Roberto Casula – Oil and Gas Executive and Business Leader

Throughout history, every problem or challenge that the world has come up against has presented an opportunity for someone to become a leader, create wealth and innovate. In order to achieve growth in your career or personal life, your ability to find solutions to problems will be a key requirement in your success. Creative innovation, as a matter of fact, is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship because businesses that are established to provide a unique service or product or deliver that service or product better than others, have a greater chance of success.

Innovation is one of the attributes that has helped Roberto Casula and Eni, a multinational oil and gas and energy company, stand out and achieve a tremendous amount of success in the ever-evolving, competitive enterprise of oil and gas and energy solutions. Casula’s resume and personal story is a source inspiration for people who are looking to become successful in the oil and gas industry.  Roberto Casula consistently rose through the ranks at Eni with his unique ability to work well with and motivate others and help his business grow.

Who is Roberto Casula?

Born in 1962 in Cagliari, Italy Roberto Casula completed his college education at the University of Cagliari where he got his degree in Mining Engineering, he then began his career as a Reservoir Engineer at Eni (Agip S.p.A) a multinational Italian oil and gas company in 1988.  The role as Reservoir Engineer allowed him to acquire valuable experience working in a supervisorial role during the reservoir modeling process. He remained in this position until he was promoted to become a Chief Development and Production Engineer in the company’s division in Angola (a country in south-central Africa) and then later moved to West Africa to take up a similar role as Chief Development Engineer.  Following his success in these complex roles, Casula returned to Eni headquarters in Milan where he assumed the role of coordinator of all business development activities taking place in the Middle East and Africa.

In 2001, Roberto Casula he became a Technical Services Manager still in Milan and then he moved to the Middle East where he became project director on a huge gas production project happening at the time. Between 2004 and 2005, he took on a lot of important managerial roles and then became the Chief Executive Officer of EniMed S.p.A, later in 2005 he was appointed Managing Director of Eni’s subsidiaries in Tripoli, Libya, and North-Africa after which he again returned to West Africa, Abuja, Nigeria to be specific where he was at the helm of affairs for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa in 2007. He then took charge of affairs for the whole of Africa and the Middle East as he became a senior executive of Eni Exploration and Production division in 2011. His other career achievements include coordinating the Mamba development and coral discovery in Mozambique, becoming a board member of the Eni Foundation and his most recent role as Chief Development, Operations, and Technology officer.

Although his professional growth and advancement at Eni is impressive, Casula wouldn’t have been able to get to where he is today if he hadn’t been committed to learning from his experiences, taking note of inefficiencies and developing actionable strategies to improve.

The Secrets of Business Leadership Success for Roberto Casula

  1. Resilience:  Advancing to an executive level in a large business, just like making headway in any career, can be really challenging at various stages and the day to day activities can make it hard to see the “big picture”.  Sometimes things can stagnate and frustrate or there could be monumental hurdles to overcome while on the path to progress and it might seem easier to accept things as they are or simply quit on your goals. Roberto Casula has had to deftly manage multiple changes of locations, navigate different cultures and languages, and of course, the challenge of managing people.  Staying resilient in the face of adversity and challneg and having a strong will to realize your goal has enabled Roberto Casula to succeed in whatever role or position he has assumed over the course of his 30+ year career.
  2. Effective Time Management:  Every successful business person or entrepreneur understands the value of time and has the ability, and sometimes the talent to handle their schedule efficiently.  Effective time management is one key aspect of productivity optimization. In a recent interview, Roberto Casula responded to a question relating to productivity and he explained how he optimized each day by planning ahead of the day, by planning how to handle events and meetings on his schedule and constantly evaluating his short, mid and long-term goals. No doubt, this is one of the secrets of his success.
  3. Building Bridges and Relationships:  A lot of people often neglect the value of making a good first impression in their day to day lives and in business.  Sometimes we get obsessed with other objectives or too concerned with pushing a deal through. Every entrepreneur and business leader should invest their time and money in researching how to handle people while negotiating deals or during important meetings, but it is important to remember that building lasting relationships will pay dividends in the future. In a recent interview, Roberto Casula also said “Developing good relationships and being kind and honest to others” would be the key advice he would offer to his young self.

Again, being imaginative and innovative, is the major key to staying ahead of your competition or achieving business success in today’s world. Innovation has always been a mantra for Roberto Casula and a secret to his success.  Similarly, Eni has adopted a systemic approach to

pursue efficiency, resilience and growth, which organically integrates sustainability to make it business, incorporates emerging trends of decarbonisation and inclusive development

including them in its industrial plan and operating model.