Meet the leaders running some of America’s biggest oil platforms
These leaders are helping realize bp’s goal to produce 400K+ barrels of oil daily from the Gulf of Mexico
What does it take to keep an offshore platform in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico running safely, efficiently and reliably 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
It starts with each platform’s area production manager (APM), who leads a highly skilled crew.
bp is a top oil producer in the Gulf of Mexico, with five operated platforms – Atlantis, Argos, Mad Dog, Na Kika and Thunder Horse. And bp is carefully planning to grow through the next decade, building capacity to produce above 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the region. In fact, the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most visible examples of how bp is investing in America. The company has more than 30,000 employees in the US – more than anywhere else in the world – and supports more than a quarter-million jobs.
To understand how bp is turning strategy into action, start with its people. Here are the stories of four leaders who are committed to leading successful, high-performing teams.
Marney Pietrobon, Atlantis Area Production Manager
When Marney Pietrobon joined bp, she wanted to run a business. She was motivated to seek new experiences and embrace the mindset that you won’t get it right every time. “It’s important to duck and weave and always think two steps ahead in everything you do,” she says.
Pietrobon studied petroleum engineering at the University of New South Wales and began her engineering career in Australia. During her over 20-year career at bp, she has worked in subsurface, wells, projects and operations across Australia, Texas, Alaska, Indonesia and the UK, knowing that the technical aptitude she was developing would set her up to be a successful leader down the road.
As Area Production Manager on the Atlantis platform, located 150 miles south of New Orleans, she recognizes the value of technical expertise combined with business acumen.
“As a leader for Atlantis, I dive deep into the technical,” she says. “We can’t know absolutely everything as individuals, but because my team comes from different disciplines and has diverse experiences, we must work together to deliver the future. I truly enjoy the act of thinking quickly, jumping back into the basics to solve complex problems, and then shifting my focus to the strategy to make sure we are deliberate or adjust the strategy.”
For Pietrobon, the many facets of the role are exactly what make it exciting – from safety, environmental and financial aspects, to the technical elements of wells, topside, subsea and more. She loves how the role continues to develop her drive and fulfills her desire to run a business.
“It’s not a role for the faint of heart – you must have tenacity and grit coupled with the ability to communicate to many different audiences – from engineers to operators to leadership.”
Wendy Goodman, Na Kika Area Production Manager
Wendy Goodman has always been passionate about development, growth and progression – for herself and others. She strives to continuously stretch herself and those around her which fueled her interest in leadership.
A chemical engineer by discipline, she originally had her sights set on attending medical school. But after an internship during her sophomore year at Tuskegee University, a Historically Black College/University , she fell in love with plant operations. She joined bp in downstream immediately after college and progressed to a deputy superintendent, then transitioned into upstream where she held roles such as business advisor, North Sea deputy offshore installation manager, engineering team lead and additional operations and engineering manager roles.
As the Area Production Manager of Na Kika, located about 140 miles southeast of New Orleans, Goodman runs the business, managing profit and loss, while keeping a team comprised of operations, technical, financial and safety experts focused and aligned on safe, reliable delivery of strategic business goals.
“I’m the first African-American female bp selected to serve in the Area Production/Area Operations Manager role, and I must say, it’s the best job I’ve had in my career so far,” Goodman says. “It’s really important for me to deliver business value and lead a highly capable, safe and functional team, which in turn helps clear a path for others to know what is possible.”
To Goodman, this role is the perfect combination of business knowledge, technical discipline, operational know-how and leadership skillset. She loves the dynamics and complexity of operations, including that you learn the most not from a textbook, but from experience and exposure.
“I’m running a business on a day-to-day basis, while strategically defining how to keep that business safe, efficient, successful and profitable,” she says.
“I thrive off change and growth. As a leader, I focus on knowing my team, knowing our development opportunities and working to strengthen our capability – all to deliver business value. In this role you must be an effective communicator, technically competent and a person who genuinely cares for others across the business – including interns, new hires, offshore and experienced professionals. I encourage anyone interested in Area Production Manager role, to pursue it, but build the foundation that underpins its needs. It is an absolutely amazing, rewarding role!”
“The “added bonus” I have is, even though I did not become a medical doctor, I still get to drive improvements to Na Kika’s mechanical body parts. I see pumps as our heart, compressors as our lungs, and flowlines as our veins. It’s the science, engineering and operations that I love and am so fortunate to be a part of every day!”
Mary Nash, Thunder Horse Area Production Manager
From a very young age, Mary Nash was always fascinated by activities in or on the water. She always felt she had seawater in her veins. As a high schooler, she dreamed of being a marine biologist, but quickly realized that her natural aptitude was in math rather than sciences.
Nash’s path to APM of Thunder Horse, located 150 miles southeast of New Orleans, was somewhat unconventional. She earned a maritime systems engineering degree from Texas A&M University and started her career designing and building gravity-based platforms. But her love for the sea called her into a subsea engineering training program with a major subsea contractor. She spent several years as a field engineer on construction ships, dive vessels and barges, before becoming a project manager building subsea pipelines and other equipment.
In 2011, Nash joined bp. It was a difficult time in bp’s history, and Nash saw a company that upheld high ethical standards and could deliver technological solutions at staggering pace.
Since joining bp, she has moved through a variety of roles and experiences – in Houston, Baku, Luanda, London and Aberdeen. She has worked subsea, engineering, asset integrity and operations. When her career shifted from subsea to topsides, she says she felt like a “fish out of water.” It took her a few months to translate her skills to a new area of the business, but she found the fear of the unknown invigorating.
“I have learned that I derive personal joy from learning new things,” Nash says. She adds, “A career in bp has never been boring, and there is always more to learn. I love complex, high hazard, material businesses.”
“I know that the men and women working on our facilities depend on us to make the right decision to keep them safe,” Nash says. “I know the families of our onshore and offshore teams depend on us for their livelihoods. I know that our communities rely on our product to ensure energy stability. It’s incredibly exciting to be trusted with this responsibility and a real privilege to serve our teams.”
LaToya Stallworth, Argos and Mad Dog Area Production Manager
With a chemical engineering background, LaToya Stallworth brings her technical expertise with her every day to lead the Argos and Mad Dog platforms.
“As APMs, we play an important part of safely bringing energy to the world and value to our shareholders,” she says.
“I didn’t envision a career in the energy industry, but when I met people from bp during the recruitment process, I knew I wanted to be here. The culture was positive, and it was a company of people I wanted to work with every day.”
Fast forward to today, Stallworth also brings strong people skills to her role. She took a pause from a formal role as an engineer at bp to get her MBA at Harvard Business School.
“We really focused on leading people – how to inspire them, manage through challenges, and think not as an engineer where you approach things analytically, but as a business leader where you take a value-driven approach,” she explains.
Stallworth credits her career success with not being afraid to take on the big roles, understanding and embracing the unique journey and needs of each asset she has supported, and striving to deliver value. This mindset led her to Angola where she worked as an operations leader on a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility and led the facility from first oil through the first 100 million barrels of crude offloaded to alongside tankers.
She’s also worked as the offshore installation manager for bp’s Atlantis platform and the facility support squad lead for bp’s Thunder Horse. Each position played a pivotal role in shaping her leadership style and building her operations leadership expertise.
Stallworth considers the three biggest aspects of the APM role to be safety, understanding risk management and meeting our commitments to our shareholders. And none of that is possible without effective leadership.
“Across our Gulf of Mexico team of APMs, we’ve been given opportunities to work and lead across our bp’s offshore assets,” she shares. “Having a support system of engaged leaders, colleagues within the region, including fellow APMs, and more helped with my ability to ask questions, learn from everyone’s experiences and lead my platform teams with confidence.”
The leadership of these four talented professionals is one of many ways bp continues to invest in America – and deliver the energy that the world needs.
