Leadership Conference for Women in Oil & Gas

Oil & gas leaders are operating in a dramatically different environment. U.S. energy policy is emphasizing domestic production and energy security, LNG is expanding, natural gas is increasingly connected to data-center and industrial demand, and companies are being asked to deliver growth while maintaining capital discipline and operational performance.

This opening keynote examines what these changes mean for the industry's next generation of leaders and the leadership capabilities required to navigate growth, uncertainty and competing priorities.

Key themes:

• S. energy security and the changing role of oil & gas
• LNG and global natural gas demand
• Data centers, AI and the emerging power/gas connection
• Production growth vs. capital discipline
• Infrastructure and permitting
• Geopolitical uncertainty
• What senior leaders need to prepare for over the next decade

Oil and gas leaders are making decisions in an increasingly complex environment shaped by changing energy demand, LNG expansion, commodity-price volatility, infrastructure investment, evolving policy, geopolitical uncertainty and the cost of capital. These forces affect not only business strategy, but also how organizations prioritize investments, manage risk, respond to changing conditions and prepare for what comes next.

How do leaders make sound decisions when the market is shifting, priorities compete and the long-term outlook remains uncertain? This session examines the leadership perspective behind today's energy business decisions, exploring how executives assess emerging opportunities, balance growth with financial discipline, navigate uncertainty and translate industry developments into practical action.

Key themes:

• Understanding the changing energy landscape
• Leading through market uncertainty
• Balancing growth and financial discipline
• Translating industry developments into business strategy
• Recognizing opportunities and managing trade-offs
• Building alignment across the organization
• Preparing for what comes next

Success in traditionally male-dominated industries requires more than hard work, technical expertise, and a willingness to take on new challenges. It requires the ability to recognize opportunities, understand organizational needs, and intentionally position yourself for growth. Equally important, it requires leaders who recognize potential in others and actively cultivate the talent necessary for long-term organizational success.

Drawing from her experiences as a U.S. Air Force veteran and Vice President of Human Resources in the oil and gas industry, Jennifer McCoy shares her personal journey of navigating male-dominated environments and strategically advancing her career. By understanding the evolving needs of her organization, aligning her strengths and interests with business priorities, and intentionally preparing for future opportunities, she successfully progressed from employee to executive leadership. Her experience offers a practical perspective on taking ownership of career advancement rather than waiting for opportunities to present themselves.

The workshop also explores succession planning from the leadership perspective, emphasizing the importance of anticipating future workforce needs, recognizing untapped potential, and creating meaningful development opportunities. Participants will examine how individual career aspirations and organizational priorities can complement one another, creating a shared responsibility for professional growth and building a sustainable leadership pipeline.

Through an engaging combination of personal storytelling, self-reflection, and collaborative learning, participants will be challenged to rethink how they recognize their own value, approach professional advancement, and support the development of others. Whether aspiring to their next leadership role or responsible for developing future leaders, attendees will leave with a renewed sense of purpose, greater confidence, and practical insight into creating opportunities for themselves and those around them.

Experience brings credibility, expertise and confidence, but it can also make it easy to stay comfortable doing what you already know you're good at. In a rapidly changing oil & gas industry, how do you make sure you are continuing to grow rather than simply accumulating more years of experience?

This session challenges women to take a fresh look at their careers, identify where they may have stopped stretching themselves, and intentionally build the skills, relationships and experiences they need for what comes next. Explore how to stay curious, seek meaningful feedback, expand beyond your current expertise and recognize when it is time to take on a new challenge.

Key discussion topics:

• Are you still learning, or are you simply getting better at what you already know?
• What skills will you need for the next stage of your career?
• How do you stay relevant as the industry, technology and expectations change?
• How do you identify the difference between being experienced and being stuck?
• When was the last time you deliberately put yourself in a situation where you were not the expert?
• How can you seek meaningful feedback when you're already an established professional or leader?
• How do you turn stretch assignments, lateral moves and new responsibilities into career growth?
• How do you continue building relationships and visibility as your career evolves?
• When should you deepen your expertise, and when should you broaden it?
• How do you know when you're ready for your next challenge, even if you don't know exactly what that challenge is yet?

Oil and gas leaders are often called on to communicate when the stakes are high : during operational disruptions, safety events, project delays, regulatory challenges, market shifts and difficult business decisions. In these moments, technical expertise is only part of the job. Leaders must quickly determine what matters, translate  complex information into business implications, make a clear recommendation and communicate with confidence even when the data is incomplete.

This candid panel will explore what it takes to become a trusted advisor to senior leadership , particularly when the answer is complicated, the news is difficult or the recommendation may challenge the status quo. Panelists will share real examples of communicating under pressure and the lessons they have learned about credibility, judgment and executive presence.

Discussion Topics:

• Turning technical and operational details into the business implications executives need to understand
• Moving from “Here is what happened” to “Here is what I recommend we do”
• Making and communicating recommendations when the data is incomplete or conditions are changing
• Communicating bad news, operational problems, safety concerns or missed expectations without losing credibility
• Disagreeing with a senior leader or questioning an established decision while maintaining trust and professionalism
• Handling difficult questions, competing priorities and high-stakes conversations with senior leadership
• Understanding when to provide detail, when to step back and when to lead with the decision rather than the analysis

 The session will explore the unique challenges women leaders face in high-performing industries, the importance of prioritizing mental well-being, and how leaders can help foster psychologically safe and supportive workplaces. There will also be a self-reflection exercise to encourage participants to pause, assess their own well-being, and identify practical actions they can take moving forward.

• Recognizing the pressure points that can undermine sustainable leadership
• Understanding the relationship between psychological safety and team performance
• Setting boundaries without compromising accountability or performance
• Recognizing when you or someone on your team may be struggling
• Creating space for honest conversations about workload, pressure and support
• Moving beyond “resilience” as simply asking people to tolerate more
• Building team practices that support sustainable performance
• Identifying one practical change you can make for yourself and your team

“Never let them see you sweat.” “You have to have all the answers.” “Just work harder.”

We’ve all heard it. Some of it helped. Some of it absolutely did not.

In this candid and interactive closing conversation, Camille Romero invites you to put the usual leadership advice on trial. What advice have you followed, questioned, ignored or learned the hard way? What actually works when you’re leading through pressure, uncertainty, change and competing expectations?

Come ready to laugh, challenge a few assumptions and share what you’ve learned along the way. Camille will bring the questions, the audience will bring the stories, and together we’ll separate the advice worth keeping from the advice we’re finally ready to leave behind.

Before you head home, take a few minutes to reflect on what comes next:

One thing I’m going to START doing…
One thing I’m going to STOP doing…
One thing I’m going to be BRAVER about…