Monia Ben Amar
Do what you love
Entry created on: 21/03/2025
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Short summary
Do what you love
Role
Data Center Manager
Skills and topics
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Date / version
Entry created on: 21/03/2025
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MONIA, A PASSION THAT EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
As early as middle school, she knew what she wanted: to work in industry. Despite the comments, doubts and discouraging advice, she stayed the course, convinced that her place was there. Dismantling and reassembling a gearbox, leading a team of 40 people in an automotive factory, then taking charge of a Data Center… A journey in which each step was a challenge met with passion and determination.
Timeline
Chronological journey
Technology, the starting point!
Technology, the starting point!
From a middle-class family, with a father who worked in the automotive industry, she felt from an early age the desire to pursue a career in industry. A technology teacher in middle school sparked her interest in the trade, while others tried to discourage her, deeming her choice too masculine.
The only woman
The only woman
Despite this, she persists: in tenth grade there are only four girls in her program, and as she progresses through her studies she often finds herself the only woman in her class. After a demanding but fascinating IUT, she enters an engineering school in production engineering/mechanics. All her internships take place in automotive factories, confirming her interest in the sector.
A car factory! What a dream.
A car factory! What a dream.
She starts at Toyota as a team leader on an assembly line, a position that scares her at first: managing 40 operators, all men, seems intimidating. But thanks to a one-year program, she learns on the job, builds rapport and proves her legitimacy.
The only woman in charge of a Data Center
The only woman in charge of a Data Center
A few years later, she joined OVH Cloud in the continuous improvement team. She climbed the ranks quickly, holding four positions in a short time. Since June 2023, she has been the manager of a Data Center, becoming the only woman in this position at OVH Cloud.
Their commitments and values
Their commitments and values
Encourage diversity: a diverse team is often more effective and more composed.
Advance management: some managers didn't know how to interact with her at first, but her journey helped them evolve.
Set boundaries: knowing how to say no, explain your choices, and avoid insinuations are key to preventing misunderstandings.
What Monia shares with you:
« DO WHAT YOU LOVE, FOLLOW YOUR PASSION, DON'T LET OTHERS' OPINIONS DISCOURAGE YOU. »
ON MANAGEMENT :« MANAGING IS ABOVE ALL ABOUT TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE, HELPING THEM GROW AND HANDLING HUMAN SITUATIONS. TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW MATTERS, BUT IT'S THE HUMAN SIDE THAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE. »
A BOOST SHE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO RECEIVE :« THAT SOMEONE TELL ME AT SOME POINT THAT I AM IN THE RIGHT PLACE, TO GIVE ME EVEN MORE CONFIDENCE AND RELIEVE THE PRESSURE THAT WE SOMETIMES PUT ON OURSELVES »
Their profession
Her role is crucial: she operates and manages the Data Center infrastructure, oversees the maintenance program and ensures the proper functioning of servers for clients. She leads a team of 80 people and must guarantee the site's growth while maintaining a high level of service.
Working in a Data Center means being where Internet becomes physical: management of water, network, electricity… A world often little known but essential to the proper functioning of the digital realm.
Her role consists of:
- Facilitating meetings between experts to accelerate technological advances,
- Popularizing research to make it accessible and inspire new generations,
- Identifying and attracting the talent needed for major scientific revolutions.
She is the bridge between different worlds, making the impossible possible.
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