From service stations to legal compliance & management: Puvanesvarar's story
Puvanesvarar left bp in 2004 and moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to be closer to family. Since then he has worked in a variety of legal and compliance-based roles. During a trip to London in early 2022, he revisited his old stomping grounds
Upon graduating from Law School in 1999, Puvanesvarar Mailvaganam was keen to start a career in management, and particularly to gain experience in managing people. Fortunately an opportunity arose quickly, through Burger King’s management trainee programme, at a branch in Chelmsford, Essex.
After a few years – and a few different branches – he moved on to an Assistant Store Manager’s role in one of bp’s newly launched Wild Bean Cafes in 2001. Puvanesvarar explains:
When asked what drew him to bp, he noted,
A highlight of his time with the business was his training in HSSE protocol (Health, Safety, Security and Environment), setting him up well for later employment and consulting roles.
Knowledge to last a lifetime
Puvanesvarar left bp in 2004 and moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to be closer to family. Since then he has worked in a variety of legal and compliance-based roles.
Now, eighteen years later, he lives in Doha, Qatar, working as a legal counsel for Certis International, a security company which is fully owned by the Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek Holdings. Puvanesvarar handles complex issues such as ethics, governance and anti-corruption, specialising in the areas of ethical recruitment, worker welfare standards and labour laws – yet is still using the knowledge and skills he learnt at bp.
“My experience and skills developed while at bp never fail to give me an advantage while I’m advising across a diverse range of areas, from retail to marketing and more”, he explains. “These are skills that I have been able to apply throughout my career, and that I first learnt at bp.”
In particular, Puvanesvarar cites his understanding of people being the most valuable asset is a skill that he developed while in the business.
Prioritising sustainable growth
“bp has always been in my heart”, Puvanesvarar notes, which is why during a trip to London in early 2022, Puvanesvarar revisited his old stomping grounds, the four bp branches he worked at: Flyover, Cromwell North, Cromwell South and Perivale which are all located in West London along the A4 main road.