Karine Uzan-Mercié is Vice President of Tax at Alstom headquartered in Paris, France. Alstom is a global leader in equipment and services for power generation and rail transport with a presence in over 70 countries. Prior to Alstom, Karine Uzan-Mercie was Vice President – Taxation & Treasury for Coca-Cola Enterprises, Europe Group where her responsibilities included tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, SOX controls management and implementation as well as cash flow and debt management in Europe. Karine joined Coca-Cola Enterprises in 1997 and progressed through several roles including Tax Manager, Tax Director and Interim

Finance Director prior to her promotion to Vice President- Taxation & Treasury at Coca-Cola Enterprises, Europe Group. She was also a Member of the French Executive Committee at Coca-Cola Enterprises. Her tax career began at Ernst & Young in Paris, France in 1989 through 1996 where she was promoted to Senior Tax Manager in the International Tax Group. Karine received her Master’s degree in Business Law from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon- Sorbonnein Paris, France and received her undergraduate certificate from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. Karine is a member of the Barreau des Hauts de Seine – Paris Bar and, among several other professional committees, is Vice Chair of the Tax Committee of the Tax Executive Institute.

KJ-What attracted you to the Head Tax Role at Alstom?

KU- First of all, Alstom is a company that continues to grow with the market; it is a company that is building infrastructure for the future. Alstom has environmentally friendly technologies that serve to meet the demand for clean and efficient electricity and rail transportation. What is interesting about the company is that it grows with the country infrastructure. For example, in growing markets like China, India and South America we go in and develop the infrastructure and provide the country with energy resources and transportation. Alstom really opens your eyes to the emerging markets and this is very exciting. In addition, the company is exciting in terms of corporate social responsibility. The company is involved in clean energy infrastructure and their corporate responsibility is also what attracted to me to Alstom.

KJ-You recently left Coca-Cola to move to Alstom. What challenges are you expecting?

KU-Yes, it is going to be a challenge but a very exciting one. I will be moving from a US multinational to a French multinational; moving from a commercial type environment to an engineering environment and from a short-term vision to a long-term vision. Everything is going to be very different but a very exciting challenge.

KJ-What experience did you gain at Coca-Cola that was rewarding for you?

KU-Coca-Cola was one of the best companies to work for because the company is so open regarding projects, ideas and imagination. As a marketing company you also have the opportunity to market within the Coca-Cola organization. They value your creative ability and want you to be part of the business. You have the ability to be as creative as you want within the boundaries of corporate social responsibility, SOX and everything compliant. Anything you propose to senior management is always viewed with an open mind. You also have a senior management team that is willing to integrate the tax strategy if you are ready to integrate business into your tax strategy. It is really a win-win situation at Coca-Cola and it was always give and take.

KJ-You live in Paris but Coca-Cola European headquarters is in London. How did you work this out?

KU-Coca-Cola allowed me to live in Paris for the entire ten years I was with the company, even though they had their European headquarters based in London. This is exactly the kind of spirit that you have at Coca-Cola; as long as you do your job; you do it in an enthusiastic way; and you are open and have a client service attitude then you will be successful in this environment.

KJ-What are the more technical tax areas that companies are facing these days; whether it is a US multinational like Coca-Cola or a French multinational like Alstom?

KU-Generally speaking, it is important that you build a tax strategy which is both short-term and long-term oriented. It should be long-term but it also needs to be short-term in terms of flexibility because tax laws change often. The challenge is to build a tax strategy for your organization, integrate the tax strategy into the company business plan; make certain that the board of directors is on board with the business strategy; and make certain that there is transparency with all of your business partners. More technically speaking, the common challenge that multinationals face is transfer pricing and permanent establishment as these two issues alone can really make a difference. If you really understand the opportunities and the risks, you can make a difference in your organization.

KJ-Looking back, how valuable was your experience at Ernst and Young in Paris, France?

KU-First of all, you are dealing in a very dynamic environment with many different clients, different subjects and different people. You need to be flexible minded and be able to adapt yourself in a very quick timeframe to any situation and technical challenge. In this type of environment there are a variety of challenges that you will encounter; it also encourages you to get organized because there are so many things to do and projects to prioritize. You also learn in the Big Four environment that you cannot tell X that you cannot deliver a specific answer because you have Y that is waiting for an answer before you can complete their project. You learn to be as flexible as possible and organize your priorities and be as efficient as possible. As you progress in your career and you join a company, you discover that it is much more fun to be part of the corporate business team. You discover that when you join a business and see the results of what your tax strategy has accomplished for the business, it becomes very rewarding.

KJ-What would you tell anyone thinking about entering the tax profession?

KU-I think that anyone entering the tax profession or taking on the responsibility of a Lead Tax Role should understand that it requires that you be dedicated, engaged in the business and you need to listen a lot. You need to be a facilitator rather than someone who is always prohibiting people; even when you are dealing with tax risks you need to deal with people and issues in a positive way.

Kathleen Jennings (KJ)
Editor, The Tax Intelligence Report
Kathleen@etsearch.com


If you would like an introduction to Alstom or if you would like to send a private email to Karine, please contact Kathleen Jennings at Kathleen@etsearch.com.