Christophe de Margerie, 63, the chief executive of France’s Total who died yesterday in a plane crash in Moscow, made his career in the Middle East, where the flamboyant, blue-blooded Frenchman was a widely admired and liked figure.
After the bizarre accident on takeoff, where Mr de Margerie’s corporate jet ran into an out-of-control snowplough and burst into flames, the condolences came flooding in, including from top oil and government officials in the UAE.
The death of the oil veteran, who had been chief executive of France’s flagship oil company since 2007, left many Total employees in shock.
“We’re in a state of disequilibrium,” said Brian O’Neill, the head of communications for Total Middle East and North Africa. He said all of Total’s regional communications executives had gathered in Dubai for a meeting the day before the tragedy, which added to the sense of disorientation.
Meanwhile, top Total executives, including Hatem Nuseibeh, the president of Total UAE, and Arnaud Breuillac, the head of worldwide exploration and production and a former head of Total Middle East, were all gathering in Paris to take stock of Mr de Margerie’s death and its aftermath.
Mr de Margerie was also a former head of Total Middle East, his first top appointment at Total’s legacy company back in 1995. He rose through the ranks, heading worldwide exploration and production in 1999 before succeeding Thierry Desmarest to head the company in 2007.
“They loved him in the Middle East. He had a very good rapport with everyone, they liked him and respected him,” said Kate Dorian, an oil analyst at Middle East Economic Survey, who knew Mr de Margerie well. “Many of the top people who knew him wondered why someone who came from such wealth worked for a living.”
Mr de Margerie’s mother was Colette Taittinger of the famous champagne-making family. Although he was a senior business figure and a member of one of France’s most well-known landed families, he was linked more with the left of his home country’s politics than the right and was a close personal friend of the current French president François Hollande, a socialist.
“Christophe is a liberal from the Jean-Baptiste Say and Maurice Allais school,” his friend Jean-Marc Forneri, the president of Bucéphale Finance, told the French business magazine Challenges last year. “He wants to serve his country and thinks it is possible to find a way between a pompidolien state [as in Georges Pompidou], which builds bullet trains … and an invasive state which intrudes on all subjects.”
The Middle East has been a large part of Total’s business since its inception and remains so, not least the UAE, where it is a legacy holder of one of the original onshore concessions, which expired this year and is up for renewal.
“He knew the Middle East extremely well,” Ms Dourian said.
“He is irreplaceable, of course, but whoever comes after him will have had to come through the Middle East.”
amcauley@thenational.ae
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In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
INDIA V SOUTH AFRICA
First Test: October 2-6, at Visakhapatnam
Second Test: October 10-14, at Maharashtra
Third Test: October 19-23, at Ranchi
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
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Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5