Hart Energy’s Women In Energy podcast returns for its second installment with a look at the inherent challenges faced by women in the energy industry and how two highly-respected industry powerhouses overcame those roadblocks.

First off, Melody Meyer, president of Melody Meyer Energy LLC, joined hosts Jessica Morales and Emily Patsy to discuss her decades-long career with Chevron Corp. and what she is doing to give back to the industry now that she's in the second phase of her career.

Regina Mayor, global and U.S. energy sector leader for KPMG LLP, also joined us later in the program to talk about how she fell in love with the industry early on in her career and what skills her military experience has given her that has led to her success.

Meyer, who is also a non-executive director of BP, AbbVie and NOV, spoke with us about being one of the few women engineers when she began her career at Gulf Oil which was later acquired by Chevron (1-minute mark).

She also discussed the importance of having a diverse set of experiences to be a leader in the oil and gas industry (4:30) and how she handled biases toward women early on in her career (5:30) as well as the need for diverse leadership in the industry still today (6:25).

Additionally, Meyer talked about Women With Energy LLC, a company she founded to advocate for women in the industry around the globe (8-minute mark).

And later in the program, Mayor joined us to discuss what attracted her to the oil and gas business (11:30) and how her experiences in the military gave her skills to excel in her professional career (12:20) as well as how important it is to establish strong relationships (15:45).

In addition, she said her advice for success also includes having a genuine passion for your job and to always be learning (18:20) and later spoke with us about the national Veteran’s Network she helped co-found at KPMG to give back to those who have served in the U.S. military (19:25).

You can comment on this podcast in the comments section or by tweeting our hosts @JessicaMNewsor @EmilyPatsy.

This and all episodes of Women In Energy are available via Soundcloud, the podcast app and iTunes.

Featured on this episode:

 Melody Meyer is president of Melody Meyer Energy LLC, founder of Women With Energy LLC and also serves a non-executive director for BP, AbbVie and NOV.

Meyer started her career with Gulf Oil in Houston, which later merged with Chevron where she remained until her retirement in 2016.

During her career with Chevron, Meyer held key leadership roles in global exploration and production, working on international projects and operational assignments. In 2004, she became the vice president for the company’s Gulf of Mexico business unit, and in 2008 became president of the Chevron Energy Technology Co. In 2011, she was named president of Asia Pacific Exploration and Production and was responsible for the financial and operating performance of the upstream assets in nine countries in Chevron’s Asia-Pacific region. She was also the executive sponsor of the Chevron Women’s Network and continues as a mentor and advocate for the advancement of women in the industry.

Meyer was recognized as a 2009 Trinity Distinguished Alumni, with the BioHouston Women in Science Award, was the ASME Rhodes Petroleum Industry Leadership Award recipient and in 2018 as an Influential Woman in Energy.

 Regina Mayor serves as KPMG’s Global Sector Head and the U.S. National Sector Leader of Energy and Natural Resources. In both capacities, she helps determine the firm’s strategy to better serve the industry as well as optimize the delivery of KPMG’s services nationally and globally. She is a recognized thought leader on the disruptive trends facing the various segments of the energy value chain—from the impact of millennials and baby boomers on gasoline consumption to the rapidly changing demands in the power generation segment.

Mayor has more than 25 years of experience delivering large-scale business and technology changes to major energy companies around the world and serves as the lead partner for several of KPMG’s key energy clients. Her expertise in providing advisory services spans across the entire energy value chain from wellhead to retail and from power plant to burner tip. Additionally, she is a strong voice supporting women’s leadership and networking programs. She serves as co-chair of the Houston Women Corporate Directors Chapter as well as on the board of the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and supports the United Way Women’s Initiative steering committee in Houston.

In addition, Mayor served as an adjunct professor at Rice University’s Jones School of Business teaching energy strategy to professional MBA candidates in 2013 and 2014. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University. She was an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and interned at the Pentagon as part of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) liaison office.

Hosts:

 Jessica Morales is the video reporter for Hart Energy. Jessica’s 10 years of news reporting experience has carried her from a political journalism internship in Washington, D.C. to a professional career in television news. She joined Hart Energy in August 2017 after serving as the main evening news anchor for the FOX affiliates in Tyler and Waco, Texas. She previously worked as a news producer in Knoxville, Tenn., and as an anchor, reporter and producer at the FOX affiliate in Beaumont.

In 2010, Jessica traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake-ravaged capital of Port Au Prince. She garnered awards from the Press Club of Southeast Texas for Documentary and Series recognition for her reports titled “Healing Haiti.”

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications/broadcast journalism from Lamar University and studied at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Jessica can be reached at jmorales@hartenergy.com.

 Emily Patsy is the associate managing editor for Hart Energy’s digital news group. She’s responsible for the daily  news flow and also manages the A&D Watch weekly newsletter. She joined Hart Energy in November 2012 and previously worked as a reporter for Houston Community Newspapers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in editorial journalism from Texas Tech University. Emily can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.