Name: Joseph Fish
Job Title: Business Development Manager
Studied: BA and MChem in Chemistry
University: Oxford
As a student in my final year in college, my only pre-conceived notion when I began thinking about which careers to apply for, was that I wanted to work for a well-known, blue-chip organisation. My decision, therefore, to apply to ExxonMobil stemmed from what I believed to be its differentiating factors from other companies in this same category:
• Graduate Development Programme – The fact that the scheme was run in conjunction with London Business School, covering modules on all aspects of business functions and personal development.
• Opportunity for international travel – The fact that the company has such a large global presence in so many countries.
My first appointment was as a support analyst and later technical leader within the IT organisation. Focusing primarily on manufacturing systems I was involved in many different projects for the Chemicals and Refining & Supply organisations and got the opportunity to work at locations in the Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Argentina and USA. This was my first experience of working in foreign countries and was something I found both immensely enjoyable and extremely valuable for future roles.
Following these technical roles, I moved to a role requiring a completely different skill set, taking an appointment as a project manager in the Projects division. Over a period of 18 months I managed a variety of different projects, ranging in size from small to those with budgets of over a million dollars. This role gave me the opportunity to develop skills such as managing global remote teams across different time-zones; skills essential in the modern day global business environment.
In my last position, I was fortunate enough to be offered a role on a project at Imperial Oil, the Canadian Oil Company in which ExxonMobil owns a controlling stake. Experience that I had gained in my first two roles in the organisation happened to make me the right fit for the job. This role provided numerous challenges, not least uprooting and moving to Toronto for over 2 years. At the same time it provided numerous rewards and the opportunity of living and working in a foreign country was a fantastic experience.
Recently I moved in to a completely new part of the business and have taken on a role within the Fuels Marketing organisation. As Business Development Manager for General Aviation I am responsible for business growth in the General Aviation (Private jets and Military) sector within the Europe, Africa and Middle East region. As well as analysing development plans and opportunities, the role also involves managing an advertising budget, coordinating ExxonMobil presence at trade show events, managing usage of Aviation brands and negotiating with senior managers of our airport locations. The fact that this area of the business is such an interesting and dynamic one, has made the experience to date particularly enjoyable and has allowed me to practice a whole new range of skills in areas such as marketing and sales negotiation.
Looking back on the differentiating factors on which I chose ExxonMobil, I can honestly say that my hopes in each of these areas have been met and exceeded, and as I look to the future I am sure the next few years will be just as varied and rewarding.
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