Alberto Molinero is Power Plants Director at Techint E&C’s offices in Seville, Spain. Here, he recalls how a two-week trip to Argentina changed not only the course of his career but also his life.

“When they were young, my parents moved to Madrid, where my sister and I were born,” starts Alberto Molinero, the Power Plants Director of the Techint Engineering & Construction’s Seville offices in Spain.

Alberto studied Industrial Engineering at the Higher Technical School of Engineering (ICAI, in Spanish) at the Pontifical University of Comillas. In fact, he initially chose this subject following in the footsteps of his sister, also an engineer who is now living in Egypt. But Alberto was struck by the potential of renewable energy, a realization that ended up changing the direction of his career.

“First I studied technical engineering, where I developed a wind project, and then I moved on to higher engineering, where I worked on a solar one. So I’ve been very involved in the area of renewable energy ever since college,” explains Molinero.

After graduating, Alberto took a job at Abengoa, the Spanish multinational specializing in green infrastructure, energy and water, in Seville, near Cádiz, the port city where his parents had moved. He spent 10 years in the Business Development area, where he met his wife Amanda. His work frequently took him overseas, and he ended up visiting over 25 countries: Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Canada, United States, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, among many others. “That strengthened my technical knowhow, of course, but also sharpened my commercial sense.”

What Alberto never imagined is that his life would take an unexpected turn when Techint E&C contacted Abengoa to collaborate on a thermal power plant project in Argentina. He spent two weeks in the South American country, working with a team led by Quique Schvartz and Miguel Votta, whom he defines as “historical giants with extraordinary experience."

When he returned to Spain, he got a phone call to see whether he was interested in joining Techint E&C. “I had quite a few doubts to begin with, but it was my wife who convinced me that it was a unique opportunity to grow,” recalls Alberto. So, in 2017, they moved to Buenos Aires, overcoming a number of cultural and personal hurdles, but with a firm determination that helped him to adapt and prosper. “Despite the initial uncertainties, it changed my life and gave me an experience that I value greatly,” he says.

“The company’s motto, a 'passion for doing', is something I believe fits me perfectly and I love it. I adore my company and I feel very valued,” he says. 

Since then, Alberto has not only grown professionally but also personally. “I think that now, I’m a far more rounded person, and much of that is due to overcoming the challenges of leaving home,” he confesses. In Argentina, he discovered all the natural and human wealth that the country has to offer. “Argentina is a diamond in the rough. It has all the beauty and all the potential,” he states.

Pandemic and return

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated his return to Spain, although this was by no means a drastic change for him. “In January 2019, with Pedro Napoletano, Chief Engineering Officer, we set up the engineering offices in Seville and I started traveling periodically, as my entire team was working there,” he explains.

Currently, the Seville Engineering team has 11 members, all experts in renewable and conventional energies—but that’s another story to be told another day.