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 Where are you from originally?
I am originally from near Glasgow in Scotland but have lived in several different parts of the world since.
Describe your background and career at BP (how long you've worked there, the roles and responsibilities you've held etc.)I have worked for BP for my whole career for just over 20 years, joining the company in what was the pre-cursor to the IT&S team in the petrotechnical side of the business (E&P - Exploration and Production). I worked in that role for a couple of years before taking an opportunity to work in BP Colombia as they were setting up their IT department. This was right around the time of the Cusiana/Cupiagua discoveries and so the set-up was still relatively small meaning I got to do a bit of everything ranging across operations, drilling, safety, security and even pipelines. After a few years in Colombia, my next role took me to Venezuela where I was one of the BP Leads on a joint transition programme to outsource the financial processing and systems. I then completed the first desktop CoE (Centre of Expertise) rollout (we were the first office to complete in the world!) before moving to Houston about three years later as Business Information Manager (still within E&P) supporting the Gulf of Mexico assets and working on the BP Amoco merger. Whilst I was working in this role, I was also a champion for knowledge management, virtual facilitation and remote collaboration in my spare time. These areas span across the whole business, not just E&P, and are still important today. It was not long after this that I invented the HIVE, which, in its original form, was focused on 3D collaboration that allowed you to “see” subsurface models literally “floating” in the room in front of you. This made decision making between all those involved in a particular project (drillers, geoscientists, planners etc.) less risky and less time consuming as everyone understood and could see exactly what was being decided.
In 2001, I then made a big change; leaving behind E&P and IT/Technology, the two areas I had always worked in, to become the CFO of the Commercial Fuels business in Chicago for R&M (Refining and Marketing). Although I was at first a little apprehensive of such a big change, it was also very liberating and after CFO I then became the Business Unit Leader of the same business, in charge of all bulk fuel sales to commercial customers throughout the US.
In 2004, I was asked to return to E&P as CIO for the E&P segment, where I stayed for three years before being nominated by Lord Browne for the prestigious Sloan Program at Stanford University in the US, where I studied for a year to obtain my Masters. Upon returning from Stanford, I joined Alternative Energy (AE), where I lead the formation of the Distributed Energy business unit which focused on incubating business ideas based on alternative energy distribution models, particularly in emerging countries. However, as a non-core business, when AE rationalised its portfolio, a decision was taken not to pursue this business further and so after a year and a half I returned to IT&S, this time in GOI (Global Operations and Infrastructure), as the Director for the Americas which is my current role where I am accountable for IT infrastructure delivery for all businesses across the Americas. I also lead the differentiation agenda and am head of the IT&S Service Delivery profession.
So there you have it, a real a whistle-stop tour of my 20 years with BP!
Why did you choose a career in IT in the first place? e.g. was it a choice or a natural progression from something you'd done previously?My first love at school was actually music and my first degree was in that area. However realising that music wasn’t necessarily the most lucrative of careers, I studied computing and German along with a few other subjects. I found that I was actually quite good at computing and so it was quite a natural progression from there – it also appealed at the time as computing was an up and coming area which had potential for a global career.
What have been the highlights of your career at BP and what do you like best about working at BP?
- Having the chance to work abroad in South America was a definite highlight. It was so different to what I had grown up with in Scotland and though I was initially totally out of my comfort zone it was a truly fantastic time in my life. I would definitely recommend it.
- Inventing HIVE is also something I’m very proud of - having seen it from conception to being used all over the world and being a part of everyday operations and the BP nomenclature, is very satisfying.
- Jumping into a completely new segment – I have worked in all the major businesses as well as the corporate functions and have enjoyed the challenge. Moving around means I have a good understanding of BP and have created a strong network across the breadth of the company.
- Going back to study was a great privilege and highlight. Stanford University is one of the best in the world and the frontier-edge thinking I had access to there was remarkable.
How would you describe BP's approach to diversity in its work force, in particular women's initiatives?
I think the D&I approach within BP has had mixed success. Generally when there has been focus there has been progress. I think there are undoubtedly a lot of good intentions but the true test is when the rubber hits the road and that experience can be quite inconsistent across the company. I would say it is also localised, very much dependent on the individual leader - how engaged they are with the D&I agenda – and specifically having gender diversity in their teams.
In 2005 I ran the Gender Conference for Women in IT&S which was really well received but since then we have struggled to really focus attention on getting the practicalities of D&I right. The opportunity is still there though and I genuinely think we need to get this right. In my team I set everyone the challenge of always having a diverse set of candidates at the interview stage and if they don’t I would ask them to consider why this is the case.
Do you think it might have been a different story, of "how you got to where you are now", if you'd been a man?I would very possibly be in the same position but how I got here and the challenges I would have faced along the way would have been different. Women have to work very hard, especially where they have children, to get to senior positions.
Tell us a little about your life outside of work.I am married and have a three year old daughter who I spend the majority of my time outside work with. I also really enjoy sports and try to run everyday as well as playing squash and kickboxing when I can. I love to travel and speak four languages and overall just like to have fun whether at work or not. I think it’s important to like what you’re doing and hence I try to have fun in all areas of my life, I think it keeps us all motivated.
If you could give young women looking for a position in the IT market place a reason to join the industry what would it be?One of the great attractions of the IT industry is its flexibility. There are a wide diversity of jobs available to those with IT backgrounds and in the IT arena, over a wide range of locations and businesses. For that reason though you need to be open to change!
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