PESA Launches New Inclusion & Diversity Business Champion Program

LEFT to RIGHT: Lamonica Spivey, TechnipFMC; Shawna Shelor, Baker Hughes; Mark Zorbas, Heidrick & Struggles; Heather Sirdashney, ConocoPhillips

PESA kicked off its inaugural Inclusion & Diversity Business Champion Program with a seminar designed to equip attendees with tools and an action plan to initiate change within their companies.

Participants will use the PESA Gender Diversity Toolkit during a nine-month program of interactive seminars, peer coaching and executive sponsorship to help develop in-depth plans of action that will lead to meaningful diversity and inclusion initiatives throughout the oilfield services sector.

The March 3 class, held at TechnicFMC, began with an Executive Sponsor Breakfast keynote by PESA Board Chairman Emeritus Paul Coppinger, Division President, Weir Oil & Gas. Coppinger noted the importance of inclusion and diversity and PESA’s development of an inclusion and diversity business champion program.

The day continued with a networking opportunity before a facilitated exercises led by Accenture, and specifically tailored analysis provided by Heidrick & Struggles.

Alie Pruner, Senior Advisor, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., then provided the executive keynote address, where she delved into the business case for diversity and inclusion.

Pruner’s speech was followed by a panel discussion of what drives company culture. The session was moderated by PESA Engagement Committee member Lamonica Spivey, Diversity & Inclusion Sr. Manager, TechnipFMC, and featured panelists Heather Sirdashney, VP of Human Resources, ConocoPhillips; Shawna Shelor, Director – Executive Development and Diversity and Inclusion, Baker Hughes; and Mark Zorbas, Principal, Heidrick & Struggles.

The first seminar closed with a workgroup session in which co-workers reflected on where their companies stand on inclusion and diversity and developed an action plan to take back to their companies and executive leadership based on what was learned.

The Inclusion Journey of the first seminar included more than 80 attendees who collaborated and shared some of their organizations’ best practices. Companies represented included Atlas Sand, Brunel, Baker Hughes, Chevron, Caterpillar, DistributionNOW, Exterran, Frank’s International, Gardner Denver, Halliburton, NOV, Oceaneering International, Oil States International, PwC, Rubicon Oilfield International, Schlumberger, Sigma Fasteners, Simmons Energy, A Division of Piper Sandler, TechnipFMC, TETRA Technologies, Weatherford, Wells Fargo Energy Group, and Weir Oil & Gas.

The next half-day sessions are scheduled for May 19, September 8 and November 10.

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