Forty Under 40 Spotlight – Tim Mulders

If you could fly to any country tomorrow, where would you go and why? 

Japan. It’s a country that has always fascinated me for its extraordinary ability to hold tradition and innovation in the same breath, ancient temples sitting alongside some of the world’s most advanced engineering and design. As someone working at the intersection of legacy infrastructure and energy transition, there’s something almost philosophical about that balance that I find deeply compelling. And the food obviously.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 

This too shall pass.’ It sounds simple, but when you’re in the middle of a genuine crisis, be it commercial, geopolitical, or personal, the heat of the moment can make a challenge feel insurmountable. That phrase has been a quiet anchor for me. Time almost always brings perspective, and the situation is rarely as terminal as it feels in the darkest hour.

What’s one thing you’re really passionate about outside of work?

Family and travel, and for me the two are inseparable. I want my children to experience the world the way I have across cultures, languages, and landscapes. Growing up with that multicultural lens shapes how you see people and problems, and it’s something I actively try to bring into how I lead as well. A team, like a family, works best when different perspectives are genuinely valued.

If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be? 

An astronaut on active mission, to the International Space Station or as part of the Artemis missions. I studied aerospace engineering before moving into the energy sector, and that world of frontier engineering never fully left me. There’s something about operating at the absolute edge of human capability and technology, with Earth as your backdrop, that I find profoundly humbling and exciting in equal measure.