We are FCC - Nº9

Ana María Escribano Sánchez, Aqua- lia’s head of water purification in Ma- drid, was one of the four speakers who participated in the eWoman Sa- lamanca event on successful women in business and in the digital and te- chnological environment, organized by La Gaceta and Prensa Ibérica, with the participation of the Junta de Castilla y León. Ana is a biologist by profession, with a master’s degree in engineering and environmental management, and has been with Aqualia for 23 years, where she holds a position of responsibility and which she combines with teaching as a collaborating professor at the Es- cuela de Organización Industrial (EOI). What is your job as Aqualia’s head of water purification in Madrid? I am responsible for the operation of a series of water purification contracts. I am in charge of people management, economic control, relationship with the administration, commercial work... What’s the hardest part of your job and the most rewarding? The most difficult thing is the rela- tionship with people. Trying to make the most of every individual, ensure that people work in groups and that everything adds up. The most rewar- ding thing is when you set yourself a challenge and see that with the co- llaboration of everyone and the small contribution you have made, you can move forward. How did you start your career at Aqualia? I joined Aqualia in 1995 as head of a laboratory in an installation and since then I have held different positions with different responsibilities, always related to the end-to-end water cycle, both in drinking water and wastewa- ter. I have been head of production in significant production contracts. Thanks to the mobility at Aqualia, we are able to move quite a log within the organization. For a biologist like you, how was it to change the laboratory and the flasks for management? The bulk of my career within the com- pany has been in management rather than technique. The management is often difficult and, at the end, you take the problems home with you. Otherwise, I am very happy with the rest. When I was studying for my ca- reer, being a manager was not part of my calculations, but it’s true that I’ve always liked doing things of responsi- bility and having to involve people, sin- ce I was a little girl. Water is one of the elements that most influences the quality of life. What importance does Aqualia have in society? We are a company dedicated to pu- blic service. It is an essential service. When I have had responsibilities in drinking water it was very important because the water supply for many I N T E R V I E W We reproduce the excellent interview conducted by Gaceta de Salamanca with Ana Mª Escribano Sánchez, head of Aqualia’s water purification department in Madrid . people depends on you. It is a very stressful job because water is very important. You don’t realise this until a problem arises and there is a lack of water, either because of a drought situation, breakdowns or lack of infras- tructure. The same is true when I wor- ked in wastewater since quality is very important and one must ensure that discharged water complies with cer- tain parameters. We have a responsi- bility as guarantors of the environment to leave our future generations a qua- lity environment. We work in a very important area for society and Aqualia makes us aware of this responsibility. What is it like working in a ma- le-centred sector? What I miss is the lack of visibility of the many women who work at my Company who are often not suffi- ciently visible. I miss that fact that in meetings, as in the rest of society, is greater diversity, that there is not a fe- male head of production and 15 men in similar posts. Nevertheless, in my case, as a women, I have not found such barriers at work. Since I started over 20 years ago, I have witnessed substantial changes in the manage- ment methods and in the way we work. Even my male colleagues. At first, it was unthinkable that they would take three days off because their kids did not have classes. Now they take leave and this is very normal. You notice a change since Company management is involved and we go along with the social changes. P E O P L E S 24 P E O P L E S