Bright Sparks | An Interview with Aleksandar Savic
Celebrating the high achieving under-35s in the Flame community with our Bright Sparks programme, we spoke to Aleksandar Savic to find out about his perspective on the gas and LNG industry...
What drew you to the energy industry and has this changed as you have gained experience?
To be honest, I stepped into the gas logistic energy industry more or less by accident not knowing what to expect. As I have started my professional career in airline emergency logistic I found myself in uncharted waters, but at the same time I have experienced more and more the charm of this industry. My experiences in the first years were overwhelming and I have to admit that it was quite a challenge to understand the mechanisms and functioning of the energy market. The more experience I have in the energy market the more sovereign I become when being confronted with the daily challenges of the industry. Exactly this huge potential of personal development is what makes this industry still so appealing for me.
The gas business has been described as an aging industry. What were your first impressions?
I started my professional career in the gas logistic industry in 2011. At that time we were intensively working on implementing the 3rd Energy Package in order to further the liberalisation of the Austrian gas market. My first impression was that the market had been changing significantly in a very short time period though most of the companies concerned were not able to jump on the express bandwagon in time. Today I have the feeling that a large group of energy companies have done their homework properly, however some are still struggling.
It’s no secret that the gas industry faces significant challenges. How do these challenges affect how you see your future in the energy industry?
I am convinced that the recent developments we are facing in the energy industry will affect the industry in a fundamental way. For companies, which have grown up in a former stable and phlegmatic environment quick adaptability, the ability to think and act creatively will be the future key properties for a long lasting and successful path in the energy industry. I think the future trend will go towards a more customer service oriented direction with the goal to satisfy or even delight the customer needs. Such an approach would support significantly the timely identification of the nowadays constantly changing market needs.
What is the gas industry best and worst at? If you could change anything about it, what would that be?
In my view, the gas industry is combining many disciplines, such as business economics, national economics, geopolitics and social aspects. This interdisciplinary environment makes it a very appealing industry. The consideration of interests coming from each discipline has its rationale, as we are talking about fundamental gas infrastructure issues, which in the end affects not only the European industries, but also the European end consumers.
At the same time, considering and fulfilling all these interests stemming from a huge heterogeneous group are the major challenge when developing the future gas market. Consequently, the aspiration to satisfy all justified expectations leads to a situation where a certain tension is immanent in this industry. In some cases the intention to comply with both, economic and political interests might lead to targeting conflicts, which sometimes lead to very challenging but also unpredictable situation.
What particular skills and values can millennials bring to energy companies?
Millenials learnt from the beginning that innovative thinking and flexibility are the key to coping with dynamic markets. The generation in question faced at an early age a situation where financial crisis, underemployment and social/political insecurity are not only abstract terms but more and more today’s reality. This alone is why I think that millenials have been extrinsically forced to think innovative and adapt in order to be able to remain on course throughout crisis situations. This is the main skill I see as an added value for energy companies.
As far as I know millenials are also attributed with the characteristic of being freethinker. Such a boundless thinking approach brings definitely fresh air into an industry and supports energy companies to think outside of the box.
Generally, I am personally convinced that a sound combination of experience, routine and the inventiveness as well as agility of the millenials is the best mix for energy companies to be prepared for the future.
About Aleksandar
After graduating from the University of Applied Sciences “FHWien – Studiengänge der WKW” with a master´s degree in business in 2010, Aleksandar started hisprofessional career as an Operations Manager in a subsidiary company of Lufthansa Cargo. At present he is employed by Gas Connect Austria, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the OMV Group, as a Key Account Manager, a position he has held for almost five years.
