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.
From August 2024 to May 2026, 38-year-old Alexis Martel, a project manager at Omexom OHL International, managed construction of the new Järvilinja 1 line, a huge project in northern Finland for Fingrid, the national electricity network operator.
A first in that country for Omexom OHL International, 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.
Teams on the ground worked to erect 216 towers and install 66 km of 400 kV and 110 kV double-circuit overhead lines. At the same time, 51 km of obsolete structures were dismantled, including 223 towers.
The work mostly took place on isolated marshlands near Vuolijoki, where those same teams had to contend with frozen ground and extreme weather conditions. But in this environment, working on frozen soil is not just preferable but often essential in order to gain access and deploy machinery. Experience of specific structures is also key, whether dealing with freestanding lattice towers or guyed tubular towers.
The everyday human dimension
“On this project, rather than the technical aspects, it’s the human dimension that was the most important,” says Alexis Martel, who worked day-to-day with teams of 40 to 60 VINCI Energies employees and contractors of 11 different nationalities, each brought in for particular phases of the project. “With the hazards and unforeseen events inherent in this type of project, you have to know how to deal with fatigue, moods and people missing their families. Supporting people here requires strong adaptability and active listening, but also discipline. You constantly have to find the right balance in everything you’re doing. As the African proverb goes: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
This project manager relished his role: part orchestra conductor, part line manager. “I like this job for its diversity. As well the project execution and the strong managerial dimension, you’re also managing the surveying, technical assessment of the project, HR and admin issues, relationships with suppliers and contractors, not to mention logistics and finding a location for base camp.”
An unusual career path
The Järvilinja 1 project in Finland may be atypical, but then so is Alexis Martel’s career path. Though a good student, he struggled to find his place academically. And his nomadic life, due to the frequent moves of his lineman father, clearly gave him the travel bug.
Aged 18, he joined Club Med as a holiday rep. As one of the youngest recruits that year, he realised that “getting paid to travel” was his dream. He enjoyed three fantastic years in Saint‑Moritz, Pompadour in the Corrèze department, the Antilles and Corsica, punctuated by stays with his ever-relocating parents. Still close to the land and driven by an enduring admiration for powerline workers – “Linemen were true heroes to me,” he says – he joined the VINCI Energies subsidiary EEE, initially on a temporary contract. He joined the company permanently in 2012 when it was on the hunt for English-speaking employees, and was dispatched on an assignment to England. “That’s when I officially started in the trade, as an assistant fitter and on-site security officer.”
Resuming his studies aged 31
Two years on, the project was completed. Alexis Martel resumed his travels, taking a 15-month world tour with his partner. Following their return, his professional life was marked by a series of diverse experiences, including with car rental firms in Dijon. Little by little, a commercial vocation developed.
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.”
And the former reluctant schoolboy now felt a need to learn. “Aged 31, I took my BTS [advanced technical certificate] in international commerce in English, then a degree in business development management followed by a master’s with honours in business engineering.” He studied for his master’s on work-study with EEE, part of Omexom OHL International, which he joined in 2023. “A year later, they offered me the job of country project manager for the Finland project, which had been the subject of my dissertation.”
Autonomy, confidence, kindness
Having been busy with an €18 million project for almost 18 months, Alexis Martel particularly appreciated “the autonomy VINCI Energies gave me to act in the field, the confidence shown in me, and the kindness with which they accepted my request to return to France so my daughter could start school”.
In May 2026, Alexis Martel joined the team in Nîmes as a purchasing manager. “I think it’s fantastic that the business instantly accepted my request and made the effort to find a post that matched my needs.” His ambition now, which comes from a place of true humility, is to continue feeding his appetite for teaching and helping young – and not so young – people to access training and have the courage to change direction and reinvent their career.
07/08/2026
