A career path outside the lines
Since May 2026, Alexis Martel, aged 38, has been a purchasing manager at Omexom Nîmes. He previously worked for Omexom OHL International, where he managed the construction of a strategic power line in northern Finland. Behind these exacting experiences where the technical and the human meet, we find an extraordinary professional career full of twists, reconsiderations and assumed choices.
At the age of 38, Alexis Martel, Project Manager at Omexom OHL International (EEE), oversaw construction of the strategic Järvilinja 1 electrical line for Fingrid in northern Finland. In a first for Omexom OHL International in that country, in partnership with Omexom Finland, this strategic project is part of the Nordic Grid Development Perspective (NGDP) plan to modernise and strengthen the Nordic power supply network.
The project involved the construction of 216 towers, the installation of 66 km of 400 kV and 110 kV overhead line, and the dismantling of 51 km of old infrastructure. The work took place on isolated marshlands near Vuolijoki, with teams working on frozen ground and in extreme weather conditions.
Day-to-day, Alexis Martel managed international teams of 40 to 60 people of 11 nationalities. The human dimension was central to this project: listening, adaptation and cohesion are crucial, as is technical expertise.
His career path is unusual. After several years with Club Med and temporary assignments working on electrical lines, he joined EEE in England as an assistant fitter. Aged 31, he went back to school and earned his advanced technical certificate, his degree, and then a master’s in business engineering on a work-study placement with EEE at Omexom OHL International. In May 2026, he returned as a purchasing manager. His message: “If my career journey can spark ideas in young – or not so young – people who may feel it’s too late to change direction, I will have achieved something vital: proving that every career can be reinvented.”
Photo: ©Filmbutik