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Jean-Philippe
OESTERLE
French citizen
Aviation Department, Refining & Marketing,
Paris, France. Partnerships and Development
Manager.
Engineering degree from Ecole Nationale
Supérieure de l’Aéronautique
et de l’Espace (Sup’Aéro
- Toulouse, France), followed by economics
and management training at Ecole Nationale
Supérieure du Pétrole et des
Moteurs (ENSPM).
Seniority in the Group: 8 years. With the
Aviation Department, first in a Refining
& Marketing subsidiary and now in Paris.
After graduating, I performed a 16-month
CSNE contract with Elf in Lithuania to fulfill
my national service obligations. This type
of contract has been replaced by the VIE
(Volunteer for International Experience).
My mission, based in Vilnius, was to provide
technical support for the installation of
new airport facilities in Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia. It was quite an extraordinary
experience, on both a professional and a
personal level.
Initial focus on
the Baltic countries.
Professionally, it was very interesting
to work with people who were curious about
everything and who presented me with another
culture and other ways of tackling issues.
This was the Group’s first capital
investment in the Baltic countries, with
airport projects in Kaunas, Lithuania; Riga,
Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia.
The experience was also enriching from a
personal standpoint, because I got the opportunity
to live in a country that was opening up
to the outside world after years of Soviet
control. I had started to learn Russian
in France, but once I began my assignment
I learned Lithuanian, which was preferable
for my contacts.
When my CSNE contract ended, Total asked
me to stay on and head the Lithuanian subsidiary,
since my boss had decided to take a mobility
assignment. The subsidiary had around 20
employees. I also represented the Group
in the two other Baltic states. The job
involved purchasing, logistics, supervision
of operations in compliance with quality
and safety standards, and sales representation
in liaison with the Paris-based teams at
Refining & Marketing headquarters.
Broader horizons.
I’d been in this position for a little
over three years when I was asked to return
to Paris to continue working with the Baltic
states, as well as with Greece and Romania,
and to develop new opportunities in Eastern
Europe. My mission was to serve as an interface
between the local teams and the different
units of the Aviation Department—and
Refining & Marketing in general.
When I took the job in 2003, I very quickly
realized that I had to improve my Russian
to work effectively in places like Ukraine,
the Caucasian countries and, of course,
Russia. I asked for language training during
my annual performance review, and my request
was approved.
Training: critical
support.
I was given a certain number of hours of
training credit for one-on-one lessons with
a Russian teacher. We started by evaluating
my level to set targets. Other assessments
are performed on a regular basis to measure
my progress. I’ve benefited from some
100 hours of training credit since I started,
comprising grammar classes and analyses
of texts on a wide range of topics, from
economics to culture to Russian history.
I’d say now that I’m able to
understand and read on my own. Of course,
I still lack vocabulary, but I should fill
in the gaps quickly with practice and immersion.
So far, my career path has matched my aspirations
pretty well. It was my interest in geopolitical
issues that led me to oil, because I find
the industry and its global challenges fascinating—especially
since Total offers real prospects for an
international career.
Looking ahead, I’d like to spend some
time at headquarters to build up my network
of professional contacts. But ultimately,
of course, I’d like to go back to
Eastern Europe.
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