President of Infrastructure EMEA, Parsons
Search every verified Pierre Santoni interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Pierre Santoni, President of Infrastructure EMEA at Parsons, has discussed his leadership philosophy in a September 2024 interview, stating that he believes he has "natural leadership abilities" and that "leading by example is the most basic tenant" of his approach. He said that leadership's responsibility is "shifting towards creating culture and focusing on people and the impact on society more broadly," and that "you can't lead by fear; the two are an oxymoron." Santoni also shared career advice, saying the best advice he received was to "do your homework" and "be prepared," and emphasized the importance of integrity, accountability, and collaboration. In earlier appearances, Santoni has spoken about innovation in the Middle East. In a 2018 interview, he described Dubai as "a perfect environment for innovation" and noted that "the whole operation of electric vehicles has already disrupted the industry." He mentioned that Parsons is involved in initiatives such as the Hyperloop and automated safety surveys connected with AI, and that the company collaborates with organizations like MIT and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. In a 2015 video, Santoni described the "Parsons innovation center" in Columbia, Maryland, stating its focus is "the application of cybersecurity to the challenges that we as a company face" and that its objective is to "improve the prosperity and the security of our team, company, our customers, our country and in many cases the world."
“Leading by example is the most basic tenant of what I'm about. I come from a society that is strongly driven by family values, and you know families always have a leader you try to emulate. I've tried to translate that into my professional life as well.”
“Integrity is extremely important: do the right thing when people are not looking. It doesn't matter; you have to behave as if people are watching you all the time because you're watching yourself all the time.”
“Accountability goes with integrity. We have to be accountable to each other and to ourselves whether in our professional life or personal life. Accountable organizations are the ones that perform the best.”
“Collaboration and communication go hand in hand. Leadership is about making people better around you because nobody's as good as a team. No single person is as good as a whole team together.”
“Drive is extremely important. Business leaders have to be driven to achieve results. I don't think anybody could be an effective leader unless they have that inner drive to achieve things.”
“I believe I do have natural leadership abilities. I come from a family of military officers, so I've had a lot of examples of leadership very early on. Over the years, I found myself in positions of leadership without even thinking about it, and then it kind of sinks in that I could lead people effectively.”
“The responsibility of leadership is shifting towards creating culture and focusing on people and the impact on society more broadly. Profitability and financial sustainability remain important, but leaders today must also consider their broader societal impact.”
“You can't lead by fear; the two are an oxymoron. You have to lead by example so people want to emulate you. There is no good organization without good people and good culture, and both go hand in hand.”
“The best piece of career advice I've ever received is: do your homework. Be prepared. In business life, put in the groundwork you need to be able to get into a situation where you know what you're talking about and have a strong basis for your arguments.”
“I am Pierre Santoni, the president of Parsons for the Middle East and Africa.”
“I have been involved in the Big Five for quite a few years — I spoke at one of the previous events, I believe.”
“This is one of the great opportunities for us to come together as an industry and to change ideas, move our discussion forward, move the concepts that we've been all talking about within our various boardrooms forward and share that knowledge — it's extremely important.”
“We live in a fantastic emirate and in a part of the world that is extremely dynamic, where we get to witness some of the most advanced trends in our industry materializing and literally taking shape in front of us here.”
“The whole operation of electric vehicles has already disrupted the industry and is changing the way people think about their space, with charging stations for Tesla cars appearing in malls just within the last month.”
“His Highness has mandated that 25% of trips in Dubai should be smart and automated, and we are already working on initiatives to achieve this goal.”
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Hear Pierre Santoni, President - MEA, Parsons, speak about his experience at Big 5 Global and specialized events 2022.
IRF Middle East & North Africa Regional Congress & Exhibition October 30, 2017.
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