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Norberto Pineda

Director of Business Development and Marketing

My passion for business and sales started at an early age while accompanying and working with my mother in the family-owned and operated pharmacy. From an early age, I spent lots of time in the back room of the pharmacy doing after-school assignments. I would listen (and participate at some point) in the different conversations about the challenges and transactions that took place in a heavily regulated business. My indirect and direct exposure to the importance of integrity, quality products, and excellent customer service was ingrained in my DNA at a young age.

At the age of 15, after discovering my aptitude for math and chemistry, and combined with the decision not to follow my father’s footsteps and pursue medical school, I started evaluating other degrees. I was interested in technical areas that solved business problems smartly and efficiently. With the support of my parents, a completely bilingual education, and the ambition of becoming an engineer, emigrating to the United States to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering seemed like the logical decision.

In the summer of 2007, after graduating with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Alabama, I moved to Houston and landed my first job at Celerity3 Engineering (which was later sold to Lloyd’s Register). Houston had all the characteristics of being my long-term home, e.g., a good job market for chemical engineers, daily non-stop flights to my hometown to visit family and friends, and, most importantly, it was the city where I met my beautiful wife, Gina.

After five years of executing and overseeing process safety projects for upstream production facilities, gas processing plants, specialty chemical plants, and oil refineries, I was presented the opportunity to move into a business development role responsible for sales of a niche service line within Lloyd’s Register. I quickly found myself enjoying the opportunity of working with clients to identify engineering solutions to their daily challenges – selling!

One of the aspects of business development I enjoy most is the constant negotiation that takes place during every engagement. I can leverage the academic education and life lessons given by many important individuals throughout my childhood and professional career. My areas of expertise and varying responsibilities have allowed me the privilege helping clients across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Travel is always a nice perk!

There have been multiple setbacks, moments of chaos, moments of calm, and wins. While pursuing my Masters in Business Administration from Tulane University, I experienced all of these; however, at the end of the road, it was a huge win. Also, it would not have been possible without the love and support of my lovely wife and two daughters, Adriana and Camila. The culmination of these experiences defines who I am today.

In 2019, I became reconnected with John Perez, who gave me my first full-time job as a process engineer, and I joined Cognascents as the Director of Business Development and Marketing. The team at Cognascents shares my same passion for process safety, process engineering, pressure relief analysis, and asset integrity.

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