Marine Log - September 2008 - (Page 23)

WISTAEXECUTIVEFORUM CHARLOTTE BOLLINGER Executive VP BOLLINGER SHIPYARDS The marine business is a rather close-knit fraternity, but its one that accepts women. Since 1946, Bollinger Shipyards has ridden the tide in the development of the oil and gas industry, as well as maintaining a viable business with the United States Government. Our company continues to grow and improve. We have five new larger dry docks and the largest capital expansion in the company’s history. Our biggest concern now is finding a skilled workforce to carry out and accomplish the work that lies JULIE NELSON Director of Chartering & Fleet optimization BG GROUP, BG ING Services The maritime industry is a dynamic work environment for talented young people but because it’s a specialized industry, it takes unique capabilities to fill the jobs. But everywhere I travel, many in the industry complain that there simply aren’t enough good people to fill all the jobs. While I believe that this may be true – shouldn’t we then invest in keeping the good people that we have? Our state and federal maritime academies are turning out hundreds of good quality graduates every year that may or may not stay in the industry depending on their initial experiences on the job. Encouraging licensed graduates to stay in the industry is an even harder task as many graduates do not wish to spend years at sea away from friends and family. WISTA, BG Group, and the U.S. Maritime Administration have programs to encourage young talent to stay in the shipping family. WISTA supports women in maritime management positions and seeks to attract more women in the industry. BG Group’s cadet internships and Global LNG Shipping Management program give cadets and maritime graduates both shipping and shore-side opportunities. The U.S. Maritime Administration works with graduates of all the maritime schools and various companies to provide entry level programs to maritime graduates. I have been fortunate to work with all three of the above groups, helping to encourage young maritime graduates in their careers. As a member of WISTA and the former Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration, I encouraged the founding of an annual Women On the Water (WOW) conference to provide networking and career development opportunities for female cadets at the state and federal academies. In my current position as Director of Chartering for LNG Shipping at BG Group, I am encouraged by the enthusiastic young men and women in the LNG shipping and trading departments that I work with everyday. The company provides a good challenging working environment, along with training opportunities, that I believe are essential to keeping young talent for the long term. The upcoming WISTA conference compliments good corporate and government programs by providing an educational conference that brings together successful women (and some men too!) to discuss emerging issues in the industry and providing good network opportunities for all attendees. Hope to see you there! ahead. In recent years, I’ve been focused on workforce development and vocational training in high schools. The Bollinger family is very involved with encouraging this type of high school redesign—where vocational training will take place. My hope is that the 80% of students who do not plan on earning a college degree, will become aware of the opportunities that await them in our industry. Right here in Louisiana we have 100,000 openings for good paying jobs. One of the reasons I joined WISTA was for the importance the organization places on networking. I appreciate getting e-mails from women in the industry, who are announcing job opportunities within their company. It serves to further help me in my goal of helping others find jobs in our wonderful industry. www.marinelog.com Tracey C. Gunnlaugsson, Exxon Mobil Over the past 17 years, I've worked for ExxonMobil, where the marine portfolio represents an important segment of our overall business success. Our highest priorities include safety and flawless operations. In my current role as Manager, Commercial Operations, I oversee our global spot chartering and supply ops activities. Even in this role, our number one priority is flawless operations: “Do the right things, the right way”" This expectation is clear throughout the organization, from planning the off-take program for our crude terminals, to chartering spot vessels, to managing unplanned supply disruptions at our refineries. Ten years ago, when I was still sailing, our number one priority was flawless operations: “All Ahead Safe.” This expectation was clear throughout the crew, for every load, every discharge, every transit, every day. Flawless operations, made possible by exceptionally high quality people, contribute to the outstanding performance of our marine segments. With projected shortages of maritime expertise coupled with increasing demand in non-traditional sectors including off-shore marine development, industry will need to consider how best to maintain high standards in the area of operations integrity. Attracting high quality people to the maritime sector will be an important component, and WISTA can assist in that effort by “Raising the Profile.” SEPTEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 23 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2008

Marine Log - September 2008 Editorial Second Thoughts Update Contents Inside Washington Slick Cleanup The Women of WISTA Keeping Ships at Sea Connected Shipbuilding Shakeup Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Letters Marine Salvage

Marine Log - September 2008

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