Texas Women’s Conference
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BP is the major sponsor of the Texas Conference for Women, an annual networking and educational conference that empowers women to make significant changes in their personal and professional lives.
LAST YEAR, THE 10TH annual Texas Conference for Women, sponsored by BP, promised women a day to “Rethink, Resolve, Renew” at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Five thousand women – 500 of them from BP – accepted the challenge.
Before the day was over, many of them said they’d found new opportunities to network, discovered intriguing points of view, and rediscovered inspiration for their futures.
Rethink
Speakers throughout the day challenged the women to rethink their priorities, their actions, and their attitudes. They encouraged the attendees to analyze their choices and decisions and thereby gain new perspective.
“In the session, ‘What Happy Women Know,’ I learned practical ways to change my outlook ... to be happy with what I have,” said Christie Jackson, a technical superintendent at the BP Texas City refinery.
Resolve
For the 500 BP attendees, the day began with a 7 a.m. breakfast that featured Katrina Landis, chief executive officer (CEO) of BP Alternative Energy, and guest appearances by Texas First Lady Anita Perry and author Marcus Buckingham.
Landis emphasized the value of career networking and advised, “Don’t depend on your line manager for your career development.”
The opening keynote session included remarks by Texas First Lady Anita Perry and her husband, Texas Governor Rick Perry; Tory Johnson, founder and CEO of Women for Hire; author Marcus Buckingham; Mae Jemison, astronaut; and internationally celebrated author Isabel Allende.
“I thought the diversity among the speakers was a great choice,” said Loran B. Cannon, NAGP trade completion team lead. “They all had one common thread, and that was to encourage me to not discount my abilities as a woman. I am very encouraged to continue on the path I am on.”
Renew
BP sponsored one of the most popular breakout sessions: “Nurturing Innovation, Creativity and Profits.”
The session featured three panelists: Katrina Landis; Donna Fujimoto Cole, founder, president and CEO of Cole Chemical; and Paula DeLaurentis, managing director of strategic alliances for TD Ameritrade. The session was hosted by Margaret D. Laney, senior regulatory affairs director, who emphasized BP’ s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
In the session, Landis described company culture as a key enabler of innovation and said, “You have to allow people to challenge the status quo without fear of repercussion. Our team leaders have to be very insightful about team members and what motivates and inspires them, keeping in mind that it may not be their compensation. This is especially true of younger employees.
“Team leaders have to act as ‘umbrellas’ that shield employees from the weight of a strong corporate culture so they can be creative,” she added.Promoting your ideas
Landis also encouraged employees to be relentless in promoting their innovative ideas, citing as an example the BP employees who worked for 15 years to find success in using saltwater in place of fresh water to enhance oil recovery in waterflooding.
“I think it’s important to persevere when you think your idea has business importance,” she said.
Landis was one of several top BP leaders who participated in the one-day conference. Bringing a male point of view was John Graham, business unit leader for wind energy. Also attending were Crystal Ashby, vice president for government and public affairs; Maria Chao, key account relationship manager; and Kathleen Lucas, vice president of assurance.
Cheryl Byington, exploration and production staff development and deployment finance lead in Houston, hosted the session “Find Your Strongest Life” with author Marcus Buckingham. Buckingham’s keynote remarks proved so intriguing that attendance at the session overflowed the capacity of the assembly hall.
“The talk by Marcus Buckingham was very inspiring to me,” said Christie Jackson. “I’m the mom of three, but I’m determined to carve out time to actually read his book.” The book was distributed free to BP attendees.
Suze Orman
The lunch session featured nationally known financial expert Suze Orman, as well as Landis; Nastia Liukin, Olympic gymnast; and Christy Haubegger, founder of Latina Magazine.
First-time participant Laura Lopez, a reservoir engineer at BP Westlake, said, “I liked the variety of sessions. They brought in very good and interesting speakers, with enough diversity in the sessions to fit a wide range of women.”
As Valrie Criswell, human resources international mobility advisor, left the convention center at the end of the day, she was busy connecting with a woman she’d met and wanted to network with.
She commented, “I’m leaving with inspiration that I can take back and use day to day. In this economic crisis, everyone needs the opportunity to feel inspired. The speakers were so motivating and truly communicated what it takes to be a leader, no matter what your job. I know I can stay optimistic now and not dwell on the negative. Tomorrow is a brand-new day.”
Event Date: November 12