Project manager Santiago Martinez (38) came a long way since he graduated as a civil engineer in his Mexican hometown Guaymas. “I didn’t just develop my own career at Boskalis, but discovered my passion for teaching others and helping them reach their professional goals.”
It all started 17 years ago, when Boskalis Dragamex in Mexico reached out to Santiago and some fellow students. He joined a local dredging project as an assistant superintendent and continued to gain experience while learning the English language, until he got the opportunity to join the Boskalis international pool in 2013.
Since then, Santiago traveled the world from Qatar to Colombia and from Canada to Peru, mostly for dredging projects. He’s currently working as a project manager on an offshore wind project in Taiwan. “I’m really enjoying my seabed intervention position on the Yunlin Project”, he smiles. “We make sure the monopiles – or wind turbine foundations – are well protected against erosion from the strong underwater currents.”
Besides leading the general operations and supervising a team of superintendents, project engineers and surveyors, Santiago is also involved in the financial and contractual aspects of the project. “The complexity of handling the project itself and keeping the client happy never bores me”, he says. “And although this is quite a big operation, I never judge the importance of a project on contract value or the number of cubic meters. I’m just as happy working on a smaller project with its own unique challenges.”
To Santiago, his job at Boskalis isn’t just about his own adventure and creating new horizons. One of the things that really drives him, is taking an active part in teaching and coaching his younger colleagues. Santiago: “I completed a master’s degree in education and have the tendency to act like a teacher, rather than just giving instructions. We work with a lot of trainees and local colleagues who are new to the business. It’s very satisfying to help them develop into a strong and capable team. Of course, our operations benefit from well-trained people, but it also just feels good to give starters the right tools to continue developing their professional careers.”
Santiago emphasizes that working your way up in a foreign company always comes with its challenges, but it’s definitely possible here. “Boskalis has been my home for almost two decades and I’m still proud to wear the blue and yellow colors every day.”
Do you like the sound of being part of a strong and capable Boskalis team? Check out our vacancies here.
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