“Don’t put limits on yourself, always be bold”

After spending the first part of her career in the oil and gas industry, Laurence Vaux joined the nuclear division at VINCI Energies as manager of the Actemium Cadarache business unit – a new challenge for this accomplished triathlete.

Having completed engineering studies in Toulouse and a Master’s degree in oil and gas at the IFP School, Laurence Vaux started her career in 1998 at BP before moving on to GE Power & Water. After 20 years in oil and gas, she completed an Executive MBA in 2018 and joined VINCI Energies as VP of business development for Sub-Saharan Africa, still in the same sector.

She added a new operational dimension to her career in October 2021 when she was appointed manager of the Actemium Cadarache business unit (in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France) within the VINCI Energies nuclear division.              

As the head of a team of 35, Laurence Vaux enjoys the autonomy and responsibility that her new role offers.

“Being business unit manager is quite a challenge. I am being supported by VINCI Energies through the nuclear division’s AVENIR operational excellence plan.” She says she is someone who “never puts limits on herself”, who has “always been bold.”

She is also proud to play a part in the great energy transition adventure alongside clients like the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) and the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor). This skilled triathlete is not fazed by long-term projects of this kind. “Nuclear is a marathon not a sprint,” she says, adding that on 9 July she plans to take part in the Tour de France stage in the Alps, wearing a bib from Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque, the charity supported by VINCI Energies.

Photo credits: ©yellow studio-Christine Criscuolo