My name is Naomi Coxwell, I am Vice President for BP America and have worked in the oil and gas industry for 31 years. I am married to John (we recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary) and we have two children – Jarvis (24) and Ella-Jane (20). I am a graduate of Exeter University in the UK where I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology in 1984, and have studied at The Warton School, University of Pennsylvania, where I received BP’s CFO Excellence certificate in 2012.

I started my career in 1984 with Petrofina, and was one of the first women to work as a Geologist on offshore rigs in the UK. In the early 1990s, whilst exploring the commercial aspects of the industry, I developed a risk management and economic evaluation tool for application across Petrofina’s upstream portfolio. I joined ARCO British Ltd in 1996 as commercial manager and enjoyed negotiating complex commercial agreements for large offshore joint venture projects. Following the announcement of BPs takeover of ARCO in 2000 I joined the ARCO/BP integration team and moved to BP upon completion of that transaction. In 2001, I took up the position of commercial director for BP Vietnam where I was responsible for driving the delivery of business unit plans, as well as leading the development of local staff. In 2005, I became the vice president of corporate operations for Atlantic LNG, a subsidiary of BP, based in Trinidad and Tobago. Prior to my posting here in Houston I was general manager of business development for BP in Australia.

I am inspired by people who are both courageous and compassionate, and think Eleanor Roosevelt is a perfect example. She said “A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water” – sheer genius.