Sarah Bairstow

Closely adhering to the overachiever playbook, 15-year-old Sarah Bairstow attached her first five-year plan to the wall of her bedroom in Australia, perhaps unknowingly preparing for her career as a business titan in Asia.

After developing a passion for cultural studies and Japanese in high school, Bairstow enrolled in Australia’s first university to offer an Asian studies program, earning her degree in international business (with honors) and a parallel degree in law (with honors) before graduating and joining a prestigious law firm.

It was then that the energy bug bit.

“Helping clients figure out how to acquire or develop energy projects across oil and gas, mining, power and renewables became my forte,” Bairstow said.

So much so that one of her clients, Australia-based energy giant Santos, brought her on to help figure out how to bring its $18.5 billion Gladstone LNG project online. It was a one-year commitment that turned into a 10-year role as head of strategic projects and LNG marketing (commercial), with Bairstow worked across various areas from initial concept to operations.

“Developing, building and operating new energy businesses became a passion and the nucleus of my career,” she said. “It’s never easy developing a viable new energy concept, let alone securing the support of key project stakeholders, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and feel immensely privileged to have worked with so many talented colleagues and project partners.”

But Bairstow has not spent her career in pursuit of the easy way. Like many overachievers, finding herself outside her comfort zone becomes a comfort zone in and of itself.

“Mostly, the events that shaped my career required me to step outside of my comfort zone—which has happened all too frequently as my career has evolved—and weren’t always voluntarily,” she said. “But they’re the very events that push you to realize how resilient and capable you really are.”

What has surprised her about the oil and gas industry is how solutions for the future are often found in the past.

“Despite the need for the energy industry to continually evolve, be it through technology, environment, market drivers or otherwise, there is always merit and often answers in looking back, be it lessons learned or pathways navigated,” Bairstow said. “The energy industry has seen phenomenal growth and shifts in demands, markets, technology, new products, etc., and so often, as an industry, we find one sub-sector leveraging prior learnings or skills from another related energy sector to navigate that evolution.

“The energy industry is an incredibly varied space with so much potential for cross-pollination and growth.”

Not that a career in oil and gas doesn’t present challenges. 

“I’ve certainly had plenty. Many associated in the earlier stages of my career trying to figure out how to own my space in the room as a woman in a male-dominated industry,” she said. “There are also always corporate challenges, no matter what role you hold in an organization, but it’s always the people that hold the solution. Sometimes you just need to have the right people around you and know the right question to ask.”

And it helps when there are mentors who are ready and willing to answer.

“In a very male-dominated industry, I’ve been lucky enough to work for, and with, some remarkable women, each of whom stood firmly in their worth, knowledge and self,” Bairstow said. “Unfortunately, women still stand out; there aren’t enough of us in the industry, but it certainly makes it easier to find a friend and mentor when you need one.”

In addition to her father, who would answer her doubts about facing up to a challenge with a “why not?” attitude, one of her early mentors was a boss who was a big fan of the New Zealand rugby “All Blacks Team” and brought the team’s mantras to the office, which Bairstow took to heart.

“My favorite is ‘play where your feet are at’ which speaks to the importance of both staying grounded/humble and being present,” she said. “If you’re in a meeting, be present. If you’re at home, be present. Simple but powerful.”

Check out the rest of Hart Energy's 2025 Women in Energy here.