B.E., Electrical and Electronic Engineering
B.Sc., Physiology
Alessandro Lucioli is an LNG lifting (offtake) manager for Chevron at the Gorgon Gas Plant situated on Barrow Island in northwest Australia. He joins SDM after almost twenty years of professional employment in the natural resources sector with the last ten years specifically in the oil and gas space. Alessandro is particularly focused on applying analytical and technology-focused skills to solve business and strategy problems. “Undertaking the SDM program at MIT is a dream come true, especially the challenge to explore, think, and innovate ever more creatively.”
How did you hear about SDM?
I heard about the SDM program through Chevron, my employer. Last year, in partnership with MIT, Chevron launched a one-year MIT Master’s program (which is essentially the SDM program, completed in twelve months) as part of the enterprise’s digital organizational capability plan. This year I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate along with fifteen other Chevron colleagues.
What made you apply to the program? And why did you decide on SDM instead of a traditional MBA or other graduate degree?
I was drawn to the fact that it was a graduate degree that combined the best of an MBA program with the ability to delve deeply into some of the most relevant and disruptive topics facing society today. For me, the SDM program reads like a future-proofed MBA. I hope to take away the skills and knowledge that future leaders, innovators, and problem solvers will rely on in the next industrial revolution that we’re speeding towards.
What’s something you hope to learn in the core class?
My role at Chevron is in the liquefied natural gas commercial space and often problems are as much qualitative as they are quantitative. They require consideration not only of what can be readily measured but also of strategic elements that are less tangible and more difficult to quantify. Yet these elements are equally crucial to the challenge being addressed. Personally, I’m hoping the SDM core classes will improve my ability to readily and practically apply systems thinking approaches to find holistic solutions that address such complex problems, particularly the ‘human’ elements that are inevitably present.
I feel incredibly privileged to be part of not only the exceptional Chevron group with whom I get to share this experience but also the fantastic group of individuals that make up this year’s SDM cohort. Of course, I’m a little disappointed that COVID-19 has prevented me from being able to move to Boston to experience this in person. I’m nonetheless looking forward to some fascinating conversations, even if they have to be behind a webcam for now.
Despite the time zone challenges of participating from Perth, Western Australia, it takes nothing away from the fact that this is going to be an amazing and inspiring experience during a monumental time in modern history. And I think that’s going to make our cohort an especially unique one.
