Know MC's People

When I was dispatched to our UK wind-farm project as Finance Manager, it was the first time I'd done back-office work and I wasn't sure how to proceed, but I remembered my high-school rugby coach saying that to our team. We completed our mission without going over budget, but Brexit, the coronavirus and other unforeseen developments caused delays and a reduced income due to the resulting decline in the demand for power. A slew of other problems occurred thereafter, including constantly rising costs and more delays stemming from third-party issues. As one with back-office responsibilities, I couldn't just sit back and hope for a positive turnaround, so I prepared for the worst. Because I had been involved in the project from the start, I wanted to do something that would have a direct impact on turning our fortunes around, but I trusted that to my colleagues and instead focused on alleviating concerns at the banks that had been financing the project, because I knew doing so would make it easier for my colleagues to do their jobs. In the end, we completed the wind farm both on schedule and on budget. It was a very emotional time for me.

There are three things. The first is creating something from nothing. During my career at MC, I've realized that conceiving new businesses and value in situations where there are no right answers is the thing that inspires me the most. Our EV-driven energy-management business is a case in point. The second is running companies. During my first few years with MC, I worked exclusively in sales, but in the UK I was appointed CFO, which afforded me management-level responsibilities. The experience really peaked my interest in that kind of work. I'm still a novice when it comes to steering a company and thus far I've been almost completely reliant on my colleagues, but I'm keen to grow my management expertise one step at a time. The third thing that motivates me is working with people of different nationalities. The company where I currently work as CEO is just a small outfit with only around ten employees, but they hail from six countries. Even though our values and ways of thinking may differ, we respect one another and work together to achieve common goals. While that's challenging at times, it's also extremely motivating.

Globally speaking, decarbonization is an irreversible trend, and that applies to every industry. Population growth, electrification, and the expanded use of AI, data centers and other technologies are just some of the forces driving up the world's demand for power, which is expected to increase even more in the coming years. It is therefore vital that we reduce carbon emissions associated with power generation. Renewable energies are one solution, but relying on those sources will mean that our capacity to generate electricity will be influenced by our climate, so we must improve our ability to adjust supply and demand. There are a number of ways to do that, but one promising solution is the use of electric vehicles. It's said that at any given time, roughly 90% of privately owned automobiles are sitting unused in garages or parking spaces. With EVs likely to grow in number, connecting about 90% of them to our energy grids should help us compensate for energy shortages and store surplus energy. If we can do that, we can make a positive contribution to the energy industry's efforts to decarbonize. My ambition is to help create new businesses that balance electrification and decarbonization by integrating energy, mobility, services and data. We're set to see drastic changes in the manner in which energy is supplied and the form of energy related services, and it may not be long before we're using electricity to pay for parking. It's exciting to be involved in such changes.