She is probably our best graduate in the past 30 years if not ever. This is how Miroslav Píška, director of the Institute of Manufacturing Technology and head of the Department of Machining Technology at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering BUT praises the graduate Marie Illeová. She has been working for seven years in the senior management of Airbus Hamburg, most recently in the digital transformation project team where she concentrates on the sales activities of the company and the transformation of company culture. Always loyal to BUT she is grateful to her teacher that he did not renounce her when she boldly stated that technology was not for her.
Photo: archive of Marie Illeová

What led you to study at BUT?

My love of mathematics and geometry. I must own up that my father and brother are technical university graduates, which might have influenced me in my decisions.

How was your interest in manufacturing technology shaping up?

I wanted to devote myself to pure mathematics and its application in industry, so for the first two years at BUT I studied mathematical engineering. I became interested in studying general manufacturing technology when I happened to meet French students and learned about the possibility of studying abroad under the Double Degree Industrial Engineering scheme in France, otherwise nobody would have made me go there. This brought me into contact with Professor Píška and it was hand in glove. I was very impressed by his approach where he tries to apply theoretical knowledge to practical examples and challenges students to collaborate in practical applications. After two years of mathematical engineering I prolonged my studies by a year, completed the missing mechanical engineering courses and in the third year took off to France.

What were the benefits of your stay in France?

For me, the double degree studies opened up the door to the world and to myself. I am convinced that going on a stay abroad makes you much stronger – you have to quickly adapt to the new conditions, such as a different rhythm of study, a foreign language and cultural customs. What you consider to be a given is not so for other nations. I suppose this played a key role in my development and the ability to adapt which today is one of the key competences in companies. While your knowledge does not matter so much these days, it is important how you can use your creativity, how quickly you are able to learn or de-learn something and learn something else instead. In this respect the double degree was great school.

How did it feel when you had to decide after receiving an offer from Airbus Hamburg?

At that time I had an excellent position with a French company in Brno, but I felt it was time to go out somewhere again and learn something new. Germany was not my dream destination, I was rather tempted by Canada. But when Airbus offered me a job in Hamburg, I said to myself why not. And I don’t regret it at all, although the beginnings were not exactly easy. I needed to quickly understand how such a big company employing 140,000 people around the world works so that I would be able to bring some value to Airbus. For the first three years I was going round suppliers and helped improve production and quality, during which time I gained a deep insight into various industrial processes.
Photo: archive of Marie Illeová

Do you have an idea how many Airbus employees are from the Czech Republic?

In Airbus Germany there are over 70 different nationalities but only a few of them are Czech. I did not look for national relationships, but shared values. I know only one Czech here, by coincidence also from BUT.

It's more than a year since you have been involved in the digital transformation project where you take care of company culture. How are your new steps accepted by your colleagues?

Optimisation and issues of changes in internal processes have always interested me, so it was an easy decision when Airbus launched the great digital transformation project a few years ago. My present function is primarily oriented on the “soft skills” – a change in the company culture and communication.
Today, and in such a big company as Airbus in particular, communication is a crucial tool if you want to achieve any change. We use agile methodology for all new digital projects – this is a change in itself. We are no start-up that quickly changes its structure, but we can be inspired by how such teams work. I help teams to concentrate on what we can do in a different way, where we can optimise something, how to better use “collective intelligence”, where Airbus is heading, what the positions in the company will be like in five years...

In connection with Airbus there is often talk about the tough commercial war with Boeing – does this affect the atmosphere in the company and the thinking of the employees?

Competition is all important, if you want to move further. We are grateful for Boeing, as it continually forces us to make innovations and achieve more effective manufacturing. Without such a partner we would not develop so quickly.

Is it possible to stay with Airbus for a whole professional career?

In Airbus it is definitely possible to stay for a whole lifetime as it’s incredibly easy to change your position. Otherwise I would never have been able to get to my work which is on the boundary between HR and communication.

Is it possible with your experience to return home and find a comparable job in the Czech Republic?

In the future I remain completely open to new possibilities, I’ll see what comes along. Rather than where I work I am particular about the content of my work. If an opportunity arises I will be glad to return to the Czech Republic and deal with company culture and the impact of the working environment on life.