In this episode, I interviewed Tarek Amine, Bechtel’s Chief Supply Chain Officer. We discussed his 25-year career, the evolution of the supply chain at the global engineering firm, and Bechtel’s approach to assembling teams and stand-up infrastructure for multi-billion dollar projects in remote areas.
Tarek also shared insights into talent acquisition, cultural diversity, emerging trends, and advice for young professionals starting their careers.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Tarek Amine is the Chief Supply Chain Officer of Bechtel. Tarek has more than 25 years of experience in capital project execution with strong expertise in assessing and establishing high-value supply chains.
As the Chief Supply Chain Officer, Tarek is responsible for all supply chain operations across all of Bechtel’s global business units, ranging from strategic planning and global supply assessments to forecasting project staffing and oversight.
Tarek joined Bechtel in 2000 as a senior contracts and purchasing specialist in the Energy GBU. Since then, he has held various project management and supply chain management positions, including senior project manager on the Mexico Pacific LNG Project, project manager on the Energia Costa Azul LNG Phase I and NEOM projects, and director of procurement and contracts for the Riyadh Metro project.
Tarek holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA in operations and supply chain management, both from the University of Houston. He is also a Six Sigma black belt and deployment champion. He was elected principal vice president in 2022.
Questions I Asked:
- Can you share some inflection points from your career that have made the most difference in your current position as Chief Supply Chain Officer?
- How do you manage assembling a team and starting multi-billion dollar projects with tight deadlines within six months?
- What are the key technologies or processes that contribute to your success in procurement and supply chain management (the “secret sauce”)?
- How has the role of the supply chain evolved within Bechtel in the last three years?
- What are some of the main challenges within Bechtel’s supply chain that your teams will address in the next 12 to 24 months?
- How do you manage cultural diversity and draw out the best from people who come from vastly different backgrounds and cultures than your own?
Show notes:
- [1:09] Can you share some inflection points in your career that made the most difference in your journey to becoming your company’s Chief Supply Chain Officer?
- [4:44] Can you discuss your experience with multi-billion dollar projects like building rail and metro infrastructure? Given the tight deadlines, high penalties, and immense scale, how do you quickly assemble and start a cohesive team for such large-scale projects?
- [8:24] Could you pinpoint one or two things from a technology and process perspective as the “secret sauce” to your success in procurement and supply chain management? What do you do really well that sets you apart?
- [10:50] Could you describe how the role of the supply chain has evolved within Bechtel, especially considering that the Chief Supply Chain Officer is a relatively new position within the last three years? How has this evolution been impacted by factors such as pre-COVID and post-COVID dynamics? And more broadly, how do you perceive the evolving role of supply chain management in general?
- [14:15] What are some of the main challenges within Bechtel’s supply chain that your teams will address in the next 12 to 24 months? What are the key areas you’re prioritizing to enhance efficiency and effectiveness?
- [17:02] What criteria, both in terms of skills (both soft and hard) and qualities, do you prioritize when hiring talent at Bechtel?
- [19:43] How do you manage cultural diversity and draw out the best from people who come from vastly different backgrounds and cultures than your own?
- [22:18] For younger professionals listening to the podcast, what words of advice would you give them as they start their careers with the goal of one day becoming a Chief Supply Chain Officer or top executive in a large company? What was most useful to you?
Quotes from the Episode:
Soundbite from the Episode:
About the Host:
What a great discussion I had with Tarek Amine. I am your host, Radu Palamariu, Group CEO of Alcott Global, working on C-level and top management executive search assignments with Top Fortune 500 companies and local conglomerates in value chains for manufacturing, logistics, transportation, supply chain management, and e-commerce and also the co-author of “From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain”.
Alcott Global provides Executive Search Solutions for key positions at all pillars of the end-to-end value chain: planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, e-commerce, and overall supply chain operations.
In our Makers & Movers face-to-face events, we bring together value chain executives to connect, collaborate, and innovate – a forum focused on business value creation.
Yearly, we celebrate and award the Top 30 Leaders in Supply Chain for their achievements in digitizing operations, decarbonization, and sustainability, as well as in creating a diverse and equitable environment for supply chain teams to thrive and excel.
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#189: Microsoft, Circular Economy, and Leadership Principles
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#191: From Finance to Supply Chain and case studies from Intel
