People in energy: Trust in female talent

Proserv’s new Group CFO advocates greater openings for women in senior roles and sees further opportunities as the industry evolves.

Last month, leading controls technology company Proserv announced the appointment of Julie Thomson as its new Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Julie arrives at the Westhill based firm from Weatherford International, where she headed up the finance team across Europe and Africa.

Julie becomes the latest key addition to Proserv’s senior leadership following the firm’s realignment into two global divisions last autumn – Proserv Controls and Gilmore, a Proserv Company.

A former pupil at Hazlehead Academy, Julie earned a first-class undergraduate degree in business studies at Robert Gordon University (RGU) and it was during her placement year that her future career choices started to take shape.

“I worked in the finance department at Hewlett Packard, while at RGU. I was inspired by my colleagues and the management there. I enjoyed the dynamic environment, the variety of the work and, in particular, the way in which the finance function supported the business. I saw the potential for long term career development in accountancy, as well as broader management roles.”

Julie subsequently joined KPMG in Edinburgh and undertook training to become a chartered accountant via the globally respected Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. After eventually returning to Aberdeen, it was perhaps inevitable that Julie’s skills would find a home in one of the country’s powerhouses, multibillion-pound industries that employs more than 100,000 people in the North East of Scotland.

“While I was working for KPMG in Aberdeen, I gained experience in the audits of several energy clients and so I became interested in furthering my career in the sector.

“It has provided opportunities to develop my skills as a finance business partner, to strengthen my leadership skills and to apply my professional knowledge in areas such as internal controls to ensure the integrity of the financial statements.”

Julie has now built up more than 20 years’ professional experience and is well established as a senior executive. On the one hand, she has experienced the typical economic swings of the energy industry, from price booms to dramatic downturns, but within the accounting segment she has witnessed only modest changes regarding gender balance and female representation at management levels. Julie has recognised a gradual influx of women into the profession so that there is a “relatively even split” between the sexes, but advancement for females to the upper echelons of companies has been limited:

“It seems women are still struggling to climb to the top of their firms. Despite targets and policies designed to encourage more women into senior roles, the progress has been slow and there are still issues with gender pay gaps and flexible working conditions. Those who do manage to make it to board level are excellent role models, but a lot still needs to be done to attract female leaders into such senior roles.”

Of course, oil and gas has long had a reputation as a conservative, slow-moving industry, with over 40% of its workers aged 45 or older and more than 90% of all employees being men, according to the latest Global Energy Talent Index.

Julie Thomson believes the sector has “struggled to attract, retain and promote women” but the technological evolution of recent years, ushering in the need for a raft of new skills and expertise, could potentially enable more women to find suitable openings.

“As the industry is going through significant changes, there is a need to incorporate new skills in innovation, robotics and analytics which offer great potential to extract value from increased female participation, and I believe that companies need to come together to develop strategies and solutions to address how this will be achieved.”

Julie has progressed to a level within her profession where she is well placed to offer anyone starting out on their career path some sage advice. Mindful of her own first steps at RGU, when motivated by the management at Hewlett Packard during her placement year, Julie says finding a mentor can really accelerate development, as can the ability to accept and act on constructive feedback. But possessing drive and purpose are key.

“To succeed in your career and to achieve senior roles, you need to be passionate about what you do and be determined to succeed. It’s important to have short-term and long-term goals, to focus on what you can control and have a plan for the rest. Always remember to think of the bigger picture.”