I am Gaël Sauner

As Manager IT Services EMEA in Basel, Switzerland, Gaël leads his team with the same passion he feels from his colleagues in our shops and hangars. For him, IT is about people first. Solving problems, helping others, and supporting the business are his main priorities, with a focus on excellence and improving the user experience. He enjoys learning and trying something new every day.

How long have you worked for Jet Aviation? 

I’ve been working at Jet Aviation for a total of eight years in a variety of roles. 

How did you come to Jet Aviation? 

In 2016, after seven years in the automotive industry, it was time for me to look for other opportunities. At the time, I had a specific profile, as I had a mechanical engineering diploma and I had worked on custom business tools development. I found an opportunity at Jet Aviation, which was looking for a hybrid profile, someone who could develop custom business tools which could help engineering with reducing recurring tasks and releasing time for high added value tasks. In 2022, I had an unexpected opportunity to move to the IT department as Manager IT Services for EMEA. Coming from an end-user perspective, I am now able to focus on enhancing the user experience by applying my firsthand insights to align IT support with business goals, further bridging the gap between IT and business needs. 

Gaël, please briefly describe your role for us.

As Manager IT Services (EMEA), I lead the team which is responsible for taking care of all IT incidents and requests opened in our region. My main objective is to ensure that the tickets are handled, dispatched, or prioritized according to the impact it has on our colleagues. In parallel, we are working closely with IT Service Managers from APAC and the US to streamline and standardize our processes.

What does a typical day for you look like?

In context of a Service Desk of a worldwide company, there is always something going on. I start my day at home catching up on my emails and Teams notifications, ensuring that there is no emergency I should consider before going to the office. I continue my day in the office by opening the door of the IT Service Desk office so that our colleagues can walk in. I catch up with my topics, while my team members start their days. I spend most of my day jumping in between meetings related to specific requests, helping my team if they need my support, and working on long term improvement in the background. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?

What I enjoy the most about my job is the diversity and the challenge of this position. The diversity, because you never know what will happen. You can be contacted for a windows session locked or a full system down by potentially anyone in the company. The challenge, because failing is not an option. We should find a way to support our colleagues whatever the issue is in a timely manner. 

And what do you enjoy about working for Jet Aviation? 

I’m proud to work for Jet Aviation when I see the quality of the work which is done and how dedicated the employees are. At the service desk we meet a lot of employees, and when you ask them to explain to you what they are working on, you can feel how passionate they are.  

What are the main challenges you face in your role? 

The main challenge in my position is to ensure that we are always in line with our colleagues from the operations. Jet Aviation provides such a wide panel of services to our customers, that in the background, we maintain and support a lot of systems. For each of these systems we should understand the aim, how it is used, and how to perform the basic troubleshooting. 

If you would have to pick one word to describe how you approach your role, 
which one would it be?

I think that my colleagues would say ‘helpful’. On my end I see my approach as analytical. I have a background in custom business tools development with a focus on data management. Thanks to this I always ensure that I have figures and reporting I can rely on, so that I have the correct inputs to take decisions and act. 

If you could describe working at Jet in three words, what would they be? 

Dynamic, rewarding, and fulfilling. 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself outside of work.

I like to learn new things and tinker, whether in the field of car mechanics or construction.  

And can you give five words that describe you in your role? 

Helpful, Dedicated, Friendly, Learning, and Transparent.