Yves Walid
Country Manager, Saudi Arabia
Quick Facts
Belgian-Jordanian
Born in 1973
Joined Tenaris in 1998
Interview published: April 2011
Yves Walid began his career in Tenaris as a sales engineer for the Middle East. Over the years he gained experience working in different markets and countries but his career took a big step forward in 2007, when he was appointed country manager of Saudi Arabia. His new position required him to move to Dammam and supervise the challenging construction of the plant that was opened in September 2010.
Why did you choose to stay in Tenaris?
Working in Tenaris has been an extraordinary experience both on a professional and personal level. Over the years I have got to know many markets and multinational companies and I have therefore learned how important operators work. I have travelled a lot, sometimes even weekly. Gaining direct contact with different cultures gave me an invaluable experience. Dealing with the peculiarities and special features of each place has been challenging as well as enjoyable.
What was it like to become country manager of Saudi Arabia?
That has been a challenge all right! I had other options but I gladly accepted to take part in this project and move to Dammam. I loved the idea of building a plant from the beginning, a task that involved an incredible amount of issues. I had been a field engineer, managed operations and sales, and fulfilled responsibilities in many areas, but I had never been involved in an industrial initiative of this type. When I was offered the position of country manager and the chance to supervise the construction of the plant I could see how challenging the project would be and how much I would learn from it. That made it very appealing.
What were the main challenges you had to face during the construction of the plant?
Our biggest challenge took place right at the beginning, since it was mid-2008 and most companies had put initiatives on hold due to the financial crisis. Even though we had to make some adjustments, Tenaris finally decided to move forward with the construction of the plant. This decision was a relief since we were all very excited about the project and didn’t want to delay it even for a second. The qualification process was also quite challenging but thanks to the hard work of the team the results were better than expected. We obtained in record time all the qualifications required to operate, which included those granted by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (ISO) and the American Petroleum Institute (API). Our customer also completed its audit and all of this happened in around two months and a half. In this hectic period everyone was under a lot of pressure but working as a team and having the full support of the company makes the difference when it comes to fulfilling our goals.
What was it like to organize the plant’s inauguration ceremony?
We worked for almost three months to make sure we had the best event possible. Organizing a ceremony of this type demanded us to pay attention to an incredible amount of issues and details, many of which must be taken care of in the last moments. I remember that the last two weeks were the most hectic of all but it was worth the effort. The people who attended felt very pleased and comfortable during the ceremony and even our top management expressed their satisfaction with the results. This outcome shows that, in spite of the distances, Tenaris’s international team functions very well together. Some of us were in Dammam while others were working remotely thousands of miles away, but this didn’t stop us from fulfilling our common goals.