"Meet ECSL Members" Series: Beatriz Pisoni - contract officer at GMV

1-      How are you doing, Beatriz? Where are you based during covid-19 outbreak?

I am doing great, thank you!
Currently I am based in Madrid, homeworking 100% of the time. Few days ago Spain imposed again State of emergency in Madrid to bring down Covid-19 that rates the capital. This time state of alarm is not as severe as the lock-down imposed in March. Today we are not allowed to leave the Capital, social gathering are limited to 6 people, bars and restaurants are limited to 50% capacity and should shut by 10 p.m. 

It’s quite challenging, but I’ am focusing on being optimist as possible. After the past lock-down I prepared my house for a possible new lock-down and to face the new normal reality. However, it’s very important to look at the short term, to take it step by step, especially considering the uncertainty about the future that we are all leaving now due to the Pandemic.

For instance, when we started to have the lock down, back in March, with my colleagues we decided to do a daily café break where is forbidden to talk about work, we have to turn on the cameras and basically we take this short time to tell each other how we are and how we feel. Sometimes we are very happy, sometimes we are in a bad mood, but we accept that and we tried to help each other.

2-    Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

My name is Beatriz Pisoni. I am half Spanish and half Italian, coming from Camogli, a small sea town in Italy, close to Genoa. I am currently Contract Officer in GMV Aerospace and Defense S.A.U, in Madrid Spain.

This year I will be lecturer of the “Air and Space Post Grade” of University of ICADE (Universidad Pontifica de Comillas)-co-organized with AEDAE, in Madrid and soon I will attend the Legal Tech LLM at IE (Instituto de Empresa) Law School of Madrid, where I have been awarded for a scholarship of Women in Technology.

3-    We are glad to count GMV as an ECSL institutional member. Can you tell us more about GMV’s activities?

GMV is a privately owned technology business group founded in 1984 and trading on a worldwide scale in the following sectors: Aerospace, Defense and Security, Cybersecurity, Intelligent Transportation Systems, Automotive, Healthcare, Telecommunications and IT for government authorities and major corporations. In 2019, it had revenues of nearly 240 million euros. Working with a staff of over 2,200, the company now runs subsidiaries in Spain, USA, Germany, France, Poland, Portugal, Romania, UK, The Netherlands, Malaysia and Colombia. Sixty five percent of its turnover comes from international projects on all five continents.

The company's growth strategy is based on continuous innovation and it plows back 10% of its turnover into in-house R&D. GMV has reached CMMI level 5, the world's most prestigious model in terms of enhancing an organization’s process capability, and it has numerous international patents. Currently, GMV is the world's number-one independent supplier of ground control systems for commercial telecommunications satellite operators and the European leader in the ground segment of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (EGNOS and Galileo). It is also the primary provider of C41 command and control systems for the Spanish Army and the leading national provider of telematics systems for public transport.

For over 15 years now it has also been a tried-and-trusted provider of telematics software, services and systems in the automotive sector. In the ICT sector it has become a national benchmark as a provider of advanced cybersecurity solutions and services for IP networks, ICT applications and mobility applications for governments and the development of e-Administration.

4-         What is the role of a contract officer (in the space sector)? 

The Contractual Department, in GMV Aerospace and Defence S.A.U. HQ site, provides contractual services to the Company either in Procurement and Commercial area.

Normally we do participate in the definition of contractual plans and draft and negotiate all major contracts and agreements with Prime or third parties. We do contribute to the assessment of the risks and opportunities of offers and projects, providing effective and commercially acceptable solutions in particularly in the area of risk management.

We do work every day with Project Managers, in different space projects that the Company awarded, and we do give contractual support to other GMV sites around the world.

5-         How did you end up working in the procurement field ?

When I was about to finish my law studies I had the great opportunity to do an internship at the Legal Service Department of ESA, where I wrote my thesis on Remote Sensing. That experience gave me the drive to pursue a space career but also a deep awareness of several aspects that I needed to learn, such as understanding the sector, which it takes a quiet time if you do not have a technical background.

To this end, I applied to the Thales Alenia Space's Young Talent Programme in Spain, where I worked directly with engineers, physics and mathematics that taught me the basis of the sector. After my training I was accepted in GMV Aerospace and Defense S.A.U. where the first 8 months I worked in the Subcontractor Programme Manager team of Galileo for the Ground Control Segment, which is responsible for monitoring all constellation satellites and includes all the necessary components for this purpose: the control center, the orbital dynamics system, mission planning, operational support, simulation tools, the key management facility, network security, the telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) stations and the interconnection between all these components. The GCS comprises the main operations center, located in Munich (Germany) and Fucino (Italy), as well as the various monitoring stations spread throughout the world.

These three experiences gave me the chance to become a Contract Officer in GMV Aerospace and Defense S.A.U, where the contract management that we do is 50% Commercial area and the other 50% in Procurement Area.

6-    As a lawyer, do you also get to work with engineers ?

YES, DEFINITELY!

In this sector most of the people is engineer, mathematic or physic. If you want to work in this sector as a lawyer, it is very important to get in the engineer world and try to speak their language.

Both legal and technical background work for the same purpose in the company, to this end is fundamental to have a bilateral communication in order to understand each sides. For a lawyer it is important to understand exactly what the company is doing and for the engineer it is important to understand what could be the contractual implications or risks.

In general in this sector, you have to be open minded to work in team, with people that come from other backgrounds and either have different nationality.

7-    Do you have a technical background, initially?

No, not at all.

I studied Law, but I am very curious and I take every opportunity to learn every day something technical. The good thing about this sector is that people is very welcoming and normally they take time to explain you things that you do not know.

8-   What is your favourite/most challenging aspect of your job ?

I do believe that drafting contracts is very similar to composing music, there is a tremendous intelligent elegance on using the correct word or moving a sentence in a different paragraph. You can see how things can have a complete different meaning even when they look very similar.

Negotiations for sure are my favorite part of the contractual job, especially when I have the opportunity to attend Vis a Vis meeting, where you can analyze not only the contractual part but also the human side of the person that is in front of you.

Another aspect that I like a lot during negotiations is the team work: the strength of your colleague is yours, its weakness is yours, that’s why there is a long internal preparation before facing a client or subcontractor.

9-      How did you learn about the ECSL?

Few years ago I attended a Space Course (EUSPACE Jean Monnet Module) organized by my home town university: Universita degli Studi di Genova, where two Legal Officers of ESA, were invited as lecturer of the course, and who talked about the Space Law world, which I did not know anything about at the time, and they told me about the ECSL.

Since that moment I started to look at ESA website almost every day , to understand better what was the space sector, and then ECSL Website to see if I could attend any kind of course or event.

The same year, I participated to the European Rounds of the Manfred Lachs Moot Court organized by the ECSL as participant and the next year as Faculty Advisory. Then I attended the ECSL Summer Course as Student and the next year as Tutor, and finally the Internship at ESA.

10-  What benefits did you enjoy during these years of membership (student member/individual member/ and now institutional member)?

It is very hard to summarize how many good things ECSL gave me.

First of all, I had the opportunity to learn about a sector, which I did not know at the time and I would have never thought that could be an option for a Lawyer.

ECSL is a great experience in any kind of level: Professionally it gives you the opportunity to learn a lot about the space sector and space law. It gives you the opportunity to have a great network, which is important especially in this sector, which is very small. Speakers are amazing in each course, but I also had the chance to learn from other students who had more experience than me at the time, thanks to the group works.  

Personally I can say that I met some incredible people during the various courses and/or moot courts that today I call my best friends, and some of them even colleagues. To work in this sector, especially as lawyer, you need to be very open-minded, very international. To me, it was great to find people that have these characteristics.

Now as an Institutional Member with GMV, a bit older and with more knowledge, I see a different kind of opportunity, such as open this network to my colleagues and to learn new aspects of the field, that are more related to what I do every day.

11- What is your best memory with the ECSL ?

Probably the first time I had to present a Project in public in front of people well known in the sector. It went really bad, I was very nervous. But when I think about that moment, I realize how much I grew up professionally and that you can reach things with lot of passion, time and hard work.

12- If you could visit a planet which one would it be and why ?

Using my imagination, I would like to drive a small space ship and travel very fast to Saturn whenever I feel I need a break from the Earth and I would Ice skating in the Saturn Rings and Listening to “Comptine d'un autre été”.

13- Which projects have you undertaken that deepened your appreciation for space ? (1 during your career, 1 during your student years)

Probably I can say Galileo Ground Control Segment for many different reasons. Starting from the fact that GMV contract with ESA is the biggest contract ever signed by GMV in its whole history, reaching a worth a total sum of €250 million, who sees GMV Prime Contractor of the European Space Agency.

Then, as far as daily working is concerned, being involved in a very multicultural Project which puts together several European brains with the same aim. There is a lot of interaction among different departments, many people with background and expertise of the people working on it.

14-  What advice can you give to young law and policy students interested in opportunities in the space sector ?

The first advice is definitely to attend ECSL courses or moot court, I think it is a good start to have space taste and to meet people in the sector. Not to be afraid, things come with time, do not compare your professional career to other people, everyone has its own path, according to personal ambition and needs.

I think that nowadays it is good to have in mind to have a great balance between professional life and private life. You can find your dream job, but if you have to live in a place that you hate, maybe is not worth it.

Be curious, take any opportunity to learn. The good thing of this sector is that everyone has different skills. Start learning, not only from books, but from the person, who is sitting next to you, and most important believe in yourself whatever you do, you have to be your own cheerleader.

Warm thanks to you and GMV for answering our questions, Beatriz. We hope to be able to see you in person very soon.

Take care !
Interview by Chehineze Bouafia (ECSL/ESA)

Visit GMV website: https://www.gmv.com/en/Sectors/space/

Stay tuned for our next ECSL member interview !

The opinions expressed in these articles are that of the subject(s) interviewed, and not the ECSL or ESA.