Discover the Vision of Edouard Pichon, Chief Financial Officer at Rexel France
"Proximity between finance and operations is one of the keys to success."
In a tense economic environment, the finance department is more than ever expected to be able to drive performance and support the company's transformation.
At Rexel France, this requirement is reflected in a strong anchoring in the businesses and an organization designed to maximize impact in the field. In this interview, Édouard Pichon, Chief Financial Officer at Rexel France, discusses the pillars of this transformation: multi-level management control, closer collaboration with operational management, a progressive approach to technological innovation, and a clear determination to refocus financial teams on analysis, in the service of the business.
His testimony is part ofa series of interviews with finance players conducted for an exclusive study carried out in collaboration with Ifop "IA, métiers, réglementations : les priorités des fonctions finance 2025-2026" for the white paper La Finance à l'horizon 2030 : pilotage et transformation technologique.
With sales of €3.7 billion in 2024, Rexel is the French leader in the professional distribution of products and services for the world of energy. The company distributes and designs electrification solutions for 3 markets: residential, commercial and industrial, and covers 4 main areas of expertise: energy distribution, HVAC engineering, industrial automation, data-communication and security.
Operating in a sector where margins are low, the finance department works closely with the business lines to ensure the company's profitable growth, as Edouard Pichon, Chief Financial Officer of Rexel France, explains. In this interview, he talks about the challenges of transforming his business in a constrained economic climate, as well as the environmental objectives the company has set itself.
How would you define the role of the finance department at Rexel France?
As a guarantor of performance, since it is an essential aid in detecting weak signals, sometimes imperceptible to managers!
In this sense, it plays a crucial role in steering the company. It produces in-depth analyses and forecasts , enabling Rexel and its operating divisions to make informed decisions thanks to efficient decision-making tools that make it easier to navigate in a changing environment.
In short, far from simply producing figures, we make them talk, with the constant aim of maintaining our operational excellence.
In concrete terms, how has your organization moved towards business partnering?
With sales of 3.7 billion euros, Rexel France employs 200 people in its finance department, which is structured around key pillars including management control, accounts receivable and payable - and the management (including integration) of our subsidiaries.
Our uniqueness lies in our business-oriented approach to management control, which aims to place a management controller alongside each operational department. As a result, each of the seven regional sales directors, each in charge of several hundred million euros, benefits from the input and support of a financial expert.
This collaboration naturally extends to cross-functional areas such as marketing, logistics and digital, where each manager is supported in his or her tasks by a financial specialist. Equipped with in-depth knowledge of the field, the latter assesses the performance of the actions and processes deployed.
A case in point? The controller in charge of call centers will analyze both financial results and operational indicators such as the lost call rate, in order to optimize schedules, in liaison with the teams.
I encourage this close relationship between finance and operations, because I believe it is a key success factor for the finance function and, more generally, for the company's overall performance.
Each new branch or logistics center is subject to an assessment combining environmental impact and economic viability.
How do ESG criteria affect your mission?
As a distributor of electrical equipment and energy solutions, decarbonizing operations is at the heart of our raison d'être. We are committed to promoting sustainable practices and reducing the carbon footprint of our operations and those of our customers.
We therefore have a very proactive low-carbon strategy, with the aim of drastically reducing our consumption of greenhouse gases. Each time we open a new branch or logistics center, we carry out an assessment combining environmental impact and economic viability. Against a backdrop of regulatory incentives, the Finance department, in partnership with the CSR department, plays a driving role in exceeding minimum requirements and accelerating decarbonization.
As part of the implementation of the CSRD, for example, we measured all our energy consumption in order to categorize its origin, with the aim of integrating green energy into each of our activities. Our ambition was to consume only green or renewable energy within the next three years.
Rexel is also included inEuronext's CAC 40 ESG index, which groups together French companies demonstrating the best environmental, social and governance practices.
How do you manage to combine historical tools with technological innovation?
For its transactional system, Rexel France uses an old system that has been optimized over the years thanks to in-house developments, offering the company and its employees outstanding day-to-day performance that clearly represents a competitive advantage.
We have nonetheless embarked on a process of modularizing our application base, and systematically consider the acquisition of external solutions whenever they surpass what we could do in-house.
However, when it comes to our transactional engine, we have a strong culture of in-house development, specifically adapted to our market, as the standard tools offered by editors don't meet our requirements in this particular case.
While financiers have traditionally excelled in data processing, their added value now lies in their ability to interpret data, identify underlying trends and then enrich them to offer new perspectives.
Have you invested in performance management tools?
We adopted Qlik, a management tool initially selected by the IT department, which was quickly adopted by the finance department and then by all departments, thanks to a strong data culture.
It is used by strategy, purchasing, marketing and accounting departments alike. Depending on your business and your level, you have access to more or less granular data. This sorting prevents dispersion in the face of an abundance of data, by offering each employee the possibility of autonomy, so that they can receive the relevant information according to their role and specific needs.
Do these innovations lead to a change in the skills expected of finance department staff?
I'd talk about a real evolution in behavior rather than skills.
While financiers have traditionally excelled in data processing, their added value now lies in their ability to interpret data, identify underlying trends and then enrich them to offer new perspectives.
A good financier stands out for his or her ability to bring lessons to the business or organization, transforming observations into levers for action.
What are your priorities for the next five years?
My priority is to control operating costs, which has become essential in an uncertain economic climate.
Secondly, the commitment and development of financial teams. The ability to analyze data more finely is also essential, as it will enable us to detect weaker signals more effectively.
Finally, technological transformation and its appropriation by our employees remains an important issue. Seeing members of my teams popping into RexelGPT, our in-house tool, to create Excel formulas and save hours of work, confirms to me that the dynamic is positive.
My primary concern is to preserve the added value of finance employees. We don't have time to waste on reporting, because we're needed elsewhere, alongside the business, in particular for business analysis. I say "alongside" because the proximity between finance and operational staff is one of the keys to success.
Another challenge will be toimprove our predictive capabilities, thanks in particular to AI: at this stage, we produce indicators manually, and we have considerable room for improvement in this area.
Would you like to discover new testimonials? Find out about the other exclusive interviews conducted as part of the study "AI, businesses, regulations: priorities for finance functions 2025-2026".
