We share "Our Stories", a podcast series about the life stories, achievements and dreams of the people who build Tecpetrol every day. In this edition, we meet Fernando Marín.

Fernando Marín has a Law degree and is the supervisor of Community Relations in Mexico—and admits to a passion for cooking and music. Since the pandemic, he has been in charge of coordinating the company’s donations program and implementing operational practices to safeguard the health of the Mision block work teams.

When he was a teenager, trying to figure out what he wanted to do in life, he was torn between becoming a chef or choosing a university degree, which was the direction he finally took. "We can choose a more solid future in economic terms, but that doesn't mean we should give up doing what we are passionate about," he says. His love of cooking has its roots in his family’s origins, as his grandfather used to jot down recipes of local dishes whenever they went on holiday. Since then, one of the family stalwarts at celebrations has been green pozole. "More than cooking, it’s about sharing," he acknowledges.

Two years before graduating, he took a specialized training program and started work in public organizations, ending up at a federal inspection unit, where he consolidated his respect for the law and learned about litigation, the area where he works today. “Lawyers may be unpopular, but the laws are designed to make life easier for people, and applying them to everyday life makes everything more orderly.”

By the time he arrived at Tecpetrol, Fernando was already familiar with the oil sector, as his uncles in the district where he grew up were old hands in the industry, and he also had a childhood friend whose family had been transferred to Tamaulipas from Neuquen in Patagonia.

Although he’d left his CV at the job center, it would be five years before he was called for an interview at Tecpetrol. That was when his earlier experiences took on meaning and value: "I’d never really thought about standing on a rig," he acknowledges. "Now, one day I’m at a meeting in town, the next I’m on-site, working shoulder to shoulder with the locals: that kind of variety is the spice of life."   

His professional career was galvanized by the experience of the TUIC at Tecpetrol. "It really was a before and after a moment. Even if you’re already motivated, the course shows you where you stand and where you can go if you set your mind to it." He appreciates the personal contact he had with the CEO and senior managers as well as the experiences shared with his peers, which left their mark on his management style, something he is quick to recognize. "When something affects you like that, you want to tell other people all about it." 

As for his personal attributes, his vocation for service comes partly from his mother, who is a social worker. "But helping people has to come naturally to you," he states. His work with the local communities where Tecpetrol operates is largely about managing infrastructure, training, and maintenance projects, but the one he’s most excited about centers on improving schools in rural areas: “And the likelihood of one of these kids one day turning out to be a great professional!”

In his spare time, he plays the drums, which he got a special kick out of even as a boy, and indulges a preference for fine watches, but "not as a luxury item but as an object that can save your life,” a hobby that links into his reflections about time.

LISTEN TO FERNANDO’S STORY (IN SPANISH)

Come and join us for future editions of "Our Stories". If you would like to share this with your family and friends, follow our account on Spotify, Apple podcast, Google podcast, Deezer and other platforms. Find us as Tecpetrol Podcast.