The Problem
A large domestic midstream company with more than 1,500 miles of liquids focused in-state infrastructure contacted The Energists when they were looking to replace an existing Vice President of Operations. The incumbent was a partner in the business who wished to retire from their operational role, while retaining their interest in the enterprise. Given the sensitivity of such a material change in leadership, the search would have to be conducted confidentially. Initial reach outs needed to be conducted on a no-names basis; all candidates would have to enter into a confidentiality agreement to fully engage.
With the State’s Governor recently (H2, 2021) publicly stating that: “We don’t see oil in our future,” coupled with nuances of the state’s midstream regulatory environment, this looked like it would be a challenging search.
The Solution
After meeting with the client’s executive leadership team and analyzing the specific requirements, our oil & gas recruiting team began an extensive search, both in and out of state.
By virtue of the location and its specific competency requirements, an extensive long list of more than forty qualifying candidates was whittled down to a (very) short list of just three. Much of this whittling by our recruiters occurred naturally following divulgence of the work location and corresponding perception of the negative outlook for oil related businesses.
Nevertheless, each of the short-listed candidates were interviewed by the client. Following these interviews, the field was narrowed down to just two finalists, both of whom resided in-state.
The Energists recruitment team attempted to split the candidates to aid the decision making process. This effort included the deployment of behavioral assessment tools. Ultimately, a very difficult hiring decision was made and The Energists completed the recruiting effort by assisting in the successful candidate’s resignation and onboarding process.
The Outcome
The role was filled, and by a gender diverse candidate. This person’s pre-existing academic pursuit of an MBA program was unaffected by the transition to their new employer.
How We Can Help
We can you help find top oil and gas talent across the globe. We have a presence in the following cites: Aberdeen, Abu Dhabi, Adelaide, Al-Khobar, Austin, Birmingham, Boston, Brisbane, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Dallas, Damman, Denver, Dhahran, Dubai, Glasgow, Houston, Limassol, London, Los Angeles, Manama, Manchester, Mexico City, Midland, Minot, New York, Nicosia, Oklahoma City, Perth, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Sydney and Tulsa.