TEE360 - One Year, Three Months and Two Days Later...

This was never the plan - Emilio Faulmata

On 29 June 2026, TEE360 hosted its first-ever live event in London.

It feels like I keep writing these reflective pieces, but the truth is that everything is moving much faster than I ever expected.

The event happened exactly one year, three months and two days after I published the very first The Energy Executive 360 newsletter on LinkedIn while I was in Colombia. That newsletter continued through Kuwait, Ghana and everywhere else I travelled throughout 2025.

Back then, I had no idea where it would lead.

And the truth is...

None of this was part of the original plan.

When I look back, I'm incredibly proud of how far the platform has come and how many of the ideas I had have actually become reality. But almost none of them happened in the way I expected.

Every new opportunity came from trying something, failing, adapting and trying again.

Failure has been part of the process

Since leaving my job to build TEE360 full-time, there have been plenty of moments where things simply haven't worked.

Some initiatives have been successful. Others achieved what they were supposed to technically, but still didn't produce the outcome I had hoped for. There have been ideas that never got off the ground at all.

But each one has taught me something that led directly to the next opportunity.

The last few months have simply been about showing up every day, solving the next problem and finding another way forward.

The London event almost didn't happen.

Around a month beforehand, it genuinely looked like we might have to cancel it altogether. Thankfully, we found solutions, kept pushing, and in the end everything came together.

Standing in that room, surrounded by executives, students and young professionals from across the energy industry, made all of those difficult weeks worthwhile.

A conversation I'll remember

One conversation from that evening has stayed with me.

After the panel had finished and everyone was networking, someone came over and said:

"You seem very calm. You don't seem particularly excited that it's gone so well."

At first I hadn't really thought about it.

But afterwards I realised they were right.

Over the past few months I've learnt that when you're building something from scratch, you can't allow yourself to get carried away by either the highs or the lows.

If every setback completely consumes you, you'll eventually give up.

But equally, if every success convinces you that you've finally "made it", the next unexpected problem hits even harder.

The reality is that both are always around the corner.

Every difficult period eventually passes.

Every success creates the next challenge.

I've learnt to stay as grounded as possible through both.

The downside is that sometimes it's harder to fully appreciate moments like our first live event while you're living them.

The upside is that it allows you to keep moving forward.

Building more than events

One of the things that made me proudest wasn't actually the panel discussion itself.

It was realising afterwards that although many of the speakers knew of each other, several had never actually met in person before.

That reminded me why I started building TEE360 in the first place.

Yes, we want to give ambitious students and young professionals direct access to the leaders shaping the future of global energy.

But increasingly, we're also creating opportunities for senior leaders themselves to meet people they otherwise may never have crossed paths with.

Watching executives from operators, investors, government and industry organisations continue conversations long after the panel had finished was incredibly rewarding.

That's exactly the type of environment we want to keep creating.

The vision is becoming clearer

The London event will become a year-round series.

We're now working with partners in the United States to launch similar events in Houston.

Our belief remains the same.

The future of the energy industry won't be shaped by engineers alone.

Engineering is where projects are delivered, but long before that, those projects rely on lawyers, financiers, investors, insurers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, consultants and technology companies.

If we want to build the next generation of industry leaders, we need a platform that connects everyone across the energy value chain—not just one profession.

That vision is already starting to take shape.

Our Future Energy Leaders Network is approaching 200 members across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America.

Over the past few months we've also:

• Organised the Future Energy Leaders Programme at PRAGMA's Energy Investment Series at Nasdaq.
• Finalised the first NESR "72 Hours with a CEO" Internship, where Rahaf Al-Mutairi and Khaled Al-Mada will shadow senior executives while receiving mentorship from Sherif Foda.
• Begun developing our first Future Energy Leaders Delegation to African Energy Week with the support of the African Energy Chamber.
• Continued recording The Energy Executive 360 Podcast, which is now approaching Episode 20—a milestone reached by only around 1% of podcasts.

Fifteen months of consistency

When I look back over the past fifteen months, there hasn't been one breakthrough moment that changed everything.

It's simply been consistency.

Showing up every day.

Trying things.

Failing.

Learning.

Trying again.

Slowly building something that, piece by piece, is starting to resemble the vision I had in my head.

There's still a very long way to go.

But for the first time, it feels like the different pieces are beginning to come together.

Biggest Reflection

If you'd told me, sitting in my Airbnb in Colombia writing that first newsletter fifteen months ago, that it would lead to hosting a podcast, live events, mentoring future energy leaders, and interviewing CEOs from around the world—not for a job, but for a platform I had built myself—I probably wouldn't have believed you.

Yet here we are.

Looking back, what felt like a tiny decision at the time may well prove to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Then, in January this year, I made another decision that felt just as uncertain.

I quit my job.

At that point, I'd only recorded eight podcast episodes. There wasn't much evidence to suggest this could become a real business, or even that it would work at all. On paper, it probably wasn't the logical decision.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was building something with real potential.

That conviction was enough to make me jump.

If there's one thing these past fifteen months have taught me, it's that sometimes you have to trust yourself before the evidence exists. Not every instinct is right, but neither is every spreadsheet. Sometimes your conviction sees something that the data simply hasn't caught up with yet.

More people should listen to that voice.

You might be wrong.

But you might also be one decision away from changing your life.

If you do decide to take that leap, just remember that conviction alone isn't enough to get you through.

You have to be prepared for the long game.

You have to outlast the doubt, the setbacks, the failures, and even the successes. Because success can be just as dangerous if it makes you complacent.

Building anything worthwhile is rarely a straight line. Every high is followed by another challenge, and every setback eventually gives way to another opportunity. That's simply the reality of creating something from nothing.

Personally, I'm under no illusion that the difficult moments are behind me. If anything, I expect there to be many more.

But that's okay.

Because the one thing I'm certain of is that this journey is only just beginning.

So, if you're another ambitious student or young professional looking to build meaningful relationships with the people shaping the future of global energy, I'd love to welcome you to the TEE360 Future Energy Leaders Network.

Our community brings together future leaders from across engineering, finance, law, technology, policy and entrepreneurship, while creating opportunities to connect directly with today's CEOs and senior executives.

Whether you're looking to learn, build your network, or simply surround yourself with ambitious people who are passionate about the future of energy, we'd love to have you with us.

Join us, build meaningful relationships early, and become part of the generation that will shape the future of energy below...

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To receive direct access to and mentorship from energy CEOs, executives and leaders worldwide, sign up to our TEE360 Future Energy Leaders Network below:

TEE360 FUTURE ENERGY LEADERS NETWORK