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Alejandro
KARACSONYI
Argentinean citizen
Gas & Power - Business Development Manager
for Southeast Asia and Northern Africa.
1997: Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial
Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico
de Buenos Aires (ITBA), Argentina.
2002: MBA, Master of Business Administration
- Stanford University, USA.
Seniority in the Group: 3 years. Has just
taken on a new position in the same Division
to explore different geographical regions
and different fields of work.
A multi-cultural
background.
I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in
my native country, Argentina, at the Instituto
Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA).
I worked at a local petroleum company for
three years and then moved to the USA to
get an MBA from Stanford University. After
graduation, I moved to France with my French
fiancée. Not knowing the language,
I thought I would have a difficult time
finding a job in my field of work. But Total
had several assets in Argentina when the
economic and political crisis hit in 2001,
and the Company was looking for a candidate
with my skills and cultural background to
contribute to crisis management from Paris.
At that point, I was hired to work in the
Gas & Power Division in the Southern
Cone of Latin America—specifically
to deal with the situation of Total’s
Argentinean subsidiaries in gas transportation
and power generation.
After two years in this position, I was
offered to transfer to another position,
since I had expressed my desire to explore
other fields of work and pursue worldwide
opportunities. I was therefore promoted
to Business Manager in the same overall
Division (Gas & Power) for projects
in several geographical areas: Southeast
Asia, Northern Africa and the Middle East.
Enhancing business
techniques.
Since I joined Total, I have attended four
training programs—all of which have
leveraged my work knowledge and business
development skills. The first one, held
in London by an outside provider, consisted
in developing commercial imperatives in
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). This 4-day
workshop was open to all oil companies.
The second program, organized by Total exclusively
for its employees, was held in the Paris
area to improve international negotiations
by taking cultural differences among countries
into account. I found it most interesting
since it involved role-playing and studies
on how people from different nations conduct
business. The other training programs I
attended included an introduction to specific
Gas & Power issues and a course to improve
interpersonal dynamics, both of which were
also organized internally by Total. Lastly,
I also took several weeks of French language
courses.
Working with new
technologies.
I currently work in a business team formed
by nine other managers and headed by a director.
I participate in both long and short-term
projects in Southeast Asia and some countries
in Northern Africa. I also analyze the potential
of hybrid solar-gas plants. I am assigned
to particular projects based on my availability,
my previous experience and my personal objectives.
Most of the time I work with a team that
usually includes Technicians and Economists,
as well as Financial Experts, Lawyers, Marketing
Managers, LNG Experts, etc.
LNG is a fast-growing technology that was
first implemented on a large scale in Japan,
since the country lacks domestic gas resources.
The main concept is that the gas temperature
is brought down to -161 °C, at which
point it becomes liquid and reduces its
volume, by a factor of 1/600. In that way,
it can be easily distributed around the
world in specifically designed ships. The
LNG market is a significant source of business
development and technology implementation
all over the world for Total, since several
new infrastructure projects are planned
or currently under development.
Career Advancement.
My job mobility experience has already been
quite positive, despite the fact that I
only joined the Company three years ago.
Total is a truly multinational company that
provides the opportunity to develop an international
career. I have met people within the Company
who have transferred into different departments
and countries, and I expect to be able to
do the same in the years to come.
Overall, working at Total is extremely attractive
due to the possibility of working in several
countries, the opportunities for job mobility,
and the range of training programs offered.
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