A recent exhibition at the Royal Academy in London featured sketches by Victor Hugo, drawn in the margins of his notebooks “with what was left of the ink” as he drafted immortal works like Les Misérables. The command he had over line and form, and the daring of his compositions, are striking. Experts believe that had he pursued painting, Hugo might have been considered one of the greats.
Life, however, rarely gives us the chance to explore every path. Most of us take a turning and leave other talents unexplored. In his own way, Christian Balic could have become many things—from a pianist to a basketball player—but he chose to become a civil engineer.
He also set his sights on working abroad, driven by a desire to broaden his horizons and grow as a person. That is exactly what he has done with ACCIONA, which, shortly after he completed his degree, offered him the opportunity to relocate to the Philippines. He did not hesitate. This interview explores why—and what he has learned from the road he chose.
The “black sheep” of the family
Many parents try to steer their children away from the arts because of job insecurity. In Christian’s case, the opposite was true: his sister is an actress, his mother a professional cellist, and his father a clarinet and saxophone teacher. Furthermore, his uncle is a violin soloist with the Baltimore Philharmonic, and his aunt is a renowned pianist. It would have been logical—almost inevitable—for him to follow in the footsteps of the Balic Stefanovic clan.
Yet despite studying piano for ten years, Christian knew where his heart lay: “I was the one who, at thirteen or fourteen, said to my parents: look, I know I’m good at music—but it’s not what I want to do,” he recalls, laughing. “I’m the black sheep of the family.”
He had another dream: to follow in the footsteps of Yugoslav basketball greats like Dražen Petrović and Vlade Divac. His mother is Croatian, his father Serbian—two people who fell in love and left the Balkans in 1989, fleeing the collapse of Yugoslavia and starting a new life in Spain.
“I’m the one who, at thirteen or fourteen, told my parents: ‘Hey, I’m good at music, but it’s not what I want to do’”.
Back to Christian. In his final year of secondary school, he moved to the United States in pursuit of a basketball scholarship. “In Spain, you couldn’t really play at a high level and study properly—it was one or the other.” Christian played small forward, but a few months into his US adventure, his dream collapsed—along with his anterior cruciate ligament. The injury sent him back to Spain.
Engineering the visible
But first, he had to sit his university entrance exams which he ended up taking in New York. While staying with the son of a family friend, he also made a key decision about his future—not based on exam results, but on what that friend showed him about his job: infrastructure. “I liked what I saw, and I thought: I’m going to study civil engineering, because what we do is visible. In aerospace, you might design a rocket, but once you launch it, you never see it again,” he says pragmatically.
He went on to study at the Technical University of Madrid, though his knee injury made for a tough start. “I pretty much lost my first year, but I got back on track by the second.” He was drawn to hydraulic infrastructure—ports and dams in particular—which led him to choose a final project on coastal erosion in Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park, a region home to “2.4% of the planet’s biodiversity.” Why Costa Rica? “It was funded by a grant from the Entrecanales Foundation, although at the time I had no idea I’d end up working at ACCIONA.”
“I thought, I’m going to study civil engineering because what we do is visible. In aerospace, you might build a rocket, but once it’s launched, you never see it again.”
During the same period, Christian volunteered with an association founded at his school called Caminos sin plástico (Roads without Plastic). “There’s no human population in Corcovado National Park, and no rivers flowing there from the interior—but the beaches are absolutely covered in plastic,” he says. “Most of that plastic has probably been there for fifteen or twenty years. It’s brought in by ocean currents from a giant patch of plastic waste in the Pacific, mostly coming from Southeast Asia. In a globalised world, a wrapper tossed away in Thailand ends up on a beach in Costa Rica.”
As a certified diver, he set out to study how plastics and microplastics were affecting coral reefs in the area. His two projects—his academic work and his volunteer initiative—both centred on environmental protection. One focused on pollution and its impact on marine life; the other on designing low-impact infrastructure to protect the huts used by park rangers from encroaching seas. Later, he returned to Madrid to complete a master’s degree. The topic? Designing an offshore wind farm in Asturias. Infrastructure and renewable energy—the groundwork for his future at ACCIONA was already in place.
ACCIONA as a vocation
In the second year of his Master’s, and following his scholarship from the Entrecanales Foundation, Christian began to forge a closer bond with the company that would shape his career. “From my second year at university, I knew I wanted to work at ACCIONA because it combined construction and renewable energy—two areas I was passionate about. It’s one of the most environmentally focused construction companies, and it takes sustainability seriously. I knew that, and it was actually the first place I applied to.”
“ACCIONA is one of the most environmentally conscious construction companies around. That really mattered to me, and it was the first company I applied to.”
Before finishing his Master’s, Christian was already working at ACCIONA in business development in Madrid. “I knew I wanted to leave Spain and work in construction, on real sites.” As his studies wrapped up, he was given two options: Mexico or the Philippines. “I was drawn to the Philippines itself—and the type of project on offer.” So, in 2021, he packed his bags and began a new chapter.
Bringing an airport closer to Manila
He gives us some background: “There’s a city called Clark about 90 km from Manila. It used to be a US military base, and it has an international airport. But Manila’s airport, which only has two runways, can’t be expanded—it’s surrounded by housing.” The solution to that challenge would fall to ACCIONA.
“Our project is a rail line that shortens the journey from Clark International Airport to Manila.”
“The goal is to connect Clark International Airport to Manila so that passengers can take a train and get home in just 45 minutes. Right now, that journey takes anywhere from two-and-a-half to five hours, depending on traffic.” In short, ACCIONA was tasked with building a new rail line.
Christian breaks down the construction process: “On our project we have a team that handles the earthworks—basically preparing the ground so the piling, substructure and superstructure teams can follow. I started on site with the earthworks team, and later I moved into the piling and substructure side.”
“In four years, I went from zero to managing a large part of the project’s budget.”
But it is not just the technical side that progressed quickly—so did his career. “After a year and a half, I was splitting my time between the site and the office because I had taken on more responsibility.” That was just the beginning. “In the last three-and-a-half years, I’ve ended up managing the earthworks, the piles and the substructure. In four years, I went from zero to overseeing a large part of the project’s budget.”
As for what keeps him going: “I enjoy what I do because I like working with people, seeing things in motion. Sitting in front of a computer all day doing just one thing doesn’t appeal to me.” He adds: “It’s true that you cannot do everything—but the work is much more dynamic.”
“The good thing is that even with little experience, you can grow a lot at ACCIONA.”
Within this dynamic day-to-day, he also highlights the multicultural aspect: “We’ve had Spaniards, Italians, Poles, Koreans—and, of course, all the local staff from the Philippines.” And what is the relationship like between expats and local workers? “Right now, we’re working on getting more local talent into leadership roles. They’re capable, and if we want to remain a leading company in the country, we need to harness that local potential.”
“The idea is that ACCIONA Philippines will eventually be led by local talent.”
Christian is optimistic about this direction: “ACCIONA has a strong future in the Philippines, and the goal is to build a company that’s sustained by Filipino professionals in key positions. The country has a lot of potential, and ACCIONA is the best-positioned Spanish company to deliver infrastructure projects here.”
On cultural differences, he notes: “Filipinos are very sensitive, and you need to be tactful in how you communicate. In Spain, we raise our voices when we argue—it’s normal. But here, people ask if something’s wrong. We’re just more blunt. There’s actually a theory—Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions—that explains these communication differences across cultures. It helps us understand that we need to adapt our approach depending on where we are.”
“The great thing about ACCIONA is that it gives you the chance to work on projects all over the world.”
Connecting places… and people
When discussing ACCIONA’s broader impact in the country, Christian points to parallel initiatives—like renovating school playgrounds and facilities near the railway line. “We’ve already done this for one school, and we’re now doing the same at another.” He adds that the project benefits local communities in other ways: “There’s one area that floods every year, and we’re helping with drainage. And people ask us for the earth we excavate, which they use to level out their homes.”
“I took part in the ACCIONA Foundation’s Light at Home programme, which installed solar panels in 130 homes in a remote area of northern Philippines.”
Volunteering, for Christian, is not just something he did at university. After supporting Caminos sin plástico during his student days, he recently joined the Luz en casa (Light at Home) programme run by the ACCIONA Foundation. “I joined in 2023. It’s a project that installs solar panels in remote areas of northern Philippines, providing basic services like electricity, a radio, a fan or a small fridge. The first installation covered 130 homes in 2022. I went six months later to carry out surveys and gather feedback from residents.” He adds: “It’s a really beautiful initiative.”
A matter of impact
Before ending the interview, Christian reflects on ACCIONA’s values: “I am not saying this because I work here—but genuinely, I think this is a company you can be proud of, because of the positive impact it has on the world. ACCIONA always puts a strong focus on ensuring its infrastructure projects benefit the planet. It’s one of the construction firms most committed to reducing its carbon footprint. And even though I work in infrastructure, I believe the renewable energy business is absolutely vital.”
“I think ACCIONA is a company you can genuinely be proud of—for the impact it’s having on the world.”
Christian already has his sights set on his next destination: “I’d love it to be Australia—but I’m open to other places, or even staying in the Philippines longer.” He concludes: “The great thing about ACCIONA is that it gives you the chance to work on projects all over the world. I’ve met colleagues who’ve lived in three or four different countries, raised families abroad—it’s such a rich experience. Not many people get to do that. And for me, these are stories I’ll one day be able to share with my kids or grandkids.” It looks like he was on the right track when he dreamt of working at ACCIONA from the very start of his university journey.