Skip to main content

Our Leadership Team

Air Liquide Engineering & Construction ensures a high level of performance through effective and streamlined governance which is assured through its Leadership Team. The Mission of the Leadership Team is to ensure the support of the whole organization by being a visible body that debates, decides and aligns objectives within the Air Liquide Engineering & Construction organization.

Philippe Merino

Group Vice President, Air Liquide, Supervising Engineering & Construction & Capital Implementation

Philippe Merino is Group Vice President, Air Liquide, Supervising Engineering & Construction & Capital Implementation. He joined Air Liquide Group in 2003 as a Process Engineer. He was appointed to his current position in September, 2022. Philippe is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of international experience in Technology, Operations and Executive Management.  He has held various senior level positions within Air Liquide Group as CEO of E&C France, VP Western Europe, VP Global Markets & Technologies World Business Unit supervising E&C Technologies, and most recently as South West Europe Cluster VP in charge of the Group’s industrial activities in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Philippe is French and Spanish and is an engineering graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and School of Aeronautics and Space (SUPAERO) as well as Advanced Management Program of Harvard Business School.

Bruno Ponson

Vice President, Air Liquide Engineering & Construction

Bruno Ponson is the Vice President of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide in 1997. He was appointed to his current position in September, 2023. Bruno has more than twenty five years of experience in the chemical, industrial and medicinal gases sectors.  During his long career, he has held technical and managerial roles of increasing responsibility and has contributed to the development of important international projects in Italy, France, Turkey and Qatar. Between 2015 and 2020 he was General Manager in Poland, Ukraine and then Russia, gaining an all-round experience in managing complex organizations and challenges in different markets and industrial sectors. From 2020 to 2023, he was Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide Italia leading the business growth and positioning the company among the main players in the energy transition, technological innovation and digitalization. Bruno graduated from École des Ponts ParisTech with a Degree in Industrial Engineering.

Natalia Anjaparidze

Vice President, Communications, E&C, LI, Europe Industries Hub

Natalia Anjaparidze is the Vice President, Communications of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction, Large Industries, and Europe Industries Hub. She joined Air Liquide in July 2016 in Engineering & Construction Communications and was appointed to her current position in April 2018. Natalia has over 17 years of experience in the energy sector, including 10 years in Communications in various international environments. Prior to joining Air Liquide, Natalia managed the Science and Technology Communications at BP Headquarters in London.

Meritxell Rodriguez de Lera

Vice President, Global Operations

Meritxell Rodriguez de Lera is the Vice President, Global Operations of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. She joined Air Liquide in January, 2021 in her current position. Meritxell has more than 25 years of experience in Project Management and Operational roles for the energy, oil & gas industries, including upstream, downstream and refinery projects. Before joining Air Liquide, Meritxell worked for Tecnicas Reunidas, gaining a wealth of experience in all project phases from conceptual phase, FEED to start-up and  leading very large and complex projects (EPC and LSTK) worldwide.

Pascale Bayle

Vice President, Legal

Pascal Bayle is the Vice President, Legal of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. She joined Air Liquide in 2015 as Chief Legal Officer Engineering & Construction and Senior Counsel of sanctions laws. She was appointed to her current position in September, 2020. A former lawyer at the Paris bar, Pascale has more than 15 years of legal experience both as outside legal counsel in law firms, and as in-house legal counsel, in renewable energies, chemicals and oil and gas industries, mainly specializing in corporate, M&A, compliance, EPC contracts and commercial law in international environments.

Dominique Rouge

Vice President, Sales & Technology

Dominique Rouge is the Vice President, Sales & Technology of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide in 1995 as a Research Engineer for the development of new technologies for oxygen production. He has held various senior positions in Air Liquide industrial operations in Europe, Africa, Middle East, Brazil and USA, with specific responsibility for Operations Management, Business Development and Customer relations.

Thierry Roche

Vice President, Finance & Governance

Thierry Roche is the Vice President, Finance & Governance of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide in 2009 as Senior Project Manager of Finance. He was appointed to his current position in November, 2020. Thierry has more than 30 years of international experience in Finance and has held various senior level positions within Air Liquide as Chief Finance Officer for Air Liquide Japan Air Gases, advanced Business & Technology (aB&T), and most recently for Global Markets & Technologies (GM&T) and Innovation & Development Division (IDD). Prior to joining Air Liquide, Thierry worked for companies such as Crédit Lyonnais, Générale de Santé and Veolia in France.

Jean-Philippe Soulard

Vice President, Human Resources, Engineering & Construction and Capital Implementation

Jean-Philippe Soulard is the Vice President, Human Resources of Air Liquide Engineering & Construction and Capital Implementation. Jean-Philippe has more than 30 years of international experience in Human Resources, starting his career with companies such as Spie Batignolles and Veolia, before joining Air Liquide Group in 2003 as Human Resources Director for the Welding Business Unit.

From 2009 to 2013, Jean-Philippe was in charge of leading the Human Resources function in the Asia-Pacific region overseeing talent development, intra-zone and international mobility and intercultural training. He then moved to Paris as VP, HR for the Group’s Engineering, R&D and Technologies activities, before moving to Airgas (18000 employees) in 2016 as Senior VP HR, leading the HR function in its integration phase. In his last position, from mid 2021,he was responsible for the Group’s Industrial Merchant Business Line and Hydrogen Force network and contributed to the creation of Air Liquide’s Joint Venture with Totalenergies to develop a network of Hydrogen fueling stations for heavy duty vehicles in Europe.

Carsten Mink

Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment, Security (HSES) and Process Risk Management (PRM)

Carsten Mink is the Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment, Security (HSES) and Process Risk Management (PRM) of Air Liquide  Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide (Lurgi AG) in 1993 as a Safety Engineer. He was appointed to his current position in July 2016. Carsten began his career in Occupational and Process Safety with a focus on safe design, engineering and construction of large-scale process units. Over the years, he expanded into the areas of Quality Management systems implementation, Industrial Risk Management, Emergency and Crisis Management, Process Improvement, IT, Global Security and Medical coverage. He is a long standing member of the Association of German Safety Engineers (VDSI) and Co-Chairman of the HSES working group of the German Engineering Association (VDMA). Carsten has 5 years of working experience in chemical synthesis and almost 30 years in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction industry.

Bruno Aidan

Vice President, Digital, Data & IT

Bruno Aidan is the Vice President of Digital, Data & IT at Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide in 2017 as Chief Data Officer & Head of La Factory. He was appointed to his current position in September, 2023. Bruno has more than twenty five years of experience in management of innovation and the value creation of product lines, business units and commercialization of high-tech products and services. Over the past years, he has been responsible for making data a core asset for the Group’s industrial assets, customers and patients. Prior to joining Air Liquide, Bruno worked for Axa and Alcatel-Lucent in various management roles in product, strategy, R&D and Innovation.

Fabien Artigou

Vice President, Strategy & Performance

Fabien Artigou is the Vice President, Strategy & Performance at Air Liquide Engineering & Construction. He joined Air Liquide in 2004 as a Construction and Commissioning Engineer. He was appointed to his current position in April, 2023. Fabien has more than 19 years of international experience in the EPC industry. He has served in a variety of management roles in China, The Middle-East and France in Operations, Manufacturing, Projects and Services, as well as support functions such as Safety, Quality, Industrial and Project Risks. In his most recent role, he was responsible for the Industrial Strategy of the Engineering & Construction World Business Unit. Fabien is a French national and an engineering graduate of Ecole Centrale Paris.