Covid19 and the visible effects of climate change are showing that Mother Nature is firmly back in charge. Every business is affected and is having to respond in not just what it does but how it does it. The effect of Covid 19 on ways of working is already radical and the transformation needed is not over. The effects of the energy transition called for by climate change are only starting to dawn – they affect literally everything we touch.

Old eyes and ways of working will only produce incremental improvements. Radical new solutions are needed and these call for new eyes and ways of working they call also for bottom-up solutions from the tech savvy generation.

None of this is possible without diversity and inclusion.

In this talk, Francis shared insightful practical lessons he has learnt along his impressive career trajectory, especially around the successful implementation of D&I strategies that will  pave the way for tomorrow.

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More about the speaker:

“I was brought up sharing a number of European cultures and languages,” says Francis, who also speaks French, German and Spanish. “I think this gives me a different perspective on life, possibly making me tend to look for a different way of doing things.”

Coming from this background, it is no surprise that he is an enthusiastic believer in diversity in the workplace, so that people from different backgrounds, countries and cultures can bounce ideas off each other. He is a founder member of POWERful Women, a UK government-born initiative which seeks to redress the paucity of women at energy’s top table by bringing together a mix of industry, academic and political leaders.

He has over 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry and has been involved in setting up and chairing companies and bodies where innovation has been at the forefront of what they do.

Francis is also Director & Chair of the Audit Committee of SBM Offshore NV; the world’s largest offshore floating production facilities provider. Previous roles include Non-Executive Director of The Britannia Building Society, Chairman of Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, Chairman of CH4 Energy, CEO ofAmerada Hess, Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry, and President of the UK Offshore Operators Association Ltd.

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Prior to the Dialogue, Thom Dennis interviewed Francis - it's a powerful set of reflections on the realities of hydrocarbons and why we need all the very best minds to find solutions for the crisis which is already upon us.

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