Thierry Rault
With nearly 30 years’ experience in promoting and developing technical services on international markets, Thierry Rault is HR Wallingford’s regional business development manager for Europe and Africa. Thierry first joined the business in 1995 and was transferred to Italy in 2002. He then left to work elsewhere for a few years before returning for a second stint at HR Wallingford in 2011. He is based near Milan, Italy.
My job is really about learning about the client’s problems, and then talking to the engineers about how we can solve them.
Having started out as a marketing assistant, you’re now Business Development manager for Europe and Africa. What does the job involve?
It’s all about building relationships, with clients and partners, obviously, but also inside the business. It’s definitely a ‘contact sport’, which still involves some travelling despite the evolutions brought in after the pandemic (such as online meetings). I’ve been involved with projects in French Polynesia, Corsica, Reunion, Italy, the Maghreb or Southern Africa, to name just a few. Typically I’m involved with large-scale marine infrastructure projects, like construction of breakwaters, or nuclear power cooling systems.
What's your background?
I did a BA in International Trade at the University of Rennes in Brittany. I was determined to get a placement somewhere out of France, so I approached HR Wallingford, having seen a job advertised which required two things, a PhD in Hydraulics and an MBA. I had neither, but I wrote to them and asked if they’d consider letting me do a two month unpaid placement. They said yes, and the rest is history!
This is your second stint at HR Wallingford isn’t it? What made you come back?
The working environment was just brilliant, the site is really beautiful and I loved the people, and I’d had a really good time during my first eight years. So when I was given the opportunity to move back I didn’t really need to think about it for too long.
After Brexit, I was given a further opportunity to move to Italy, where I am now based permanently. This worked well for the family and seems to have worked well for the business too since 2018.
What’s been the most rewarding thing you’ve worked on?
Wow, hard to say: there’s one every week! But for me it’s all about creating that network of trust with our clients. That’s what I really enjoy.
How would you sum up the culture of HR Wallingford?
People always have five minutes to talk. It’s almost like a family atmosphere, it’s very supportive. That’s really important to me; I’ve worked at other companies where I felt like the next business development guy couldn’t wait to see me off! You can sit down with senior executives and talk things through, which is really valuable.
What would you say to people interested in pursuing a career here?
I’d say if you are interested in learning, hard-working and open minded, HR Wallingford will welcome you, nurture you, and help you develop your personal objectives. It’s a fantastic place for anyone to get started. I’d also say, if you are an engineer or scientist, consider learning languages as well. Communicating what we do is incredibly powerful.
What opportunities and challenges lie ahead?
The opportunities will be more and more towards cleaner energies. Certainly offshore wind, whether floating or not floating, and also nuclear. For the next five years I’m sure that’s where the market lies, even if energy transition is progressing more slowly than anticipated a few years back. There is also a lot of work to mitigate the impacts of climate change that we are already experiencing – coastal erosion, rising sea levels, flooding and so on. Those things, more and more, will be the drivers for large scale research studies. One good example, I think, is the recent flood risk studies that we have carried out in relationship with photovoltaic plants: a good combination of climate change impact mitigation and transition to a cleaner world.
Outside work, what are your hobbies and interests?
I’m a cyclist - at all hours of the day. My wife would say this is a problem! We live at the foot of the mountains, so I only have to ride for 20 minutes to reach them. It’s proper cycle country around here – people look at your bike before deciding whether to say hello to you or not!
How would you describe yourself?
Open minded, curious and hopefully a good laugh!
And finally...
Can you remember the first record you ever bought? Oh yes – it was an album by Elvis Presley!
What was the last movie you watched? White Squall, directed by Ridley Scott. It’s a thrilling movie and a true story.
If you make it to the MasterChef final, what will you cook? Quiche Lorraine.
Want to know more?
