was that deliberate?

Yeah, so I'd done. So that was my choice after the gap year because during the gap year I did so sales, marketing, did a bit of finance and knowing that I wanted to go into that, that industry, I was like, okay, what do what? What, what other tool might I need for that? And, and so law and taxation was my choice, ended up being a smart choice because, you know, it's all about intellectual property, copyright, all that. And my teacher at the time of intellectual property at edec, I bumped into him in my first week at Google.

Really?

Yeah, he works. He works there now.

Wow, amazing. Does he still teach at edec?

I don't know.

No. No, no. Okay.

Yeah.

That's incredible. Such a small world. So it feels like the world of children's content has. I don't want to say it's taken on new meaning. Maybe that's rather too dramatic, but it does feel like we're all more aware of its social utility. Have you felt kind of a new purpose, a new socially driven purpose behind your work at Google since lockdown? Since so many parents are relying on content like this to help them educate their kids?

I think so. So I look after kids content. So for kids under 13, because YouTube starts at 13. So we develop YouTube Kids so that we can make it accessible to this audience. But I also look after what we call ed youtubers which are basically youtubers who teach about anything really.

Yeah.

That is learning related on the platform and obviously they have purpose. Finding them and, you know, making them shine is incredibly rewarding. Working with them is the best. They're super entrepreneurial. To me, they're the best youtubers I've really worked with Amazing creators in that field.

Any that. That stand out to you in this, particularly in this time?

Yeah. So there's this couple of creators that contacted me on the first day of lockdown and said, okay, we're going to run a science live every day. We've set our studio, we've set up our studio in our guest room. Can you help us?

And are they science teachers or they just.

No, they're science presenters. Well so basically they're broadcasters. A David Attenborough.

Okay. Oh yeah.

Is a nature broadcaster. Their topic is science and so they, they've, you know, they've worked with a long time on tv, on the BBC. They do podcasts as well and they've really ramped up their YouTube activities for, for the last few years and, and because of the, you know, easiness to just access the platform, go live from. Yeah, anyone's bedroom. All the gamers do that. But not only. So the Ed youtubers do it as well. And they created, they self produced a 50 episode.

50.

So during 50 days they were up live on YouTube for 30 minutes every day and the engagement from kids was tremendous. And parents.

What kinds of things were they? Were they. So they're science presenters. What kinds of things were they doing?

They had a theme every week. So the first week was garden week. But that Went down to, you know, building amusement parks at home.

Wow.

So, yeah, I mean, every time. And I've mentioned it to a lot of friends who have kids and it's happened to me, like to have almost tears in my eyes just to talk about it because I, I found what they did really incredible.

Yeah. So what makes a good YouTuber?

Authenticity. But I think that's not only true of YouTubers. That's a thing now, authenticity, even in the business world, that is definitely valued from leaders as well. So.

Yeah, yeah, enable an ability to kind of be yourself and relate to the people around you.

And empathize.

And empathize, yeah. In our. Our new strategy, edX. New strategy, one of the things that we've highlighted is our. Is our desire to nurture, I think. And you know, I don't think create is the right word, but. But enable and nurture, it's probably not exactly the right translation, but the, the word that kind of they're translating from French is hybrid leaders who are able to, you know, to really process information from the world around them. You know, not just about finance, but, you know, have, have a background in potentially humanities and other different subjects as well, so that they can, they can really empathize and make sense of the whole world around them, not just a little piece of the world around them. I think that's so important in everything we do now.

Yeah, it's not, it's not just about topics. It's about, you know, bringing people together around a task, a project, really getting the best out of people. And that's only when you actually can understand them, meaning you can actually listen to them. That you, that you develop that. It's emotional intelligence, basically. And I took on this training that's called Search Inside Yourself that was developed within Google to essentially teach leadership through emotional intelligence.

Oh, amazing.

Mindfulness. Yeah.

Yeah. And when will do you get certified in it? Is it sort of an official thing?

You do get certified. You can get certified outside of Google as well. And then. And then you get to share the. Share the knowledge within the company.

Oh, amazing. That sounds incredible. How has a company like Google who is. You're famous for a lot of things, business and otherwise, but I'm in touch with our students on campus and Google has a reputation for being a very cool place to work. And some of the things that that reputation depends upon or is built upon, maybe doesn't depend upon, but is built upon at the moment is your cool offices and how you can break out and play pool and how the food is Free and just, it's a. I think the reputation is that working at Google in the Google offices is a great place to be with other people, not just a great place to do your work. How have you as a leader in your team and in the company overall been adjusting to keeping that, that spirit and that culture alive in a time when you're working from home.

So one example which our, our country manager set out to do at the very, the onset of the pandemic is this daily check in of the entire team. So partnerships team that you can or cannot like, you don't have to join. If you can't make it you, that's okay. But it's there daily and it's been there daily and everybody's valued it immensely because it's kept us connected. We chat about the weather, but we also chat about what's going on in each of our businesses. And it's actually helped me, it's actually helped me connect with my colleagues a lot more than we do in the office. Because everyone's traveling, we work on different topics, we're in open space. So we spend our times in meetings in separate rooms with clients there. We were able to share every day what is going on across the UK market. And then that also means we have access to our boss every day, which was never the case in the office because same thing, he's traveling, he's interviewing, he's, you know.

Right. So some benefits actually. Yeah, yeah. Is that something you think you'll carry forward once you're back in the office? Yeah, I think so. When, when will you go back to the office? Have you returned already or.

No. So they're running expensive experiments and there is access to the offices for a limited number of employees that kind of want or need to be there. But there's a voluntary work from home until end of June next year. For now.

End of June next year. Wow. Okay.

Yeah.

Let's hope we're in a different situation by June next year.

Yeah. And let's see what that will look like, what the workplace will look like. But yeah, yeah.

Do you think that some of these changes, irrespective of COVID 19 in terms of flexible working, maybe more from home, et cetera, do you think they're here to stay or do you think once we're kind of back to normal, it will be back to business as normal?

It really depends I guess on your industry.

I mean for a company like Google.

Yeah, I think they're here to stay because there's, there are benefits to it. As well. So the. Definitely in London, the time saved on long commutes.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

And.

And potentially hour long is like. Is just par for the course here for people, for our international audience. You know, the normal commute is about an hour, and it can go definitely more than that or maybe slightly less, but there are very few people that commute less than 45 minutes to an hour. Yeah.

So there is value in that.

So COVID 19, irrespective of what we're going through right now, I know you and I share a love of London. What attracted you to this great city?

So it's interesting because it's. And I. It wasn't always. I didn't always think of London as a place I'd end up being or wanted to go in my 30s.

Why not? Just wasn't on the radar or.

No. Well, I think I imagined going back abroad, but like in sort of further places like the us, New York, Brazil, at some point. And then I realized I can travel to all those countries and I don't necessarily have to live in there. I like living in a city that has culture. There's only three cities, you know, Paris, London and New York. That gets all the exhibitions.

Yeah, yeah.

Not that I go every day, but it's nice to know they're there.

Yeah. Yeah. There really is something psychologically about knowing you can go, you know, and in London, not for shows, obviously, but for art, for. You know, most art is free to. From museums, which is super unique. And so one of the things I really appreciate about being here is if you have an extra hour and you're near the Tate Modern, you. You can just pop in. You know, you don't. It's not $20 to just go for 30 minutes. Sometimes I just go grab a coffee and maybe walk around the Rothko Room and then leave. And that's really kind of incredible.

Yeah. But it's definitely something you can do in Paris as well.

Are all museums free in Paris?

Well, so they are for members just as they are here.

All museums are free. Free here.

Well, the permanent collections.

Yeah, the permanent collection. Not the special. Yeah, not the special one times the Paris prize. Yeah.

Okay. So you end up taking them Membership. Membership, yeah. But, yeah, there's that, there's the. The. The multicultural aspect of London is pretty unique, I think, in the world.

Yeah.

So that's. That was definitely a plus. Including at work. Where. Where I think, you know, working in. In. In such an environment, essentially. I describe this as like, you. You drop a layer of judgment because everybody Comes from so many different backgrounds, has a different accent. You don't judge them by their accent, you don't judge them by how they look or like, you know, what schools they went to, because you have no idea. And that actually helps you listen to what they have to say a lot quicker.

Oh, amazing.

Yeah, So I like that.

Yeah. It's like you can't apply so many implicit biases that, you know, obviously we don't go into these things thinking we're going to be biased, but we have biases from where we grew up and. Yeah, yeah. So you are so far the only member of the UK Alumni Board who I've had the chance to sit down and talk to you as part of this podcast. So just for our listeners, can you describe a little bit about what the board is hoping to achieve here in the UK?

Sure. So, first of all, we have over 2,000 alumni here in the UK. It's probably the largest community outside of France.

Yes, it is, yeah. The largest community outside of France, I think, by far, actually. Yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, a lot of them work in finance, but not only. And the idea, you know, is strengthening a network, obviously, but we also want to. First of all, the board was created to kind of re. Dynamize this, this network, raise the brand, you know, which is already pretty high. I remember, you know, there was a time I'd come out of the Eurostar and see an EDEC ad on the screen. So I was like, yeah, yeah, but so we've defined sort of three pillars to work around. First of all, entrepreneurship. So leverage the network of entrepreneurs and innovators that work in London, be it in fintech or non fintech, organize events, content driven initiatives. And then the other pillar is excellence. So making sure that people know about everyone's skills and expertise. The school has a lot of great teachers, obviously, so we want to make sure, you know, this is known for, also for younger and older alumni. And then the other pillar is friendship. So, yeah, basically networking and making sure that, you know, especially, especially now, especially in this Brexit context.

Yes. And I think also because it is our largest community outside of France, there are new people arriving every year. And you and I both have had the experience of packing up everything and starting somewhere new. And it makes it so much easier and so much more enjoyable if when you land, you already have a community that you can lean into because it's hard to be lonely in those first few months when you move somewhere. And I think, particularly for, I recall, anyway, I've been going back. I'm 40 now, so I'm going back a number of years. But when you're used to that social environment of school where it's really, really easy to meet people in the first couple weeks, couple months at most, because there's all sorts of stuff going on and then you move somewhere to start your first full time job and you're great because you work at Google, which I imagine has a great community. But not everybody is working for an organization like that. They might be working for a small company. There's only a few people and so.

Start a business on their own or.

Yeah, or starting a business on their own. Yeah. So I think that friendship piece is actually really important.

Yeah.

Before I let you go, just, just a couple of more things I want to ask you. I've been asking every alumni in this, in this series, at least in this season, about the predicament that our graduates who will be, who might have just graduated or who will be graduating this year will find themselves in. It's something I lose Sleepover. I think particularly the class that just graduated into this new economy. When they started their final year this year, the economy was growing and then they've graduated into what is definitely the largest economic contraction since the Great Depression. It's blown the financial crash out of the water. So what advice do you have for them?

Maybe two small pieces of advice. Keep your, always keep your options open and specifically keep, like keep learning. You're out of school, but learning is, goes on. School is not an education. An education is, is lifelong.

Lifelong. I know. And then we hear that over and over this lifelong learning. But you know, it became a phrase for a reason. I think, I can't remember who it was. I think it was somebody, I can't remember, Dean of HBS or something said that, you know, he wishes you could basically go back and do your MBA every, every five years because what you're learning now will to some extent outdate if you don't keep it refreshed. And there's so many tools. Yeah. And I mean you're the perfect, you're the perfect person to vouch for how easy learning can be now. You know, we have a lot of resources to help us learn. We have a lot of people to help us learn. So I think that's really great advice. You know, thank you so much for that.

And connecting and stay connected with as many people as possible. Which actually online learning also enables. Like a lot of courses have, be it chat rooms or they encourage connections between learners even online. So yeah, seize any opportunity.

Amazing. Thank you so much. Cedric, if people want to learn more about you, about your work, they want to get in touch about the board. Where should they go?

Well, I'm on LinkedIn and Twitter. It's at Cedric. Cedric. P P, double P. Okay.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thanks. Impact around the World is an initiative of the pioneering edhec delegations team and EDHEC alumni. A huge thank you to my fellow country managers, Patricia in California, cece in China, Nilesh in India, and Joyce in Singapore for helping to make these interviews happen. We're committed to building a community beyond the classroom for you, our 46,000 alumni, and over 100,000. Follow us on Twitter @EDech alumni or visit the alumni website Alumni Edec. Edu to find out more about how you can connect with the EDDEC community close to you and around the world. Thanks for listening.