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.
“Imposter Syndrome is real” with Laura Kuri Benavides, Director of Sustainability at Integrity BioChem.
Jul 25, 2022
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Laura Benavides is the Director of Sustainability at Integrity BioChem & Vice President of Technology at Integrity Mining and Industrial. She graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a biochemistry degree and is passionate about sustainability, she is a new mom who has excelled in her career at a very young age.
Laura's grandmother had a vision to have American grandchildren, even though there was no plan to immigrate from Colombia to the United States. Laura is a first generation college graduate and her single mother worked multiple jobs to get her feet under her once they immigrated to Texas. As Laura grew up her mother decided to go to school and teach her daughter that it is possible to follow your American dream and to never give up.
While Laura was finishing up her degree in Biochemistry at the University of Texas she joined an info session being presented to graduating students. The speaker was a man by the name of Charles Landis, who at the time she didn't know would become a huge part of her career trajectory. After taking a role with Halliburton she excelled quickly and was offered a role overseas with their joint venture. It was here where she found her passion in her job - being in front of clients, presenting and developing training. This gave her the vision for the next step in her career.
Soon after returning to the states she was offered a role at a startup, which was a huge risk for her. She was hand picked by the leadership team to come over to Integrity Biochem in 2017. She took the role and built the labs from the ground up, still young in her career she struggled with imposter syndrome. She talks about how she didn’t see herself the same as her colleagues. She downplays her success, not giving herself the credit she deserves. It's a common theme amongst many women in the workplace. Not to mention as a new mom she is juggling the balance act of getting it all done while not losing time with family.
“From Oilfield Corporate to Fitness Tech Startup” -With Gretell Otano, Chief Commerical Officer at Humango Training.
Jul 11, 2022
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Today on the podcast we have Gretell Otano, she holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and Masters in Environmental Engineering, both from Georgia Institute of Technology. She spent the majority of her career focused in oil and gas, in several disciplines. From a field engineer to the General Manager of North America for Schlumberger, until she had the chance to work in private equity. She recently took a leap of faith and followed her passion into a completely different industry and became the Chief Commercial Officer at Humango training- in the sports and health industry.
At 10 years old Gretell’s' family immigrated from Cuba to Mexico. The risk her parents took to pick up and move the family was a foundational moment in her life. She didn’t move once but twice. At the age of 17 the family moved to the United States, to Mobile Alabama, for her and her sister to break away from the defined roles that girls were expected of when growing up in Mexico.
Gretell received her Chemical Engineering degree and then went on to get her Masters degree in Environmental Science. It wasn’t long after that she decided to jump head first into the oil and gas industry working offshore. We discuss why she chose the energy industry, building trust, influencing, and inspiring others to follow your mission.
Gretell took on an operational role after being frustrated as the Sales Manager and relying on operations to execute. She talks about the importance of having great supporters and mentors that know you well. We discuss the job of Motherhood and the role it plays in one's career. She emphasizes the need for a great support system and the role her husband played in each career decision.
We ask her about fear of failure, she opens up about her failures and how she made sure each experience taught her something along the way. We discuss finding your passion and what that looked like for her, the steps she took to leave the industry and why. She provides great advice on finding your true self and aligning your goals with your passion.
“Thrown into the deep end” With Renee Helmer, President of Helmer Oilfield Services.
Jul 05, 2022
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Renee Helmer is the President of Helmer Ops, a minority owned company, and the driving force behind keeping the Helmer name alive. Renee became an oilfield queen when she married Richard Helmer, the second generation President of Helmer Directional drilling. Helmer DD was founded by Richard’s father, Hank Helmer, in 1965. Hank Helmer would sell a job and drill the job. He grew the business into the largest GOM Directional drilling company. Richard Helmer worked his way up from braking out as a roughneck to becoming the President in 1994. From 2015 to 2020, monumental changes take place professionally and personally. Renee walks us through her life as a stay at home mother to business owner, the only hope to keep the precious Helmer name alive.
Originally from Thibodeaux, La, Renee participated in many of the festival’s beaty pageants. Her Mother, an English teacher, coached her through the interview process and other skills needed to be a successful young lady. Renee started her professional journey as a
Jr High school teacher at Our Lady of Fatima in Lafayette, La. She was well liked by her students and parents. So much so, that when she decided to leave teaching, she was offered multiple jobs in several different industries. She chose Oil & Gas. Renee talks about these moments that built her confidence and prepared her for the corporate world.
The momentous turning point in Renee’s life came in 2018. Her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and the company was collapsing. Without hesitation, she decided to go back to the workforce and a week later she drove herself to Midland, TX. Renee went back to work as if she did not miss a beat but found that sales had greatly changed with all the technology used to communicate today. She found herself with multiple struggles and fears to overcome.
She discovered one thing that had not changed was the importance of personal relationships and trust. Renee did not want to spend more time away from her family at weekend hunting camps. She talks about her love for cooking and how she built relationships with customers over the Cajun dinners she hosted. This connection allowed Renee to keep Helmer going until Covid struck. Despite all her efforts, the time came to close Helmer Directional drilling. Renee was determined not to lose the legacy that Hank and Richard built. She walks us through the steps she took to create Helmer Ops and her “why” behind it all. Through the difficult challenges that plagued her, Renee never gave up and she continues to push through no matter the circumstances. Her strength is and courage is relentless.
“The Confidence to Speak Up” with Sarah tamilarasan , Co-Founder and CEO of SOTAOG.
Jun 06, 2022
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Can you imagine as a young girl being told after grade 10 there was no future for women in the educational system and beyond ? This was Sarah’s life living in Saudi Arabia . Her father plays a huge role in her life by changing his family’s future and migrating to Canada. Sarah talks about this transition and how there are still parts of the world who don’t believe women should be in the workforce, let alone have the same freedoms as their male counterparts.
Disney or Marathon? What a hard decision Sarah had to make, like many other stories on the podcast money is a driving factor for decisions primarily based on salary differences . We dive into unintentional biases based on culture differences and Sarah struggled with the perception of being a “ diversity hire” . She was named the “Indian girl” from the third floor . Instead of seeing this as a negative Sarah talks about how this made her very memorable and everyone knew who she was, she used this to her advantage.
Being set up for failure was a common theme for Sarah. She was exceptional at connecting with people on a level that drove her team to work harder for her than her colleagues, even when her projects were not initially set up for success. This prepared Sarah for what was next In her career - starting her own business from the ground up with no funding.
Sarah walks us through the challenges of starting her own business as a diverse woman traveling to midland, alone, to convince her first client to trust in her for a 40k project with no prior business.
Sarah is a phenomenal engineer, mom and ceo. Her story is a representation of being your authentic self and pushing past your fears and not allowing peoples opinions affect her path to success.
“The 1% Factor”with Jayme Sperring, of Executive Vice President at Varel Energy Solutions.
May 23, 2022
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Jayme is an innovative business leader with demonstrated success in building companies, M&A and has been described as one of the most effective relationship builders in the industry. Jayme is one of the founders of Rubicon Oilfield International and now the Executive Vice President of Business Development & Strategy at Varel Energy Solutions. Jayme started his career as a pro athlete, playing for a major league baseball team. You will find out how he transitioned from the professional athletics to the oilfield and helped to create a globally integrated, high performing, upstream casing equipment business that was recently sold to Innovex Downhole Solutions in 2019.
Jayme starts off by describing his childhood and how his father was a huge influence in his life. A professional baseball player himself, Jayme had big shoes to fill. Although he didn’t feel the pressure he still felt the need to perform. Early on Jayme was a shining star and received a scholarship to Rice University. He talks about his time as a college athlete and transitioning toprofessional baseball.
Jayme stood out from his fellow teammates, he knew there was more beyond baseball and at some point he was going to have to walk away from the that lifestyle. His time came sooner than he thought, due to an injury. Jayme provides advice on how he made it through this difficult time, similar to one losing their job after a long standing career with the same company. Jayme describes this time as a “mindset shift” that ultimately brought him into his first job as in the oilfield coiled tubing business. He walks us through this huge change in lifestyle. Going from a stadium full of fans cheering you on to the company man yelling at you on location.
Jayme describes how the mentors in his life were the most impactful and inspirational to him in defining his leadership style. These relationships were instrumental in his success. Jayme decided to move away from NOV after 8 years, even though he was put on the fast track to leadership. Jayme knew if he moved to a smaller company he would have more impact then he would at a corporation the size of NOV. This was the most pivotal decision he ever made. Jayme talks about how his decision to leave a large corporation set him up for success later on down the road.
Failure is a word that many people will not own up too. Jayme opens up on the podcast and talks about how he had to walk away from Rubicon, this made him feel like he had failed as a leader. To Jayme, the Rubicon business was everything, subordinating everything in his life to his work. Although the company continued on to be successful, Jayme transitioned onto a new path that has led to a life of stronger purpose, perspective and priorities.
After taking a year off and reflecting back on his career up to this point Jayme decided to create a blog. Jayme’s writing describes a number of life perspectives, leadership principles and insights (e.g. the 1% factor and fulfilling your purpose). We talk to Jayme about his reflections, he provides some of the best advice we have heard on the podcast.
With a profoundly different view towards a professional and personal blend, Varel Energy Solutions came knocking after swearing he would never re-enter an executive position in the oilfield again! You have to listen in to find out why Jayme decided to move forward with Varel Energy and how it's different this time. We can all learn from Jayme and his story on finding your purpose, while remaining loyal to yourself and all that’s important in life.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
To find out more about our mid-roll audio sponsor TechnipFMC please visit: TechnipFMC
To find out more about our pre-roll audio sponsor Varel Energy Solutions please visit: Varel Energy
To find out more about website sponsor Nextier Energy Solutions please visit: Nextier Oilfield Solutions
“The Reward is in the Risk” with Gabriel Rio- CEO of Milestone Environmental Services.
May 02, 2022
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Gabriel is one of those Individuals who didn't follow the typical path, he paved his own. When he started his career he had little aspiration to become CEO. One decision led to another and brought him to where he is today as CEO of Milestone; focused on carbon sequestration and sustainably managing energy waste streams.
Gabriel grew up immersed in the chemical Industry, both his father and grandfather worked for Dow Chemical.Gabriel had a love for music and found himself having to decide which direction he wanted to take his life. He quickly came to realize he wasn't going to be the next rockstar but his love for math and science proved to be a more realistic path for him. He talks about following your passions all while figuring it out as you go, at times your passions might change but you only know till you try. Gabriel decided to pursue chemical engineering and dive headfirst into the business world.
At 24 years old, right after 9/11 and the Enron collapsed , Gabriel packed up his bags and left Houston to move to New york. He struggled to find a job, he was in a new state during a recession and had a few months of savings left. Instead of leaving New York he kept pushing forward, 8 months later he landed a position in investment banking. Throughout Gabriel's story you can find where he connects each change in his life to the next movement in his career. While working in investment banking he learns about the oil and gas industry, particularly on the environmental waste management side of the business. He found himself learning more about the business while working at Three Cities Research. At this firm he was very hands on in helping companies grow to their full potential. Here is where his story changes, where he went from working as a partner to stirring up his own plans to start a business.
Gabriel talks about calculated risks and how he applied this strategy throughout his career to becoming CEO of Milestone today. He shares the biggest lessons he learned along the way and the challenges he faced. He gives us his best advice and the impact his relationships have had on his success. Gabriel said, “ Develop strong relationships with the people that you work with and hang around, as you continue to build your career. I have found that my career has been built more off of the people that I've worked with rather than the companies that I've worked for and that's what carried me and a lot of people I know, through our careers”.
Gabriel has over a decade of experience in the oil and gas environmental services industry. He is currently the President and CEO of Milestone Environmental Services, LLC. Prior to leading Milestone, Gabriel worked as an Operating Partner with Intervale Capital, now known as Amberjack Capital, an oilfield-focused private equity fund with $1.2 billion in assets under management, and a key investor in Milestone. He was previously the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for R360 Environmental Solutions, Inc., a national provider of environmental services to the E&P industry. At R360, Gabriel orchestrated the strategy and mergers and acquisitions work which led to the formation and rapid growth of the company, and directly managed Williston Basin operations. After R360 completed a $1.3 billion sale to Waste Connections, Inc., Gabriel assumed work with the buyer to help with the integration of the R360 business into Waste Connections. Prior to R360's formation in 2010, he was an investment professional with Three Cities Research, Inc., a mid-market private equity firm, where he was principally responsible for US Liquids of LA, LP, a regional oilfield waste treatment and disposal provider in Louisiana and Texas.
Earlier in his career, Gabriel worked as an Associate Equity Research Analyst covering the global chemical industry at UBS Investment Bank, as a Petroleum Practice Fellow with McKinsey & Company a global strategy consultancy, and as an Associate at Purvin & Gertz, a Houston-based oil and gas consultancy. Gabriel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Gabriel lives in Houston with his wife Mona, two daughters, and two Great Danes. He also is an elected member of the Advisory Board of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC) and the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) Board of Directors.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
To find out more about our mid-roll audio sponsor TechnipFMC please visit: TechnipFMC
To find out more about our pre-roll audio sponsor Varel Energy Solutions please visit: Varel Energy
To find out more about website sponsor Nextier Energy Solutions please visit: Nextier Oilfield Solutions
“Position Yourself as a Leader” with Andrea Martin , CEO Andrea Martin Consulting.
Apr 24, 2022
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Growing up as an immigrant, college was never going to be a question for Andrea. Her parents migrated from Peru for a better life and opportunity for their family. Andrea felt like she had a lot to prove when coming to the US, since English was her second language. High school was a challenge for her. Her path changed when she went to college, Andrea had a love for the TV show Magic School bus as a child. The show inspired her at a young age to pursue chemical Engineering. If you were born in the 1990s you can relate to her story pre social media ages!
Andrea started her career as an international wireline field engineer. Although exciting, Andrea had aspirations to work on the other side of the table and be a part of the bigger strategy play working for an operator. After deciding to get her MBA she pursues her journey to becoming a production engineer. What Andrea didn’t know is that she would be turned down time and time again for being dabbed - “ over qualified” for the level 1 engineering roles. She was surprised and explains why this happens to so many of us when trying to change roles, industries or even parts of the oil and gas sector. She ends up having to take a role as an intern in order to get her foot in the door, you will find out how well this paid off for her!
After moving up the ranks becoming the Sr. Operations Leader and helping pull Chesapeake out of bankruptcy, she decides to leave the industry all together. While working for Chesapeake she had started a career coaching business. The business was starting to grow legs and really take off. Andrea started to change people's lives in a positive way and she wanted to go full time. She has been a Career Performance Coach for 4 years, after leaving her engineering career she has seen her life excel. You might ask what is a Performance Coach and how does that even make sense to leave a steady income to go and be an entrepreneur? Andrea answers all these questions in her podcast not to mention she does all of this while having 2 kids at home.
Andrea essentially removes your blind spots in your career to allow you to excel faster. While defining the type of leader you want to become. She opens up about the struggles many of her clients face and what holds most of us back in pursuing our professional and personal goals. If you're looking for a growth episode to take your career to the next level then this is the one for you.
If your interested in working with us, please contact : flippingthebarrel@gmail.com
To find out more about our mid-roll audio sponsor TechnipFMC please visit: TechnipFMC
To find out more about our pre-roll audio sponsor Varel Energy Solutions please visit: Varel Energy
To find out more about website sponsor Nextier Energy Solutions please visit: Nextier Oilfield Solutions
“Challenge Accepted” with Ruth Zambrano -RP Division Manager at Schlumberger
Apr 11, 2022
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Ruth Zambrano has been in the oil field for 17 years. She started as a wireline field engineer in Perth Australia in 2005. She joined Schlumberger to have a borderless career and that's exactly what she got. She has been in operations most of her career and she truly enjoys this side of the business. She talks about how authenticity is what makes a leader and takes us through her life from country to country and how each one presents its own challenge.
Growing up in a small town in Ecuador Ruth's parents were both in the medical field. Her family hoped that she would one day follow in their footsteps, she had other plans. Early on Ruth challenged her parents, her father a supporter of his daughter's curiosity, ultimately just wanted her to pursue something she loved. Ruth loved mathematics, with her fathers support she decided to go into Engineering.
Ruth fell into oil and gas by a friend signing her up for a career fair as a sophomore in College.. Ruth knew nothing about Schlumberger. She ended up getting a phone call when she graduated from Schlumberger for a 7:00 PM interview. Ruth explains how she thought the interview was actually a joke. She takes us back to this time in her life over 16 years ago that started her career in oil and gas.
Ruth started offshore working in the field in very difficult conditions. Ruth walks us through her time in Australia running open hole wireline, then moving to Argentina working in extreme weather conditions and away from home. Ruth thrived off the challenge and talks about her hardest transition moving to Chile as the only woman in her product line. She had a belief during her time in Chile that she had to be a certain way in order to manage the team. She talks about how the “ male style” leadership she felt she needed to have was not her real self - she finds out that she never had to take this approach to manage the team.
Ruth shares her view on the future of oil and gas. She talks about why the generations to come are pivotal in the future of our industry.
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