There’s a question Patrick Lalanne has never stopped asking himself, no matter what title appears on his business card: How can I contribute more?
For Patrick, now General Manager of Global Enterprise and EMEA Commercial at Wrike, that question has been the engine behind every role he’s taken on, every market he’s worked in, and every team he’s helped reshape since joining in July 2021.
His path at Wrike reflects intentional growth: Head of EMEA Enterprise, then VP of EMEA Expand and APJ, then General Manager of EMEA Growth and APJ, and now leading global enterprise strategy. He didn’t wait for opportunities; instead, he actively shaped them.
The decision to join
Before Wrike, Patrick had spent years building a career anchored in one consistent belief: the best commercial work happens when you’re genuinely close to the customer. Not managing relationships from a distance, but inside the problem, understanding what organizations truly need and helping them get there.
That philosophy is exactly what drew him to Wrike.
“I decided to join Wrike to support the shift toward a more consultative, customer-centric approach,” he explains. “My objective was to help accelerate the growth and development of our most strategic customers by strengthening the value we bring to them.”
It wasn’t a lateral move or a safe bet. It was a deliberate choice to join a company where that kind of thinking was already shaping how we go to market, grounded in real customer outcomes rather than vanity metrics.
What his first role taught him
Landing as Head of EMEA Enterprise, Patrick didn’t arrive with a fixed playbook, but he had plenty of curiosity to get him started.
His first months at Wrike were defined by a drive to understand how the organization operated end to end, how different teams contributed to customer value, and where he could help close gaps. The autonomy he was given early on was key.
“I was given a high level of autonomy, which pushed me to take ownership, drive initiatives forward, and build the confidence needed to step into broader responsibilities,” Patrick shared.
That autonomy became a proving ground. It’s where Patrick developed his instinct for identifying what needs to change, and the conviction to move on it.
The work he’s most proud of
Ask Patrick about his proudest achievement at Wrike, and he doesn’t point to a revenue number or a market expansion. He points to a shift in how his teams think about customers.
Leading the move toward a more consultative selling model has been, in his words, “a consistent thread throughout my experience at Wrike.” The goal was clear: move away from transactional engagements and become a true strategic partner to clients, understanding their priorities, connecting Wrike’s value to their business outcomes, and building relationships that last.
“This transformation was a milestone in how we work. It not only strengthened our relationships with customers but also changed the way our teams operate and position value in the market,” said Patrick.
It’s the kind of work that doesn’t show up in a single quarter’s results, but finds its way into the nooks and crannies of a company’s culture. It shows up in the way an entire organization starts to carry itself.
Working across markets and geographies
What makes Patrick’s path at Wrike distinctive is the pace and breadth of his progression. From EMEA to APJ to global enterprise, he’s operated across radically different markets, each with its own dynamics, cultural context, and commercial realities.
That exposure, he says, gave him something no single-market role could have: “A much broader view of how a global organization operates.”
But moving across teams and geographies doesn’t come without friction. When asked how he handled each transition, Patrick’s answer is pragmatic:
I’ve always placed a strong emphasis on understanding the challenges of the teams I work with. I’m very people-oriented, so taking the time to understand who people are, what their roles involve, and what they are trying to achieve has been critical.
Patrick Lalanne, Global GM
Deep listening. Active relationship building. Feedback gathered early and often. These skills formed part of his core operating model in every new environment he entered.
Transitions of this scale don’t happen in a vacuum. Patrick is clear that Wrike’s support was a genuine factor in the success of each move: “Wrike has consistently supported me throughout my role transitions by making sure I was set up for success each time. What made a real difference was the support in establishing credibility and legitimacy in each new role.”
That kind of institutional backing — the alignment, the sponsorship, the trust extended before it’s been fully earned — is what allowed him to step into new responsibilities with speed and confidence rather than hesitation.
What he’d tell anyone who wants to grow here
Patrick doesn’t sugarcoat what growth at Wrike requires. It demands ownership. It demands range. And it demands that you stop waiting to be selected.
Don’t wait to be asked or selected for your next role. Always have a clear sense of the direction you want to go, and communicate it. Share your ambitions, what you want to build, and how you see your next step. The more you make it visible, the more opportunities will naturally come your way.
Patrick Lalanne, Global GM
For Patrick, Wrike sits in a rare position, and he describes it with the precision of someone who’s worked in organizations at both ends of the size spectrum: “The size of the organization strikes the right balance: large enough to operate with strong professionalism, structure, and ambition, yet still small enough for individuals to have a real, visible impact.”
Growth here comes naturally when you work to expand your scope, sharpen your thinking, and be willing to go further than your role technically requires.
Patrick Lalanne is proof that when you combine that mindset with a company willing to back it, the results can move fast, span continents, and add up to something genuinely meaningful.
Interested in building your career at Wrike? Explore our open roles at the link below.
