KBR Business Focus Magazine I ISSUE 61 I Business Focus Magazine I P17 [ PRESIDENT EMEA ] WHEN WE BEGIN TALKING TO JAY IBRAHIM, THE PRESIDENT OF KBR’S OPERATIONS IN EUROPE, EURO

KBR

Business Focus Magazine

P16 I Business Focus Magazine I ISSUE 61 I www.businessfocusmagazine.com

[ Business Focus Magazine PRESIDENT EMEA ]

Moving Closer to the Customer

www.businessfocusmagazine.com I ISSUE 61 I Business Focus Magazine I P17

[ PRESIDENT EMEA ]

WHEN WE BEGIN TALKING

TO JAY IBRAHIM, THE

PRESIDENT OF KBR’S

OPERATIONS IN EUROPE,

EURO ASIA, MIDDLE EAST,

AND AFRICA, WE START

BY ASKING HIM ABOUT

HIMSELF AND HIS ROLE IN

THE COMPANY. HOWEVER

IBRAHIM IS IMMEDIATELY

KEEN TO SHIFT THE

SPOTLIGHT TOWARDS THE

REST OF THE KBR TEAM.

“Let me start by saying it’s not just about the individual. It’s about the ‘We’ not the ‘I’,” he explains. “The team that you work with is critical to your business. It’s not about the individual wins it’s about how many people I can help win for KBR. It’s really about how many star performers we can create in KBR.”

That mentality makes sure that KBR has the right team

It’s been a while since we talked to KBR, and they’ve had a very positive and eventful year, focusing on moving closer to the customer and making the most of the latest technology.




in place, close to their customers, ready and equipped to deliver KBR sustainable and profitable growth by delivering added value to the internal and external stakeholders.

However, that doesn’t mean KBR is not interested in the person who leads and holds that team together.

“I joined KBR in May of 2015 looking after the E&C business in the Middle East and North Africa region,” Ibrahim tells us. “Then last year I took over the entire Europe, Middle East, Euro Asia and Africa region for the E&C business and in January of this year, I took over government services for EMEA as well.”

In taking on this role Ibrahim has had a pivotal part to play in expanding KBR’s operations while building closer relationships with the customers.

“We wanted to implement the KBR corporate vision in terms of growth, business acumen and high performance culture,” Ibrahim says. “Our clients are looking more and more at how we can stretch their dollar, they want more for their buck and that’s where our services and offering come into play.” “Part of our success is client intimacy,” he says. “Being closer to our customers means we have the people and resources to provide local and tailored solutions which are supported by the global KBR organization.”

BUILDING THE TEAM

Ibrahim’s focus on team work and collaboration isn’t confined to KBR

itself. When taking on new projects they are more than happy to look beyond their own workforce to bring together the tools and talent they need.“Let me start by talking about our win strategy, where we identify the critical factors to enhance our chances of winning,” Ibrahim says. “One such factor is strategic partnerships where our combined offering is

[ PRESIDENT EMEA ]

“THE TEAM THAT YOU WORK WITH IS CRITICAL TO

YOUR BUSINESS. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL WINS IT’S ABOUT HOW

MANY PEOPLE I CAN HELP WIN FOR KBR.”

JAY IBRAHIM




[ PRESIDENT EMEA ]

differentiated, and in many cases where one plus one equals three. Bringing capabilities together increases our chances of success while delivering maximum value to our clients.”

“We are focussed on identifying synergies between KBR’s business units to maximize pull through and to capitalize on knowledge transfer and know how. This also helps to keep our people gainfully employed by assigning them from one business into another business,” Ibrahim continued.

Ibrahim says that part of KBR’s recruitment strategy is to look to the long term when hiring top-talent for certain roles which could position KBR for upcoming projects.

“We tend to look not simply at hiring people to fill the skill gaps on the current job, but for larger and more complex projects ahead,” he said. “It is about anticipating where the market is heading and having the required skills in house to effectively execute such projects.

For these critical positions, we don’t hire just for today’s operational requirements, but rather for the future,” he continued. “We hire a manager not just to manage a billion dollar project, but we hire her or him to run a multi-billion dollar projects in the years ahead.”

KBR devotes a lot of effort to retain and develop its people and to keep their talents and experience in house.

“Rather than laying people off and losing their capabilities and know how, we work hard to keep them employed within the KBR family and retain their talent and capabilities,” Ibrahim explains.

He continues, “It’s not just about hiring people, our assets, it’s about how you retain and develop that talent going forward by investing time and money, and commit to develop their careers to achieve their desired goals.”

THE CONTINUING JOURNEY

Another theme that keeps recurring as we talk to Jay Ibrahim is that of KBR’s “Zero Harm” culture.

“We genuinely believe that Zero Harm is achievable and all accidents are preventable across the entirety of KBR,” he tells us. “We are in the top quartile of the International Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) when it comes to HSE statistics. To achieve this we’ve been on a journey for a few

years implementing Transactional HSSE Management programs coupled with Transformational Leadership to determine what the risks are and fully mitigate such risks. ”

The company’s efforts have already begun to yield results, with health, safety, security and environmental statistics improving year on year. For Ibrahim this is a mission that has consequences in every facet of the company, whether it be among staff, contractors, partners, vendors, third party, or clients.

One area that KBR has been investing in is diversity and inclusion, by making sure the company has offices closer to its clients and employing local people who have experience in the market they are in.

“We took a look at our diversity and inclusion and decided it’s an area where we can always do more,” Ibrahim says. “Following the implementation of the Aspire gender equality organization in our U.S locations, we followed suit and created the same initiative in Europe and India and this has helped give us a more diversified view.”

We wanted to invest more and more in the younger KBR talent, so we created Impact, a platform to develop our young professionals and give them a platform to have a say in KBR’s future and where the company should be heading,” he says.

It is clear Ibrahim is deeply enthused by the team building that goes on across the company.

“Everyone is hunting more together now as a pack and this has improved our results,” he says.

All in all, this last year has left Ibrahim optimistic about the years to come.

“In 2018 we’re going to be continuing to draw more synergy between our businesses. We’ve done well and there’s more to do there,” he said. “We want to continue our journey to achieve Zero Harm and continue to invest in our people. We’re seeing better stability in terms of gas prices and we believe that the market is moving in the right direction. And we want to continue to be closer to our clients and tailor delivery solutions to meet their needs.”

Next time we come back to visit with KBR we expect to see some more incredible developments.

www.kbr.com

KBR Business Focus Magazine I ISSUE 61 I Business Focus Magazine I P17 [ PRESIDENT EMEA ] WHEN WE BEGIN TALKING TO JAY IBRAHIM, THE PRESIDENT OF KBR’S OPERATIONS IN EUROPE, EURO

Documents