In our series “Women in Energy", we showcase leaders whose contribution has been actively shaping the energy industry, keeping it stable and turning it greener for a long time. In the 7th part of our series, Eszter Szekeres, CEO of MET Hungary, shares her thoughts on the industry, the role of women and sustainability efforts.
Original article in Hungarian: NRGreport
What are the greatest professional challenges in your field? Do you see any that can stay with us in 2025?
The energy crisis has temporarily diverted attention from a topic that has strategic importance for the future of the entire industry, but in 2024 everyone is finally starting to focus on the energy transition and the tasks it brings to the industry. The energy transition and the advance of renewables in Hungary and in the region as a whole raises the issue of rebalancing, one of the key challenges for which we need to find solutions to solve the structural problems of the electricity market. The main challenge is therefore to establish a future-proof direction of the electricity commodity market and take the right steps.
So far, all industry players are thinking in silos about these issues. Amidst the mix of professional arguments and regulatory ambitions, there is still no clear, inclusive view from all market players on where to go. The most important task for 2025 will be to bring the individual ideas of the industry players together and form a unified front.
Did you consciously choose the energy sector? What attracted you most?
Actually, not consciously. I got into the energy sector as an intern very early on, in my final year of university. I studied finance, risk management and investment analysis, but I found the banking world too rigid, and we were in the middle of a financial crisis.
At university I saw a job advertisement, so I started working for MOL in 2008. I almost quit after two weeks because I had to read and comment on regulations. But then I got a very exciting modelling assignment and I think I've been in love with the industry ever since.
What do you think could be done to attract young people who are about to choose a career to consciously orient themselves towards the energy sector? What about those who want to work here after a career change?
I would like to highlight two things. First is the corporate culture, which is not energy sector-specific but MET-specific. I can see that the professional culture and ethics that we are building here are starting to have an impact on the labour market - for example, through what colleagues are saying about it. Two or three years ago, we were worried about finding the right people for a particular position, but today we are getting better and better candidates, and this is largely due to the attractiveness of our company’s culture in the market.
It is also essential that, whether a new colleague is working with conventional or renewable energy sources, they are shaping the future even with the smallest actions. A common future, one of the most important issues of which is the energy transition, which is neither solved nor invented. Moreover, it does not seem like a short process, so if you are just starting out and learning the industry, in a few years, you will have plenty of opportunities to contribute to shaping the energy transition. If you're climate-conscious and want to take an active role for our planet, MET is the place to do it.
What advice would you give to those thinking about a career in the energy industry? Which skills are essential and what "superpowers" help you in your daily life?
As clichéd as it sounds, you really do need to know yourself. You need to know where your steepest development curve is. For an ambitious employee, speed of progress and opportunities should be the top priority.
So, the superpower for us is that our colleagues have the intrinsic motivation to learn, they can think for themselves and of course they are good people. What I look for in candidates when I interview them is whether their eyes sparkle when they hear about what we do, what tasks, challenges and projects they can get involved in with us.
An EU directive requires that by 2026, 40 percent of all directorships in publicly traded companies must be held by women, and listed companies must ensure that the proportion of women in senior management positions reaches 33 percent. Do you think it will be inspiring for today's young people to see more women in leadership positions in the future?
I fundamentally disagree with female quotas. Any quota system leads to an anti-meritocracy mindset and could result in someone not being placed in a position on merit. The only way to get more female leaders is to change the culture. Until culture is a motivator for representatives of female energy, there will be no progress.
I have found that young people are motivated by seeing more female leaders. At METCE Hungary, half of the management is made up of women, and we get a lot of positive feedback about that from young people.
How can organisations better support and encourage women to find jobs and advance in the energy sector? Do you think the industry is only scary from the outside or is it really a difficult field?
This is also a question of company culture. Where acceptance, understanding and empathy are part of the culture, women automatically show up. There are other important factors: for example, if it is a natural and everyday part of the company culture to start a meeting at 10pm, there will be no women there, because family and career are incompatible in such a way. I might add that there will be no young talent there either, because we are seeing the emergence of a new generation for whom work-life balance and protecting their own boundaries is very important. I learn this from them every day.
Whether the energy industry is scary from the outside, I cannot judge. I've been in it for 18 years, so it's certainly not scary for me. I find it rather inspiring and complex.
Most companies have started to focus on ESG efforts. What environmental and climate-friendly measures have you introduced or will you introduce in the future?
MET Group recently published its first sustainability report, which shows that in 2023, 70 percent of its investments were allocated to green projects. The Group is continuously restructuring its portfolio and increasing its share of renewable energy production. This is an investment-intensive activity, which is why it is important that MET invests its own capital in renewables. We will also use the expertise we have built up over the past almost two decades to help the energy transition, because we believe that we can develop a forward-looking regulatory framework if we integrate a market approach into our thinking.