Chenling, Kering Keys

Driven by digital

Chenling’s journey is a testament to her curiosity and relentless drive for growth. Over the course of the intensive 18-month Kering Keys program and three rotations in HR, Finance, and Digital, she discovered her passion for digital transformation.

Have you heard about Kering Keys? The 18-month program, open to graduates from China, Japan and Korea who are looking to build an international career in luxury management, gives them the opportunity to experience three of Kering’s corporate functions: Finance, Digital Innovation, Communications, or Human Resources. Graduates join on a permanent contract from day one and are guaranteed a job within the Group at the end of the program. The main requirement? They need to be curious about luxury and the world. “As a child, I was always told I was curious,” says Chenling, one of 2025’s eight graduates in the Kering Keys program. “It’s what made my move from China to France possible – my sense of wonder and openness to change.”

Chenling grew up in China, where she spent her teenage years immersed in fashion magazines and developing her personal style. During her teenager years, she moved to Wuhan, Hubei, a city with a notable French presence due to factories from companies like Citroën and Peugeot. As a result, there was a relatively large French-speaking community, and Chenling even had the opportunity to study French instead of English at high school, which she says is quite rare in China. Moving to France was the natural next step. 

After finishing her bachelor’s degree in France, Chenling interned at an international fashion brand in merchandising, then came back to Paris for another internship in wholesale at a high-end designer brand. It was during her master's degree at Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) that she first heard of the Kering Keys Management program: “What appealed to me was that it is very varied. It was totally different from the other experiences I’d had, and it fit my personality quite well: I’m always curious and looking for personal growth and making the choice that will open the most doors. The different rotations of the Keys program would immerse me in different functions, and that really intrigued me.”

Chenling’s first mission was in HR, where she worked on a new and innovative digital platform aimed at enhancing internal mobility and recruitment alongside the Talent team. “I was quite nervous when I started because I didn’t know anything about HR, but the team taught me that skills are transferable.” From the very beginning, Kering struck her as a highly diverse workplace: “In the Talent Management team, you meet people from all the houses and regions, and I quickly realized how varied the profiles and personalities can be within the same group.”

After HR, Chenling’s next mission took her to the payment team in the finance department, followed by the innovation team within the digital department. In the digital department, she worked on testing and adapting AI solutions for the Houses. Chenling quickly found common ground across the three departments: the digital. “In HR, I worked on the digital talent marketplace, then in Finance I worked on deploying this new payment solution across regions and Houses.”  

This was when she had her eureka moment and knew digital transformation was her future. “Digital is something I had never worked in, but I realized that because it is always evolving, it really fits my personal mindset: I’m quite an analytical person and I like the logic of learning by doing. I discovered I enjoyed testing new digital solutions and identifying risks.”  

Chenling remembers vividly the words of advice spoken by her manager at the time. “During our last meeting before leaving the HR team, I asked for her advice on my next steps. She told me I needed to find my passion in order to be motivated to go to work every day and do the best job possible. That’s really what happened thanks to these three rotations.”  

Her main tip for anyone interested in the Kering Keys program? “You will learn a lot and be faced with interesting challenges. The best is yet to come!”  

Chenling in 6 questions

Best professional advice you’ve received: Pay attention to how you communicate, from simply sending a message to doing a presentation.

Personal motto: When you’re faced with multiple switches, choose the switch that opens the most doors.

A challenge you’ve taken on recently: Trying new sports! I have just come back from a surf camp.

A trait you find inspiring in others: I really admire people who manage to always stay positive.

Personal icons: My parents. My mother is passionate about beautiful things and my father has great business sense. I learnt so much from both of them.  

Biggest achievement: Taking the leap from China to France for a new chapter – not to leave something behind, but to expand my world.