Reflections on my time as Director General
Having spent seven exciting years as Eurobitume Director General (DG), on secondment from longstanding Core member Nynas, I am delighted to see an organisation which is efficient, effective, unified and well equipped to support the future of the bitumen industry.
At the start of my 10 years in senior leadership roles with Eurobitume (prior to becoming DG I was Eurobitume President for three years), the Board of Directors identified some big challenges for the Association.
Meeting some of these challenges required significant change and could have created many uncertainties, but with the support of our members and the Eurobitume team we embraced change and are now in great to shape to fly the bitumen flag and be the first reference for bitumen in Europe.
One significant change was when we agreed and successfully implemented a mid-term strategy to restructure Eurobitume, to ensure the optimum execution of our vision and mission. This included evolving to become one organisation and extending the membership scope – during 2014-15 we integrated the five national associations under the Eurobitume umbrella and they became Local Representations (LRs).
Further evolution towards the vision continued during 2022-24, when the LRs were fully integrated into one Eurobitume: with a single mission and vision and a unified budget.
At the same time, we extended the scope of membership categories and Eurobitume grew from only having Core members to Core and Associate members, which has led to an almost tripling of our membership.
Additionally, I have presided over the retirements of three key people from the Eurobitume team, while also reshaping the team’s structure and responsibilities to support the organisation going forward. Our new, uniquely skilled team of five full time employees includes experts in HSE, Technical, Sustainability and Communications.
Important milestones
As DG, a memorable highlight was celebrating Eurobitume’s 50-year anniversary in 2019.
Coincidentally, in the same year we also participated in marking the 100-year anniversary of Asphalt Institute, with whom we have a strong and important partnership and relationship – which I hope I have played a part in further strengthening.
Creation of the E&E Event
Another highlight is also related to a strategic industry relationship and was the creation, with EAPA, of the E&E Event. Designed to complement the flagship E&E Congress, the E&E Event also takes place every four years – two years before and two years after an E&E Congress.
The first E&E Event was held in Berlin in 2018 and it continues to go from strength to strength, as we are now working on the third edition, E&E Event 2026, which will take place in Vienna in 2026.
As I hand over the reins to Hervé Millet, I am confident Eurobitume is in excellent hands and ready to build on the progress we have made together. I leave with great pride in what we have achieved and am excited for the future of our industry.
