Even after 40 years I’m still learning: Meet Heather Pratt

After leaving school with few formal qualifications, Heather Pratt, key account manager with Viridien’s global sales & marketing team, has gone on to forge an inspirational career as a woman working in many different roles and locations in the oil and gas industry. After recently celebrating her 40th anniversary with Viridien, we spoke to her about this impressive achievement, her adventures along the way, the many changes she has seen, and her advice to other women starting out in our industry.

What first attracted you to the oil and gas industry all those years ago? 

The circumstances were unconventional to say the least! In 1982, when I was 22 and living in Oman with my husband, I managed to get a job working for Sultan Qaboos of Oman’s chief veterinary officer on the Royal Farm at Arzat. One of my duties was helping my boss spray goats that the Bedouin brought down from the Jebel into the Empty Quarter. The best goats were chosen for the Sultan’s table. 

We noticed a group of large trucks on the horizon, shaking the ground and slowly moving along. They sent their party chief and military escort over to check us out and we all got talking. I found what they were doing (a land survey for PDO) fascinating and even more so when I heard that their HQ in the UK was based in East Grinstead where I lived! When I later returned to the UK, I became a PA to the managing director of Digicon, (which later merged with Veritas, which then went on to merge with CGG before the company recently rebranded as Viridien) and the rest is history.

You’ve worked in both operational and sales roles, across many countries, particularly in Africa — what have been some of the most memorable moments or turning points in your career? 

I’ve had many varied roles in the industry (the only perk of not having any formal education). Operational was mainly logistics for the Digicon vessels which included everything from co-ordinating multiple crew changes all over the EAME region to personally flying various vessel spare parts, etc. to our vessels in different areas of West Africa. I even took a vessel up towards the Arctic when the client demanded that their sales contact be present for the start of the survey! 

Sales-wise, I put proprietary marine acquisition bids together and travelled monthly to give presentations on what Veritas could offer, what our vessel availability was, meeting national and independent oil companies in their offices over much of North, Sub Saharan, Southern and East Africa. It was never a dull moment and gave me the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing people. 

There are so many memorable moments, from when I was HR manager, negotiating land crew contracts for a 300-person crew in Oman while sitting under a palm tree, to giving a presentation in French to the Mauritanian Oil Ministry on board one of our vessels in port in Nouakchott. Imagine my surprise, when it was televised on Mauritanian TV the next day, and I was neatly dubbed over by a male voice in Arabic! It was always enormous fun (well mostly…). I also drove one of the big vibrator trucks when I was visiting a land crew for HR business – it was a good thing that HSE has tightened up considerably since then! 

The turning point came when my daughter was born in 2002, when I was 42, and I decided to tone down the more adventurous travel and moved into a UK-based position for multi-client sales. 

Was there a particular project or role that challenged you the most — and what did you learn from it? 

Probably the most challenging and steepest learning curve, which I’m still on now, has been coming from a totally unacademic arts background, which means I literally learn on the job all the time! It’s surprising how you can pick up knowledge and I have always found enormous generosity of time amongst my colleagues in all the various roles I worked in through the years. As my role evolved, I built up key contacts with clients but knew when to bring in the technical support of our experts to close the deal. As a result, my biggest regret was not studying physics or geology. Nevertheless, I am very proud of the fact that I was able to draw on my business experience within the geophysics industry when I served as vice president and then president of the EAME branch of the IAGC in 2001-2002.

Of all the countries you’ve worked in, was there one that left a lasting impression on you — professionally or personally? 

Probably Nigeria, especially in the late 1980’s when I first started travelling there on business. People were amazing to deal with, resilient and clever, while coping with adversity every hour of their day. Our secretary in Lagos would travel for three hours on various mopeds just to get to work every day. She’d bring a change of clothes and always look immaculate, and it would take her even longer to get home. I was and am still in complete awe of her and the many thousands like her. Despite very challenging circumstances, people continued to push on with their lives and were always cheerful, kind and diligent. 

What has it been like being a woman in the oil and gas industry? Did you ever feel like you had to prove yourself more than your male colleagues? 

Unlike what I know many others have experienced, I have never felt that way. Where I did feel I had to work harder than others was in trying to grasp the technical side of our business. But I always found this business to be supportive. Perhaps I was lucky enough to be there just as attitudes started to change in the mid 80’s. 

Have you seen meaningful changes in how women are represented and treated in the industry over the years? What changes still need to happen? 

I have seen huge changes and it’s truly wonderful to see the number of women increasing in our business – may it continue! Schools still need to push science better to women. I used to be a STEM ambassador, believe it or not, and was always sad at how few girls were in many of the science classes we visited. I know that this is still something that concerns the teaching staff at local schools where I live even now. 

Were there women mentors or allies who helped you along the way — or were you often the first or only woman in the room? 

Back in the 80’s and early 90’s, I was usually the first and only woman in the room. At one point, my counterpart in one of our competitors at the time and I realized we were the only two women in the world selling seismic vessel services. Admittedly, there were only about five main contractors really but still an indication of the state of the industry then. Much has changed now of course and having a woman as our CEO now is a huge achievement which makes me feel very proud. 

What advice would you give to young women starting out in this industry? 

Work for Viridien! Seriously, always be prepared to take on the biggest challenge you can, there is always a way. Also, although I’ve never experienced discrimination personally, I saw it on several occasions so never be put off calling it out if you think you are being discriminated against in any way as there are always people that will listen these days. Hopefully things are getting fairer every day. 

What are you most proud of when you look back at your career? 

That’s a hard one – probably achieving a bit more than the expectations of my head teacher who advised me in 1976 that, if I made myself ‘more presentable’, I might just meet a rich husband and never need to work … honestly! 

What do you hope your legacy will be — for the company, for your colleagues, and for the next generation of women in oil and gas? 

Another hard one! If anything, I hope that I can say always treat everyone as you wish to be treated, always give credit where credit is due, own up to your mistakes and honesty really is the best policy. The best leadership advice I ever had was when I attended a senior management meeting in Houston in the early 2000’s and we listened to a talk by a commander from one of the Challenger space missions. He said the best leaders always wanted the people below them to do better than they had done. That continues to resonate with me. 

Do you still have dreams or goals you’re pursuing — inside or outside of work? 

Keep learning! I read non-stop and love the training courses I can still do here. I plan to continue even after I retire and am thinking about an online university course in archeology next. 

What made you stay 40 years with the same company – how has it evolved over the decades? 

I stayed because I never found it hard to change jobs – maybe not having any formal skills meant I never got pigeonholed! The great supportive management I always had encouraged me to push onwards and upwards and I just grabbed every opportunity. There were plenty of mistakes along the way but plenty of achievements too. I was never ever bored because I was lucky enough to be allowed enough space to always keep learning. That’s why I stayed. 

The company has evolved and grown, embracing a changing world in both the industry itself, with its new business lines, and by widening its skill set so successfully. It’s also great to see how much time and space is given to support people’s mental health as well as their career progression. Nothing is ever perfect but it’s moving that way and, boy, how things have changed!!!

Interested in working for Viridien? Find out more here.