Interview with Pierre Verzat Chief Executive Officer Pierre Verzat was appointed CEO in 2011. In this interview, he looks back at a year of growth and consolidation, and sustained development for SYSTRA. 2023 was all about acquisitions, employee engagement and sustainability. What exactly does “being there” mean for SYSTRA? I think that first and foremost, it’s about being useful: being where mobility needs are the greatest, where the stakes are critical, and where our expertise can make a difference. We have a unique model underpinned by this concept of utility. Regions that are most in need, cutting-edge expertise and networked production capability. It’s also a question of degree and relevance: being there when or in the way that our clients and their communities need us to be. Providing solutions, coming up with original ideas, embracing challenges to use mobility as a vector for positive transformation for the territories in which we operate. And finally, it’s a question of identity and promise: being where our employees, our stakeholders and our ecosystem are, and fully assuming our role as a driver of change for our sector. What were the highlights of 2023 for SYSTRA? The year saw strong growth. We maintained our momentum, and our results confirmed the relevance of our strategy. Over the last few years, we have been on a profitable and sustained growth path characterised by coherence and stability. This is now bearing fruit. So we can take the next steps with confidence. But this healthy performance is not just the result of an effective strategy. SYSTRA is a company made up of people. If we stand out from the rest, it is because of each and every person’s commitment. After the first two internal Global People Surveys, we listened to our employees and clarified our strategy so that everybody could understand it and established our positioning as something that could develop loyalty. Our model is now as appealing to our clients as it is to the talented people we recruit or the people joining us from recently-acquired companies. Talking of acquisitions, there were six in 2023, meaning a significant increase in workforce numbers. What is the logic behind that? Our strategy is based on an international organisational structure based on home countries, transverse expertise and connected teams. Our acquisitions and recruitment are for the same purpose: bolster our presence in growth regions and consolidate our expertise so that we stand out. Our strength is underpinned by autonomous subsidiaries that are well positioned on their markets, close to the clients they serve and capable of drawing on international resources to take up complex challenges. The same logic is behind our 2023 acquisitions: Subterra 2023 Activity Report 5