What is your professional story? Your career pathway?
I have a degree in Information Technology.
I started my career at a University, as a database and Microsoft Access teacher. While doing this, I also worked for the German Foreign Aid Service on setting up a land registry IT system; the project for which I led my first team. Then, I joined a large consumer goods company. I was responsible for the Central America and Caribbean regions.
What motivated you to join Perenco?
I started working in the oil industry when I was still at university. The Guatemalan branch of the company I worked for was acquired by Perenco.
As in any acquisition, change is a difficult but very interesting process. The ways of working were very different; we learned a lot, we adapted.
What does your job entail and which challenges do you face?
Since 2000, my roles at Perenco have been extremely diversified, which has allowed me to discover the company from different angles.
In Guatemala, I started working in the IT team, supporting the management, finance and logistics. At that time, I also had the opportunity to work on production reports, which allowed me to discover the operational part of the company. I was able to make site visits and experience the lives of the people working there. Sometimes I was the only woman! I then implemented the payroll and staff rotation planning system for the subsidiary's Human Resources department, a real challenge. I also worked on a geolocation tool for pipelines.
In 2005, Perenco decided to extend the Group's ERP to subsidiaries. I started working on the implementation of SAP in Guatemala and then accompanied the deployment in Latin America: Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
Then, five years ago, Perenco offered me the unique opportunity to settle in Paris. I immediately accepted, even if the language was a real challenge for me.
Today, I work with all the subsidiaries of the group where SAP has been implemented. I really enjoy working as a team in my department: we work together on all projects but each person takes the lead on a section. This gives each manager an opportunity.
Even though I have been working for Perenco for 18 years, I have never been bored, it changes all the time !
What do you like most about your job?
The human contact, the ability to work with users from several countries, who have their own ways of doing things, even if we share the same goal.
The fact that there is continuous learning.
Which corporate value(s) do you most admire at Perenco, and why?
For me, all the values are important - but I relate above all to Passion, Optimism and Integrity.
These are values that I have come across in my colleagues, particularly in the subsidiaries.
