Simona Cristea-Floris, recipient of the 2009 Pierre Faurre Prize awarded by the École Polytechnique Foundation

The Pierre Faurre Prize, which has been awarded by the Polytechnique Foundation since 2002, honours a young Polytechnician whose early years in the industry demonstrate a combination of technical expertise, management skills and international success.

Simona Cristea-Floris, 35, of dual Romanian and French nationality, is the 2009 winner of the Pierre Faurre Prize, awarded by the Polytechnique Foundation. Born in 1974 in Romania, Simona Cristea-Floris, a Physics graduate, arrived in France in 1997 to further her education at the École Polytechnique.

She joined Air Liquide in 1999 as part of an MBA at the Collège des Ingénieurs, to then be hired as the Marketing Manager for a newly created subsidiary of the Group. She then went on to become Business Developer for gas services within Industrial Gases and Services France.

In 2004, she took up the position of Project Manager within Air Liquide Engineering, where she managed construction projects for Air Separation Units (ASU) from their conception and design to their assembly and commissioning. In this position she managed teams of 10 to 40 people depending on the project. She managed the construction of seven production units in Ukraine, France, Belgium and Germany while at the same time meeting, and even improving on the safety, performance, time and budget targets.

Awarded at the close of the Enterprise Forum by Thierry Desmarest, President of the Polytechnique Foundation, this prize honours the managerial skills and competence of this young engineer, X96, and notably her ability to bring together the expertise and resources required to ensure the success of complex, technological projects in a multicultural environment.

Today, Simona Cristea-Floris is Director of the HR Recruitment and Development Programs. In this capacity, she is in charge of the nomination process and the career developments of the Group’s International Technical Experts.

Air Liquide's policy aims to promote the recruitment and professional development of women, and thus strengthen their place and responsibilities within the company. Between 2003 and 2008, the percentage of women hired as executives and engineers rose from 24 to 29% and women represent 32% of employees identified as high potential.