Héctor Núñez, CEO of Novonor, is the interviewee of the OEC Connection Podcast

Executive talks about the achievements of 2022 and challenges for the coming years on the ESG, innovation and business fronts

The CEO of Novonor and Chairman of the Board of OEC – Engineering and Construction, Héctor Núñez, is the special interviewee of the new episode of the OEC Connection podcast. About to complete two years at the holding company, the executive highlights the advances made in 2022 and the expectations for the coming years. According to him, the focus is on the development of engineering, on meeting the Group’s financial obligations, as well as on the qualification of the nearly 30,000 members. “Despite the challenges, we have a very robust company not only in terms of size, but in the quality of the people,” he says.

With the implementation of a high-level governance program, on par with that of publicly traded companies, Núñez explains that the brands will develop ESG indicators on other fronts as well, such as in the social and environmental areas. “We are doing the right thing and acting right. Our programs are working and helping with the achievements.” In 2022, Novonor has achieved ISO 37001 (anti-bribery) certification for the second year in a row. The year was also marked by record-breaking reputation indicators. In the second half of the year, work on several fronts helped Novonor and OEC achieve a historic reputational rating (70.1 and 71.4 points, respectively) by RepTrak™, the leading global service in its sector, which evaluates more than one million companies a year in more than 60 countries.

The executive also shares his impressions about innovation – considered a deficit in the infrastructure sector – within the business model of Novonor and its subsidiaries. The CEO of the holding highlighted the historical legacy of the brand, which is at the forefront within heavy construction. “This is in our DNA. Now we need to expand our capacity, where the digital transformation that doesn’t just happen in the back office starts to take weight.” Facing the industry’s needs for the 21st century, he highlights, mainly, the way in which the companies apply BIM (Building Information Modeling).

“We have decades of information and data on projects that are invaluable. This data issue is strategic because it allows us to be closer to the customers, providing information about the projects we develop for them.” The acronym, applied in heavy construction, offers a set of methods and tools that facilitate and enable the digital transformation from the birth of the project to the management phase of the finished asset. The use of BIM in Brazil is federal law. By 2028, all constructions must use the methodology.

Transformation Inductor

With more than 70 years of tradition in the heavy construction sector and a business vision that remains modern today being the north for the ambitions of the next decade, Núñez says it is necessary to bring “strategic provocations” to the group’s leaders. The key word, according to him, is synergy. “Organize knowledge management to ensure that innovation management methods and practices are institutionalized and documented [in data]. We have a much greater collective knowledge than individual knowledge,” he says.

OEC IN

The OEC podcast Conexão OEC is part of the OEC IN ecosystem, an initiative by OEC – Engineering and Construction that aims to design solutions for the challenges faced at the company’s construction sites and offices. It was structured on the basis of four aspects: developing an internal culture focused on mobilization and engagement for Innovation, connecting OEC to open innovation; providing technical support in technological upgrading, knowledge management, and digital transformation processes, and positioning the construction company as a protagonist that fosters and integrates innovation in its industry.

The program is published monthly and its content is made available on the company’s channels on Spotify and Youtube. To learn more about the OEC – Engineering and Construction innovation program or sign up for the newsletter, please visit: https://www.oec-eng.com/pt-br/quem-somos/inovacao