Interview with Claire Bression - A multi-faceted career spanning the globe

“I was born in the north west of France in the city of Rennes and studied at a Business School in Paris where I specialised in International Affairs. I then completed a 1-year Speciality Degree in Distribution.

My first job in 1996 was in the Supply Chain of an American company that makes construction equipment, firstly at their manufacturing plant near Paris and then at their Paris Head Office where I moved into Export Control.

I worked then for 2 other companies in the Automotive Industry, also in the Supply Chain function.

I joined Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions in July 2007 in China. I left France to accompany my husband who had been offered a job there and I began working in Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions’ Procurement Department in Hangzhou.

In the Supply Chain, I like the way that different functions come together to solve an issue and deliver a solution or product. Although there is no real “supply chain” at Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, as the workflow is contract-based, I’m very interested by the transformation from the design stage of a plant into its concrete operation.

I currently have a dual role involving both Safety and Quality. In terms of Safety, I ensure that systems are in place to protect employees and I also develop employees’ safety awareness to prevent accidents. In Quality, I’m mainly involved in improving systems. Both require me to design and implement standards.

I’ve worked in a wide range of roles and locations from China to India, where I currently live. I find this diversity really stimulating. Although I started in Procurement, I subsequently moved into General Project Management, Project Control & Methods and now HSES-Quality. In all those supporting functions, I’ve always had an organisational role rather than a technical one.

At Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, it’s exciting working in such a diverse, multi-cultural environment where everyone has the same goal of delivering projects. We take the benefit of different ways of working to improve our results.

My advice to anyone interested in this kind of career is to do what you like doing - you’ll be more motivated and involved. Working for an International Group like Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, you may look for different internal opportunities and roles with similar features. Changing roles involves some risk, so you need to be ready for this. But overall you will learn a lot and grow with the Company.”