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Christian Houle - General Manager
I saw an ad on TV about the Scotford Refinery. It explained that Scotford is one of the most modern refineries in the world, using hydrogen to crack molecules, etc. That day, I said to myself, I want to be part of it.
Has your view of Shell pre-employment and post-employment changed? If so, in what way?
No. I was impressed by Shell when I was fairly young and I saw these ads on TV, and now that I have been working for Shell for almost 20 years, I'm still impressed. I'm extremely proud to work for Shell. I have been fortunate enough to be asked to relocate, and fortunate to have a family that was as excited as me. We have seen a lot of different cities and ways of doing things. It has opened my mind on a multitude of topics, which I consider a great gift.
What is your current job?
I'm currently the General Manager for the Operations of the Muskeg River Mine in Fort McMurray, where about 1,000 employees work for me.
What does a typical day look like?
I do not know that word! There are no days that look alike. That is the exciting part of my job. You have to adapt your style and your way of thinking each day. My energy and passion for the business and my people helps me to enjoy each day I'm at work.
The day starts at 6 a.m., where I assist in a safety meeting with one of my groups. Then, I prepare my day by looking at a few key performance indicators to see where to focus my people. Then we have our site-wide operations meeting where we share our performance and we all agree on the priorities of the day.
Then, I'm pretty much in discussion/contact with a lot of people to ensure that the safety, the reliability and the cost of this facility meets our business plan.
What are the interesting aspects of your job?
Pretty much everything. I particularly like two aspects. The first one is to always try to improve today as compared to yesterday. As long as I can say to myself when I go to my bed at night that today was better than yesterday and that tomorrow will be better than today, I'm happy and proud and feel useful. My people are my biggest asset, and I particularly like this aspect of my job. I enjoy sharing with them and hearing about each of them.
Does your job match what you had in mind?
I believe that each position has a minimum of content that needs to be done each day but I also believe that you can customize your job to your aptitude and your beliefs. So, yes, each job I had so far in Shell matched what I had in mind!
How do you see your next role and future career opportunities at Shell?
I would like to be in charge of a major facility within Shell. I have learned a lot from Shell and its people in the last 20 years.
I feel I'm ready to take on a major Shell facility in order to improve things even more and to influence back Shell in what I think I believe is right for Shell and its people.
I want to have a role where I can make each employee happy to come at work when they wake up in the morning and make them happy to go back home at night to see their family, friends, etc.
What would be your advice to someone?
Definitively, if you see a job being offered by Shell, please apply ASAP. In the interview, show passion, show energy, show leadership. That is what Shell is looking for. Shell is a major company where pretty much any of your dream can come true. When there is a will, there is a way. Just be patient.
Is there something that you didn’t expect from Shell but which exceeded your expectations?
I did not expect to have done so many different jobs in such a short time. I went from projects, to process engineering where I learned Crude Units, Cat Cracker, Visbreaker, Jet-A and B treating units, Alkylation plant, Asphalt plant to Economics and Scheduling to Benchmarking to Supply Operations to Business to Operations to a Mine! All from Montreal, to Calgary, to Edmonton, to Sarnia, and to Fort McMurray.
I certainly never expected, as a chemical process engineer, to be in charge of a mine! The experience has been awesome!
What are your reasons for staying with Shell?
On top of Shell paying very competitive wages, the "change" has been what kept me with Shell until now. I like changes. I like challenges. The new generation like changes, choices and Shell is providing this aspect extremely well.