Women in Business: Meet Sumiko Omori Flores

Management tricks and tips to prepare for busy times like Q4, peek at Sumiko's story and learn about the challenges of managing a team of Sales Operations Analysts in the APAC region. 

Could you tell us a bit more about your background? 

I recently hit my 8 years mark here at Criteo. I started off as an Account Strategist for the Mid-market Japan team, was a Team Lead for the AS team for a while, and then moved to the Sales Operations team. 

What are your current responsibilities at Criteo? 

I manage the Sales Operations team in APAC, which is mainly responsible for sales compensation, meaning setting up targets for the Client Solutions team, calculating achievements, running SPIFFS to help drive revenue growth Plan and Reforecast processes, as well as local reporting and dashboards (ie: sales cadence measurement). 

What do you love the most about your job? 

The people I work with! We always stick together during challenging times, and we have a culture of celebrating each other that I just love. I’ve been fortunate to have great managers and mentors who genuinely cared about me and my career development. Even today, after 8 years, the people and bonds of friendship I have formed here are a big trigger of my motivation.   

Any special management tips or tricks you use to lead your team?  

Nothing “special” or “new”, but here are the few essentials I follow: 

• Active listening: I try to set the right conditions for my team to feel comfortable to share their thoughts, challenges, and ideas out in the open. To ensure active listening, I do my best to foster an open and honest environment where team members feel free to speak up and share their opinions and feedback. I believe different perspectives lead to more well-rounded decisions and innovative solutions. 
• Empowerment: I empower my team by giving them the autonomy to make decisions within their areas of expertise. I trust their judgment and encourage them to take ownership of their work. 
• Recognition: I want to foster a culture of appreciation within our team by recognizing and celebrating their accomplishments. 

Every year, Q4 is a big turning point for us at Criteo. How do you prepare your team to reach their objectives without adding more pressure?  

We try to plan Q4 as early as possible to prevent last-minute stress as much as we can. Since most people take year-end holidays, we all apply for leave early on to know when the teams will be off. We work with our business partners to define goals and set a realistic timeline. We try to prepare all the files, tools and reports that we need to meet our deadline. Follow-up is essential, so we plan weekly or bi-weekly meetings to ensure we are on schedule. Of course, there are always unexpected challenges, but we have a very supportive team and collaborative environment that help us reduce pressure.