I am an optimist. I believe the future is bright. I think people who see life painted in dark colors are the ones who do not take ownership. – Maelle Gavet
The goal wasn’t to create a billion-dollar company. The goal was to create something useful where I could learn things. – Maelle Gavet
The biggest deficit in terms of gender equality at Ozon lay in our IT department. So we made a decision, along with our key IT leaders, to remove all filters and systemically interview all the women who apply. – Maelle Gavet
When online business first appeared, a lot of operations would take your order and then disappear. – Maelle Gavet
That’s the mantra I use when the team tells me something is too complicated. People keep saying, ‘We need more prioritization.’ I say, ‘Guys, what you want is less work. And that is not going to happen.’ – Maelle Gavet
Everyone in the United States asks me about being a woman CEO. To be honest, it has had no impact on my career. While I was at BCG, it didn’t matter whether you were a man or a woman. The only thing that mattered was that you were good at your job. – Maelle Gavet
The Priceline Group is a truly globally-scaled digital e-commerce Fortune 500 company operating world-class brands. I look forward to contributing to the Group by identifying new opportunities and operating synergies that enhance its already strong track record as a global digital pioneer. – Maelle Gavet
I tell my colleagues that it is actually all right to make mistakes, and I am worried when they do not make them, because it means that they either hide them from me or are not trying hard enough. – Maelle Gavet
After I completed the project for BCG, I was offered the position of Director of Marketing for Ozon.ru. – Maelle Gavet
Within Internet users, you have a big chunk of people who can convert to online shopping. – Maelle Gavet
At Ozon, salaries are evaluated every year based on market benchmarks which are gender neutral. – Maelle Gavet
I do not like the idea that a Russian company cannot be successful without Western experience. I think that, at the end of the day, it is a question of bringing benchmarks from other countries. So far, the golden benchmark has been the West. – Maelle Gavet
Once in a while, I still witness occasionally sexist behavior and comments from men (which experience has taught me you should always deflect with humour rather than anger). Old habits die hard, after all, and it’s unrealistic to expect dinosaurs to fall silent overnight. – Maelle Gavet
My advice to anyone would be to focus on your current job and be the best at it. The rest will take care of itself. – Maelle Gavet
I have American friends in France, and when I meet with them, they tell me about everything that is wrong with France. I think there is a general expat syndrome, which means that whatever country you are in, you are always missing your own country and always thinking that the country you live in is actually not as good as it could be. – Maelle Gavet
Ozon.ru is made up of four businesses. Ozon.ru is an online retailer, O’Courier focuses on shipping, Ozon.Travel, and our most recent acquisition, Sapato, the leading online shoe and accessory retailer. – Maelle Gavet
The history of business has shown that companies usually only regulate themselves if they’re forced to by legislation, or out of self-interest – often in the shape of a marketable message that will help sell more products. – Maelle Gavet
Not only is self-regulation largely a fantasy, but repeated scandals across multiple industries have proved that companies are fundamentally incapable of self-regulating for the greater good. – Maelle Gavet
It simply isn’t acceptable for the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon and others, which amass data by the terabyte, to say, ‘Don’t worry, your information’s safe with us, as all sorts of rules protect you’ – when all evidence suggests otherwise. – Maelle Gavet
I have learned that I must take a holiday at least once each year if I want to survive! – Maelle Gavet
When a handful of tech giants are gatekeepers to the world’s data, it’s no surprise that the debate about balancing progress against privacy is framed as ‘pro-data and, therefore, innovation’ versus ‘stuck in the Dark Ages’. – Maelle Gavet