They came from all over the world to meet him. Egyptians, Japanese, Kazakhs, Libyans, Saudis, Israelis, Germans... government ministers, senior civil servants, bankers, business leaders... they all parade into the windowless room where he has set up shop for two days on the second floor of the gigantic Hilton Americas in Houston, Texas.
They have just 20 minutes to develop their arguments. Two breakfasts and three dinners a day complete an XXL agenda that stretches from 7a.m. to 10 p.m. But this exhausting schedule doesn’t seem to faze Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, who tirelessly shakes hands, listens and asks questions. Like every year, he attends CERAWeek, the global gathering of the oil and gas industry organized by Standard & Poor’s, which takes place in the middle of March. It’s the Davos of the energy industry.
When he took over as CEO in October 2014, following the sudden death in Moscow of his predecessor Christophe de Margerie, it was he who was requesting audiences. Today…
