Pouyanné ticks the boxes for Total

Patrick Pouyanné is young to become a chief executive of one of the world’s largest oil companies. But for Total’s board of directors he ticked all the boxes with a high-flying 17-year career at the company and political experience as well.

The 51-year-old served as chief of staff to François Fillon, the former French prime minister, when Mr Fillon was information minister in the 1990s, and learnt how to pull political strings behind the scenes.

This will serve Mr Pouyanné well following his appointment on Wednesday as Total’s chief executive – it is a corporate job that is steeped in politics. Total is closely watched by the French government, and, with operations in more than 130 countries, Mr Pouyanné will have to deal with some of the world’s most difficult regimes.

Christophe de Margerie, the Total chief executive who died in a plane crash late on Monday, was a master of relationship politics and a significant voice on the world stage.

People close to Mr Pouyanné say it is too early to know if he will adopt the same bold intellectual style as de Margerie, but add that he will be at ease on the global stage, not least because he speaks perfect English.

These people add that Mr Pouyanné’s confident leadership style was a factor in his winning the post of chief executive, saying he has a reputation as a hands-on manager, keen to be on the front line of big projects.

He is a rugby fan, and one acquaintance, describing his management style, says he “likes to be as in the scrum, then to say follow me”.

Mr Pouyanné is the product of a classic elite French education, first at the École Polytechnique and then the École des Mines in Paris, a top engineering school that generates much of French industry’s senior management.

He joined Total in 1997 as the chief administrative officer for exploration and production in Angola a time when the African country’s energy sector was opening up to foreign companies. It is now one of Total’s most important markets.

In a steep rise to senior management, Mr Pouyanné was appointed in 2002 to the role of senior vice-president for finance and economics at the exploration and production division. Four years later, he became senior vice-president for strategy, business development and research at exploration and production, and joined the company’s management committee.

Then in 2012 he was appointed president of the chemicals and refining division – one of the most woebegone parts of the Total group. Excess capacity in the refining sector is particularly severe, and Mr Pouyanné focused on restructuring the business. Among other things, he handled plans for the contentious closure of Total’s steam cracker chemicals facility at its Carling refinery in France.

People close to Mr Pouyanné say his success in cutting costs helped him see off his main rival Philippe Boisseau, head of Total’s marketing and new energy operations, for the position of chief executive.

Traditionally, it is often the head of the exploration and production division who goes on to become chief executive of an oil major.

But this convention has been broken. Last year Ben van Beurden became Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive, having served as its head of refining and marketing division.