Laura Hughes

"The quiz identifies me as Influencer, Innovator and Manager – and that’s a good reflection of how I am naturally, and what I need be on a day to day basis. As an Influencer, I take information from difference sources and people, mix it with my own thinking and formulate it into a joined-up story. I can then explain that to people so that they buy-into an idea or plan. The Innovator is the problem-solving bit, where I use my creativity to propose solutions to issues that the business is facing, work with the team to agree the way forward and make sure that it gets done. And as a Manager, I look after my team, organising them and making sure that they have what they need to be happy and do a good job. In all these areas I have to be thoughtful but confident, so that I can give people clear direction."

"I work in exploration for oil & gas, currently in the UK but I have done this in many parts of the world. There is a technical component of my job – where I need to understand the science behind where we are looking for resources in the earth’s crust and I need to make sure that the plans to drill the wells to look for oil & gas are well designed. There is an operational component – where I need to make sure that the technical plans are been executed safely and properly so that we don’t pollute the environment, and everyone gets to go home safely at the end of the working day. There is a strategic component – where I have to think about “what next” – how do we make energy sustainable, maintaining living standards and lifting people out of poverty but at the same time respecting the planet and our delicate eco-system? That all has to be done within a business context.My job is extremely varied and exciting. One moment I can be discussing which grease to use on a piece of critical equipment, and then next moment I can be interviewed by the local radio station. I am lucky to have a role where sometimes I am on an operational drilling site and some time in an office – so there is variety of location as well. I enjoy doing things that I think are really important and being where my decisions make a difference. "

"I started out as a Well Engineer, working on rigs in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, and then in the jungle of West Africa. I supervised the drilling crews and designed the wells that we were drilling. After 7 years, I decided to move out of operations for a while and studied an MBA. I went back into the energy industry in a business development role, where my focus was on options for future development from a commercial perspective. I worked on a project considering gas storage and long-term CO2 storage (sequestration). I then moved to Uganda, where I worked on the development planning for a new oil-field that had been discovered there. In 2015, I moved back to the UK to work on onshore gas exploration in this country.There have been many people who have inspired me along the way. My dad was a big influence – he is a successful Engineer and manager, and has been involved in very exciting projects in his career. I have also been strongly inspired by women who I have met, particularly in Africa, who work extremely hard to support their families and give their children the best opportunity in life, in some very difficult circumstances. I realise that I am extremely lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity that I have, and that drives me to make the most of life. "

"I have always enjoyed music, and as much as possible I have tried to keep up playing the piano and saxophone since I left school. As we have moved house 8 times in my career, I have had to develop a love of D.I.Y.!With my job and 2 young children, I don’t get much “me” time. However, that doesn’t bother me. For me “work life” balance is not about making sure that I have plenty of spare time, but it’s about making sure that the work that I do is positive and rewarding and feels worthwhile. "

"On a typical day, I will leave home at around 7am to drive to our drilling site. I’ll join in the morning meeting at 8am when we discuss with all the people on site what the day’s activities are going to be. I might then walk around the site with one of the supervisors looking at the way in which the work is being conducted and see if there are improvements that can be made. I like being very collaborative in my work, so we might then have a meeting where someone makes a presentation and then we discuss in a big group a procedure for an unusual task that we might need to do, to make sure that everyone’s ideas have been considered.Around lunchtime, I might head back to the office and have a meeting with the Executive Team of the company to discuss a company strategic issue – for example the interpretation of some technical results or the HR policy. I’ll then spend some time at my desk reading and responding to emails. I will always have some documents to write or review, and I spend plenty of time writing PowerPoint presentations. Some of this is interesting and some is not particularly exciting, but it’s important to do the routine aspects of the job so that there is a properly record of what is being decided and done, Part of my role has a legal responsibility under UK laws governing Health & Safety, and so I need to make sure that I have spent time reviewing documents and procedures in line with this.I normally head home around 6:30pm in time for my kids’ bedtime stories and then have dinner, and the day is gone!"

" I have A-levels in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and General Studies. After a gap year, I studied Chemical Engineering at University, and gained a Masters of Engineering degree. In my first job, there was a large training component as the kind of engineering that I went into was very specialised. I took a one-year full time MBA."