Meet the women who run bp

Change was part of my upbringing – I grew up across London, Milan and Brussels. And I am enormously grateful for the early window on the world that gave me – it meant I learnt how to speak other languages, met wonderful people with different backgrounds and cultures, and built deep friendships across borders in my early years. 

I think it’s why I have always enjoyed being in new situations, the learning and growth process that goes with it, which has been a great strength to me and has undoubtedly influenced my career. 

 

Pursuing a sense of purpose has also been a strong feature in my life and something I’ve tried to impart to my children – having watched my father as a cardiologist, I wanted to be doing something to help too, in my own way.

 

These were both big drivers prompting my move to bp after 15 years at McKinsey, from a job I loved that taught me a lot about how you structure complex topics, strive for real impact and work collaboratively. bp gave me the opportunity to keep pushing myself forward – and I jumped on it. It felt like a privilege to lead in a company going through immense change, to help chart its path to net zero and to contribute to solving one of the greatest challenges of our time – how to provide the world with the energy it needs and wants in a way that is reliable, affordable and cleaner. 

It’s extremely fulfilling, only enhanced by being part of a leadership team that is so diverse – all very different people with a real mix of backgrounds and skills, which makes for a balanced way of approaching tough challenges. And my children are a constant reminder that what I’m doing is worthwhile. 

I’m proud to have been with bp my entire career. I’ve had some incredible opportunities to work in different locations around the world.
Recently, I had an opportunity to reflect on something that’s meant a lot to me the entire time: role models. I ran into a former boss for the first time in ages. When we worked together, she was the only senior working mum I knew. I finally got to thank her for being an inspiration to me – for making the seemingly impossible, possible!

It reminded me that I have seen huge shifts in the industry, especially in the past 10 years. When I started, I was often the only woman in a meeting. Sometimes, I felt awkward saying what I thought, because I stood out.

Things are very different now. We’ve seen big shifts on gender balance, but also shifts in leadership styles – from needing to have the right answer, to being able to ask the right questions. And then there are the shifts in being able to ask for help – from family, of course, but also from colleagues, friends, neighbours. And that last shift is so important, because one thing I’ve learned is that you simply cannot do it all, all the time, at full speed.

Many of these shifts were begun by male colleagues, creating opportunities and being there to work issues together. Of course, there is still much to do to create an inclusive workplace. But today, there are definitely more pathways to senior energy industry jobs than when I joined bp in 1995.

And now, there’s another huge shift under way: the energy transition. We certainly need the best talent to navigate the biggest challenge yet #joinus.

As a proud engineer with a passion for science, my father always hoped he would have sons to follow in his footsteps. What he got instead were three daughters.

 

He knew that opportunities for women engineers and scientists were scarce in Germany – as in most parts of the world – when I was growing up. This frustrated him for sure. But he and my mother were determined also that this should not hold back my sisters and me from pursuing similar careers.

So, my father shared his engineering knowledge with us. Instead of dolls, we got Carrera racing car sets for Christmas. And each summer, they immersed us in science and technology with day trips to the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

 

Their efforts paid off, as we all went on to have careers in engineering and science disciplines. But, we were the exception to the rule – I was one of a handful of women studying to become an electrical engineer. Fortunately, times are changing, and one of the reasons I was keen to join bp was its approach to gender balance and plans to get more women into leadership positions.

 

Creating greater diversity across teams is not only the right thing to do, it also leads to better business performance. And that matters because I want bp to compete and win. This is our time to make a material difference in the energy transition, and to be at our best, we need to draw talent from the widest possible pool.

This mindset is true to get the best out of the future workforce also. I believe every leader has a responsibility to the next generation. That’s why I helped to set up a foundation aimed at helping young people to gain access to opportunities that would otherwise be denied to them. To help provide them with the tools so they have the opportunity to follow in our footsteps.

As a mum to two daughters, I’m always thinking about what their future workplace will be like. Will it be a place they can thrive, be fulfilled, and succeed? Will it accept them for who they are? 

That’s why it’s so inspiring to be part of a leadership team at bp that is challenging stereotypes – because they can see that such places exist. It’s an amazing time to lead people & culture.

 

For years, we have worked to develop a bp where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and where our caring leadership really feels different in a company with a heart, that also delivers better results.

 

There is no more important time than now to make these changes. To help the world reach net zero, we need as much creative thinking and innovation as possible – and for that, we need greater diversity, in every respect of the word.

As a young girl leaving school and going straight into an insurance apprenticeship, I never thought I would one day be in a female-majority leadership team of an oil and gas company, but I am. It’s fun and it feels great.

I wanted to be various things as I grew up: an archaeologist, an explorer – but I never imagined that I would be an executive at one of the world’s largest energy companies. Perhaps I wasn’t quite imaginative enough!

 

Early on in my career, I wasn’t particularly strong at advocating for myself or in sharing my ambitions. I’ve gotten much better at that over time as I realized that it’s not about arrogance or ego.  

I’m more confident in talking about where and how I can, and do, make a contribution. I’m also more self-aware, and more comfortable talking about my development needs and looking for opportunities to meet them. And I strongly believe that success isn’t about me as an individual; it’s about the team. Without a strong and successful team, we wouldn’t be able to deliver the results we have, and I’m very lucky to be a part of that. 

 

I still have room for improvement, though! I’ve been at bp for more than 20 years now, but there’s always more to learn and more opportunities to create and deliver value, and the energy transition gives us both of those things many times over. 

 

I’m also incredibly fortunate to work with very smart, savvy, passionate people – across T&S – whose expertise power a world-class trading and shipping business. I see what we do as critical in optimizing bp’s assets and businesses, developing and monetizing integrated customer solutions and decarbonization offers, and delivering commercial value as we transform the company.

And now, another new experience – working in a leadership team which is mostly women. In the coming years, I think we’ll have more women from more diverse backgrounds on executive teams across the industry, and we’ll no longer have to explain to anyone why diversity, equity and inclusion are so important.

I joined bp 16 years ago as a completions engineer. Until last year, there had been just three women at executive level in the company. Now, we have twice the number – in one year – that’s a phenomenal change! 

It’s the culmination of a company and leadership that has continued to be brilliant and inspiring but is now also collegiate and welcoming. 

 

Above all, we’re more outcome focused. And this is so important for innovation & engineering. I was first attracted to bp because it differentiated itself from our peers by viewing technology as an essential component of our strategy and as the key to safe and reliable operations, rather than just a ‘nice to have’. But on top of that, our inclusive culture is helping to attract extraordinary people and is enabling them to flourish and deliver.

 

My proudest achievement over two decades of engineering experience and leading large organizations is not individual. It’s my track record of helping other people to succeed in their careers. 

I’ve always asked: what position can I get to where I can make as much difference to people’s lives? How can I have the biggest influence possible to deliver the best results for the company I love? That’s what gets me up in the morning; that’s why I’m grateful to lead I&E.