Caroline got her chance in the offshore industry and now manages projects worth millions

"What about applying to Semco Maritime?" That was the question Caroline Thygesen's professor asked when she was about to finish her master's degree in mechanical design at Aalborg University (AAU).

The young engineer followed the advice and got a job at Semco Maritime in her hometown of Esbjerg, where she had also studied. Five years later, she has worked her way up to the position of senior tender manager and prepares bids for projects worth up to 800 million DKK.

At the age of 24, she walked through the door of her new workplace, but it was not entirely clear what her tasks would be. Although she describes herself as an introvert, she is also direct.

- I honestly said that the worst thing they could do to me was to put me in a corner with a calculator, says Caroline Thygesen with a smile.

Her directness was noticed.

- Marianne discovered me, and I got a post-graduate position as assistant to senior vice president Lars Christensen. This meant that I participated in top management and board meetings as well as customer meetings, she explains.

It was Marianne K. Hansen, HR & CSR coordinator at Semco Maritime, who spotted Caroline's potential. Today she looks back on it as a crucial opportunity.

- It was the career opportunity that gave me the opportunity to find out what I am good at – and of course also what Semco can get out of me, she says.

Another chance

Shortly afterwards, Caroline Thygesen got another opportunity. She was involved in a larger project under the guidance of an experienced colleague.

- I was drawn into the Tyra commissioning project. It was exciting to join just a year after I had started, and it is a project that we are still working on, even though I am no longer involved, she says.

This was followed by another assignment, this time also within offshore oil and gas.

- I was the tender coordinator for two large tenders: General Maintenance Contract (GMC) and Fabric Maintenance Contract (FMC). This included maintenance of all of TotalEnergies’ offshore installations in the North Sea – except Tyra.

The major projects gave her experience and became a springboard for a new step in her career.

Further into management

In the meantime, senior vice president Lars Christensen had left Semco Maritime, and Anders Benfeldt had taken over the position of senior vice president of Transitional Energies, formerly known as oil and gas. He also saw Caroline Thygesen’s potential.

- Anders asked if I wanted to start a tender unit within transition energies, she says, remembering her first meeting with her new boss:

- I told him from the start that I would not be the one booking his meetings. He could just as easily have said no to me on the spot.

But it was the beginning of a good collaboration that quickly led to a promotion. Because Anders Benfeldt never said: No, you have to book my meetings.

- Now there are three of us in the unit, and we prepare offers for the entire transition energies department. We look at 60-70 tenders a year and end up bidding on 10-15 of them, she explains.

And they are not small tenders that they work with.

- On average, our offers are 100-300 million DKK, and the largest ones reach 800 million DKK, she explains.

The golden opportunity at Semco

Her work is both demanding and rewarding.

- Sometimes I become the annoying type because I always ask: Did we remember that? We keep track of everything and act as a link to internal departments and external partners, and I make sure we have constructive meetings – lots of meetings, she adds.

After four years in the industry and at 29 years old, she clearly sees how lucky she has been.

- I am extremely happy with my job. It is my golden opportunity. I found the right place because I met the right managers. They could have chosen someone with more experience, but they took me in with only two years of experience, says Caroline Thygesen and is in no doubt about one thing:

- Semco wanted me, and here they sometimes believe in you more than you do yourself. This is where the opportunities are – if you want them.

She emphasizes that it has not been just one boss who has seen her potential.

- Semco has wanted me, and it has not been just one boss, says Caroline Thygesen.