About Eric Descourtieux

Eric Descourtieux is an experienced Chief Financial Officer in the oil and gas industry.

After graduating from the French Business School ESCP Europe in 1988 with a Master in Business Administration majoring in cost control and financial audit, he joined Aérospatiale, an aerospace manufacturer which later became part of EADS and then Airbus Group, as a Financial Analyst. He left Paris for Washington DC in December 1990 to work as a Purchasing Analyst at the company. After just over a year in that role, he returned to Paris to become the Manager of Industrial Accounting of the Eurocopter Business Unit.

In 1995, Eric Descourtieux became a Financial Controller for the KFC division of PepsiCo in France. His career in the oil and gas industry began in April 1997 when he joined Perenco, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, as the Finance Manager for Gabon, based in Port-Gentil. In this role, he was in charge of the accounting, financial reporting, tax matters, human resources and cost control of the subsidiary. After over four years in Gabon, he moved to Guatemala City to oversee the takeover of Perenco’s Guatemalan business unit as Finance Manager.

Eric Descourtieux returned to Paris in 2003 to run the finance department of Perenco’s four Latin American business units. As the company’s Finance Manager for Latin America, he was in charge of Auditing and Management Control. He then became General Manager for Venzuela, based in Caracas for two years, before moving to Bogota to take on the role of General Manager for Colombia and Venezuela. As well as overseeing operations in the two countries, he was in charge of business development and maintaining Perenco’s relationships with Regulatory Authorities and the National Oil Companies.

Eric Descourtieux was named Chief Financial Officer of Perenco in September 2008. His responsibilities included overseeing the business’ Finance department, making decisions regarding corporate loans, treasury, risk management and accounting and tax. He was also in charge of Business Development, achieved through a mix of acquisitions and organic growth.

In 2016, Eric Descourtieux left Perenco and co-founded Trident Energy alongside Perenco’s Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Michel Jacoulot. Trident Energy is an international oil and gas company focused on the acquisition, operation and optimisation of mid-life assets, backed by Warburg Pincus. He is the Chief Financial Officer of Trident Energy Management Limited. Eric Descourtieux is a visiting lecturer at ESCP Europe Business School and the IFP School the French Institute of Petroleum. He teaches M&A and Finance to students on both General Master and Executive Master programmes.