Flipping the Barrel is a podcast created to shine a light on women and men in energy by sharing the stories of successful individuals in this industry. Because everyone has a story that we can all learn from.
“Overcoming the Downturns” with Grant Pruitt- CEO and President at Pruitt.
Nov 07, 2022
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Grant Pruitt has been the President and CEO of his family’s business since 2012, after Pruitt Tool & Supply Co. in Fort Smith got its start back in 1958. Since 1958, Pruitt has provided quality equipment for the oil and gas industry with their service-first approach being the foundation of their success.
Growing up we are told not to go into business with your family or friends. Grant takes us through his perspective and what drove him to work for his dad. He talks about the journey to becoming the CEO in 2012 and the lesson learned when trying to build a team and expand internationally.
Grant takes us through the hardships from the process of hiring people, going through downturns and the pain of layoffs to keep the business running. He tells of the time his dad told him in order to grow you need to go through a downturn - we learn why he was right.
Being excellent at what we do - is the approach Grant takes in business and life. The pride Grant has for the family business bleeds into the culture of Pruitt. He shares why living in the present is important in order to have success both professionally and personally.
Grant is one of the few third generation family businesses still in the oilfield today. We can all learn from how his family business took big measures to keep their brand and culture alive.
“Eye of the Jaguar” with Warren Levy- Jaguar EP CEO.
Oct 30, 2022
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Warren Lee-vi is Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar E&P. Jaguar E&P is a Mexican private company established in 2014 by Grupo Topaz with a strong conviction of strengthening Mexicos national energy industry and developing their communities. He has extensive experience in developing natural resource companies, for more than 24 years, in more than 20 countries. He has contributed strategically to the economic growth and development of the Energy industry in Latin America. What is really interesting is that Warren is a fellow Canadian who studied engineering at Queen's university.
Canadian born with little interest in joining the oil Industry . His father worked for Exxon, he didn’t envision his path to be the same. Like what happens to many of us, the love for the industry and opportunities to travel the world took Warren over, ultimately changing his mind.
Working within diverse cultures was very common for Warren. With 17 years spent at SLB from Latina America to Asia and back, he had an extensive career moving up the ladder before choosing to leave to start Estrella International Energy Services. Warren walks us through his time at Schlumberger and the successful leaders SLB creates through their training program. He describes the pros and cons of the programs and how he took the core values he admired at SLB and the ones he didn’t, to form the culture at Estrella.
In 2009 he decided it was more important to keep his operations team at Estrella then take a paycheck himself. Warren and his partners decided to not take a salary in order to continue to develop the company in the midst of a downturn . Warren shares his experiences with building a team made up of his close friends and the challenges that arise when things get tough.
Not long after his success at Estrella he was approached to become CEO of Jaguar . The top leading service company in South America . This would lead to another move for his dual career wife and two children. Warren brings us back to this time and how the family handled each move throughout his career. He talks about Jaguar being different, the founders truly cared about their employees and their families.
Warren and his team are taking steps to break the mold. They view their people as the core value and asset of the company . As a key supporter for diversity and inclusion, Warren gives his views on what is holding women back, how he is changing this mindset at Jaguar and building a strong diverse team across all parts of the business.
“A Successful Climb” with Mark Heine- FUGRO CEO.
Oct 17, 2022
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Mark Heine is the proud Chief Executive Officer at Fugro, the world’s leading Geo-data company. In his professional journey with Fugro for over 20 years, he’s been lucky to be surrounded by world-class talent in all aspects of geoscience. Working closely with their clients, they’re unlocking insights from Geo-data to safely and sustainably build and extend the lifespan of infrastructure on our vulnerable and precious planet and support the generation of renewable energy. He has seen some big changes in our industry, where the focus has shifted to supporting sustainable infrastructure and new sources of renewable energy, such as offshore wind. Their work examining the influence of climate change on vulnerable coastal communities and unlocking the mysteries of our seabed both support the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development; these and other worthwhile activities unite his employees in the common cause of creating a safe and livable world. Mark gained an MSc in Geodetic Engineering from Delft University of Technology and he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Netherlands based Offshore Marine Contractors (IRO) where he can discuss the challenges in the marine industry, recognize and share good ideas and ways to improve safety.
Mark grew up in Holland fascinated with the mountains starting at the age of 10. Climbing became a passion for him, teaching him that reaching a summit is always the goal but you don't reach the top of the summit without going through the valleys. He kept this same mindset both personally and professionally as he climbed the ladder to CEO.
When starting at Fugro 22 years ago he did not have aspirations to become CEO. Mark talks to us about his career progression, the importance of focusing on the job you have today and not always looking for the next. He explains why it is important to him for his belief system to be aligned with the mission of the company.
Mark shares his thoughts behind why the employees play as important a role as him, how the impact of the team is what makes the organization successful. One of the important pieces to Mark's story is his drive to stay true to himself and his doubts of becoming a CEO. He talks about how he reached out to a Career Coach to help him manage his fears and the high level of stress that comes along with being the leader of a company.
Mark talks about how becoming a successful leader meant he needed work life balance. With a dual career family, strong belief of raising his children right and passion for climbing, Marks tells us how they were able to manage it. He talks about commitment to his schedule and how complaining about being busy is off the table, we are all busy.
Mark has an amazing philosophy on how to support women in the workforce. He gives his perspective on what is holding women back and what we can do today to make a difference. He takes a strong stance on this subject and talks about the lengths Fugro goes to ensure both men and women, in all seasons of life, have support from the company.
Mark is focused on creating a safe and liveable world, as the mission for Fugro. He explains what this means and how Fugro plays an important role in the energy transition.
“Comfortably Uncomfortable” with Gavin Rennick- President of New Energy at Schlumberger.
Oct 10, 2022
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Gavin Rennick is president of Schlumberger New Energy, a position he assumed in April 2022. Prior to his current role, he was vice president of Human Resources. He previously served as president of Software Integrated Solutions and held various corporate and operations management roles, including integration manager for the Cameron International merger; vice president Drilling Products; GeoMarket Manager for Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea; and human resources manager for Drilling & Measurements. Earlier in his career, Rennick held a number of technical and management positions in operations, human resources, and technology development in Malaysia, United States, France, Norway, and Australia.
He joined Schlumberger in 1998 as a directional services drilling engineer in Saudi Arabia.Rennick earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and business administration, both from the University of Western Australia.
At a young age Gavin’s family backed up their belongings and left India to immigrate to Western Australia. We talk to Gavin about his upbringing in Australia and the unique family tradition that starts at the age of 21. He opens up about the new perception he gained, how important it is to travel, if given the opportunity, and the difference it made in his life.
Gavin shares his experiences as he moved up in his career. The importance of feeling like you are making an impact, even if the next role might not be the role you thought was right for you, there is still learning to be had and impacts to be made. He shares his feelings on imposter syndrome and the difference between the way men and women handle these feelings. We talk about “ Building Character” moments during his career. He shares the difficult period he had to manage as the VP of HR during the pandemic. We end the podcast discussing his view on his new role as President of New Energy and what it means for the future of our industry, recruitment and retention.
“Create Your Own Path” with Jennifer Stewart- Director of Climate and ESG Policy at API, American Petroleum Institute.
Oct 03, 2022
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We want to congratulate Jennifer in her newly appointed role as Director of Climate and ESG Policy, at the American Petroleum institute ( API).
Jennifer Stewart is a senior energy executive with over 30 years of legal, financial and environmental strategy experience. She is the Principal Advisor for Equitable Origin EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. She also serves as an independent Board Member of Paragon Integrated Services where she chairs the Sustainability Committee and has recently taken a board seat on Seek Ops.
She has received recognition for women’s leadership in the oil and gas industry, including the Houston Business Journal’s Top Women in Energy, the National Diversity Council’s Top 50 Women in Oil and Gas, and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Trailblazer Award.
Jennifer grew up in Ohio, married her high school sweetheart whose job took them out of state. This led Jennifer into the first part of her career, working for the IRS. At the time she did not have her law degree and found herself working with lawyers, who quite frankly she felt more competent then or at least equal to. This sparked a fire in her to go back to school, despite the fact she had a full time job and two little kids at home. She quickly found herself drained, tired and unsure if she would be able to finish. She walks us through this period in her life and how she managed to pull it off.
Jennifer found herself in an interview with South Western Energy, not knowing anything about upstream oil and gas. The first role of its kind at the company, as the Vice President of Tax. She felt isolated at the start, since the position was a brand new role, as an independent contributor. She talks about how she defined success for her, this strategy made her indispensable at SWN. She was quickly noticed and found herself being asked to take over as CFO in a not so normal situation. You have to listen to find out what happened.
Throughout Jennifer's story she created roles that didn’t exist before her, that are now common within companies today. She provides advice on creating value through self study and learning from the team when taking on a newly created position or job. This strategy brought her to becoming one of the most sought after leaders in the ESG, Certification and the Climate change space.
We end the podcast on advice all parents need to hear, it sure made us think!
“Dare to be Different” with Keila Aries Hand, Managing Director and Head of ESG at Quantum Energy Partners.
Sep 12, 2022
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Keila Hand is the Managing Director and Head of ESG, for Quantum Energy Partners. Before joining Quantum in 2020, she served as Director of Global Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs at Crown Holdings. Prior to Crown Holdings, she was Director of Environmental Sustainability, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and North Africa for PepsiCo. She also led corporate sustainability partnerships at the World Wildlife Fund and was part of environmental science projects at NASA. Keila is a sustainability professional with over 15 years of experience and passion for environmental and social sustainability.
Today on the podcast we have Keila Hand, who grew up in Brazil, close to nature, as her grandparents were farmers with land bordering the Rainforest. Keila experienced humble beginnings with a true farm to table lifestyle. She takes us back to life in Brazil and the curiosity it created within her, to expand her horizons past the farm. She was determined to find a way to achieve a high level of education and be the first in her family to speak english.
Keila takes us back to the turn of events that happened following up to her first job with Nasa at the age of 18, as part of their Earth Science research. This was the start of her mission to become bigger then where she was from and continue to grow her career and education. She developed a love for Environmental Science and went on to finish her Masters in both Business and Environmental Engineering. She talks about the process she went through to receive an exchange student scholarship, called Fulbright, that would give her the opportunity to move to the US and eventually make her way to Duke University.
Keila made a name for herself quickly, her career took her to notable companies from PepsiCO to the World Wildlife fund. She talks about how she was working within “sustainability” functions before it became what it is today. She was able to translate the company's environmental goals into actual operational actions. We ask Keila what her impression was of the oil and gas industry before she joined Quantum Energy Partners and her thoughts on how well the industry is doing in E-S-G.
We end on Keila’s exciting news as she is due in September with her first child. She tells us how she feels about becoming a mother later in life and the support her entire team has given her through this new transition.
Keila's story is the true American Dream, coming from a small farm town in Brazil to now the Managing Director and Head of the leading global provider of private capital to the energy industry - this is a must listen too!
“Stick with it…A career is a lifetime” with Liz Schwarze-VP of Global Exploration at Chevron
Aug 29, 2022
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Liz Schwarze is the Vice President of Global Exploration for Chevron Upstream; she is responsible for Chevron’s worldwide exploration program. She chairs the company’s Global Exploration Leadership Team and is a member of Chevron’s Upstream Leadership Team and Global Leadership Forum. As a single mom she learned how to excel in her career while raising her daughter.
Schwarze holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Duke University, a master’s degree in Geology from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s in Business Administration from Tulane University.
Liz moved around a lot as a child due to her dad’s job. She was used to having to adapt to different environments and cope with change. This exposure made it easier for Liz to say “yes” when she was asked to move around the world for Chevron.
Liz ultimately decided on Geology as her major in College. She was persuaded by her sorority sister and had never really thought about it as a career before she took her first class. She talks about her path to Chevron and the cross functional skills you perform in oil and gas that can take you into your next role. She breaks this down into 5 groups of skills we all have working in Energy, that give us advantages relative to other careers.
With 30 years working for Chevron, Liz has a wealth of knowledge and advice around- focusing on your job today, how to delegate tasks, role models, how she did it as a single mom and what made her stay with Chevron her entire career.
“It seems impossible, until it’s done” with Patricia Vega Founder and CEO of Quantum New Energy.
Aug 22, 2022
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Today on the podcast we have Patricia Vega, she is the founder and CEO of Quantum New Energy, a Climate-Tech company based in Houston. Before founding Quantum New Energy, Patricia worked for GE serving as Global President of the Evaluation & Optimization business, prior to that; she was the president of GE Oil & Gas Latin America and member of GE’s Regional Board of Directors. Before GE, she worked for Halliburton and Baker Hughes having a progressive global career. Her career started as a field engineer with BP and Schlumberger.
Patricia shares how her beginning struggles didn't define her or hold her back from chasing her dreams. While growing up Colombian her father created a curiosity in her, through a diverse range of books he would introduce to her. It wasn’t till she started 1st grade that she found that she was different. She was left handed and the teachers did not approve. At the age of 4 she learned a foundational lesson that followed her throughout her career.
Patricia had a desire to be a gypsy, this brought on a curiosity in her that created a place to explore. She talks about why this was important, not only in her personal life but in her career. We dive into being told “ no” can be a good thing and help you find your voice.
When Patricia started studying Petroleum Engineering she became pregnant, in a very difficult time in her life. This was an unexpected circumstance that Patricia shares how she handled becoming a mother, while in college, in a school that had no idea how to handle the situation. Listen in to find out how she was able to pass her exam after just giving birth and prove that mothers can be Engineers.
We talk about fear, doubt and in the moments where she felt she might fail what kept her going. Patricia shares with us the way she faces her fears through mentorship, a good support system and not allowing the thoughts in her mind to hold her back. She explains that every situation is tough no matter how successful someone is or seems to be.
Things don’t happen by wishing and hoping. Patricia had always had a vision for a Climate-Tech company, it wasn’t until a recruiter told her, “ it sounds like you know exactly what you want, go do it”. Quantum New Energy was born. Listen in to find out the risk she took and how it ended up paying off!
How to shine in a male dominated industry with Ann Fox-Nine Energy Service CEO
Aug 07, 2022
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In this episode, we talk with Ann Fox, CEO of Nine Energy Service, who led her company through an IPO in 2018. Ann is one of the most influential woman in oil and gas right now and we get into her childhood — how she was raised, to how she got to where she is today.
From investment banking to an officer in the Marines, and now a CEO of a public oil and gas company, what hasn't she done? She has learned so many lessons along the way and is here to share some insight with us.
“The Naked Ugly Truth: Embracing leadership lessons” with Regina Jones, Chief Legal Officer at Baker Hughes.
Aug 01, 2022
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Regina Jones is the Chief Legal Officer for Baker Hughes (NASDAQ: BKR). Throughout her career, Regina has held global roles in complex legal environments including assignments based in Europe, Southeast Asia and across the United States. Prior to joining Baker Hughes, she worked as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Delek (NYSE: DK). She has worked in various Legal and Technology roles throughout her 30 years in the Energy industry.
On the podcast Regina talks about growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, as a little black girl who had no path to becoming the “Chief” of anything. She grew up always knowing she wanted to be a lawyer but she didn't have a role model to envision that dream. There were no women of color that she could look up to as inspiration at the time.
Being grounded in her faith has helped Regina through the struggles she encountered early on. When she started her first role she was faced with a life changing diagnosis. She spent her days working at El Paso Energy and her nights in law school, all while battling a brain tumor. Regina walks us through this time and how she overcame her diagnosis, excelled in school and advanced her career.
Throughout Regina’s career she worked for top tier energy companies like Delek, Schlumberger, Shell and Dynegy in leadership positions to name a few. We deep dive into what makes Regina different. She explains how early her diversity presented an opportunity to differentiate herself. When you are the "only one" in the room – you stand out. It was then up to her to help influence how she was perceived. Noblesse Oblige – is a term she uses – it can be translated to mean – "nobility obligates", or “to whom much is given, much is expected.”
Regina talks about how plans change, and your career at times will go a different direction. She describes how she constantly assesses and reassess her career path, to understand where she needs to go next to reach her goal. We talk to Regina about having her boys and the impact motherhood had on her career. This is another pivotal moment in her story. Regina discussed the challenges of prematurity and the loss of a child. We talk to Regina about this time in her life and how her family managed it together. With only two weeks on maternity leave she was right back to work.
We end the podcast asking about her husband and the role he plays in her success. Her husband Kevin is a whitty, charismatic, serial entrepreneur who is also a decorated infantry soldier. A confident, motivator and her counselor. Regina and Kevin are an amazing team.
Regina’s story is full of life advice, perspective and resilience. We can all learn from Regina and stay true to the fact that - what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger.
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