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I am honored to interview Joanne Courtney. We met when she served on the leadership board for the National Black MBA Association’s (NBMBAA) Houston Chapter in Texas.
Joanne is a human force multiplier, with over 20 years of experience leading various human resource efforts at ExxonMobil. She has been a corporate fellow for the University of Houston’s Downtown MBA program. She has coached MBA and EMBA students at Rice University, and most recently pivoted into the sustainability and chemical industries.
Our fireside chat explores how we can all do our part in building a more powerful, inclusive future in the energy industry. Her leadership has fostered some of oil and gas’ latest rising leaders.
Chris Dao: Who is Joanne Courtney? I understand you have over two decades of rich experience in oil and gas. Help us understand what makes you, you.
Joanne Courtney: I am a passionate HR professional with expertise in HR at a super major (ExxonMobil). I have worked in teams managing talent acquisition, communication, DEI, and Learning and Development (L&D). My latest journey has brought me into sustainability with battery storage and into the chemical industry. When you operate in the areas of your passion, the industry does not matter.
My passions and superpowers have always aligned with helping people, especially young people. I provide that hand that fills them with confidence to identify their passions. I mentor them along their journey to finding a career that leverages both their passions and talents. My dream job when I retire from corporate America is to run a career center at a college or university. Imparting the knowledge I have learned over the years to young undergraduate and graduate students would be the ultimate in giving back for me. I am currently a virtual mentor at Florida State University, and I have done presentations for numerous student organizations aimed at providing young people with skills they may not acquire in a classroom. I also enjoy critiquing resumes and providing overall career counseling. Often the resume is the first glimpse into who a person is. My goal is to ensure that it reflects the whole person … live and in color!
“When we do not bring our full selves to the table, the world suffers a great tragedy. We deprive it of a great gift. I cannot exist in halves. Both my entire heart and soul need to be present.”
CD: Throughout your career, you have learned a lot about the financial impacts of DEI & Belonging (DEIB). What are the impacts and values we should expect in corporate environments?
JC: Studies have shown that a focus on DEI & Belonging (DEIB) has a direct impact on the bottom line. We must frame DEIB as a continued investment for the company’s future, knowing the immediate results are not always apparent, but will occur over time.
It takes determination and consistency to enrich a company’s brand and build rapport in recruitment efforts. Diverse perspectives and ideas help companies build better products and incubate better ideas. This is the result shareholders want to see as those ideas increase a company’s bottom line and provide a higher return on investment.
At a conference I attended, the keynote speaker spoke about having a mindset of planting seeds for a tree that we may never meet. Effective DEIB requires us to be future facing – keeping our eyes on creating organizations where everyone has an equal chance to grow into that tree. We can only get there by providing opportunities, especially at the top of the organization in the C-Suite and beyond.
CD: We met through the National Black MBA Association’s Human Resource Committee. We both fully support social empowerment, corporate accountability, and personal responsibility. No Blame. No Shame. Just accountability and responsibility.
What message would you give around creating intentional change and being a better ally to both women and the underrepresented minority community at work?
JC: As an HR Professional, it is our job to ensure a company’s work environment encourages knowledge sharing equally. We run and measure the metrics so that our companies are held accountable against goals and initiatives set around diversity. We must look at the wins AND the gaps, circling back and evaluating if we hit the targets and guarantee our ongoing efforts have repeatability. We look at diverse recruitment sources we can utilize to recruit whether it is within our military or veterans organizations, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), our LGBTQ+ or differently able communities. Intentionality and budget are important when looking to attract diverse talent.
Positive incentives for managers to create and maintain well blended teams (bonuses) are one way to express the importance of diversity. To move the needle forward, we must also hold our highest levels of leadership accountable.
CD: One of my favorite role models in tech is Bozoma “Boz” Saint John because of her unapologetic leadership style, and her philosophy of always bringing your best self to work. Are there any corporate role models that you look up to?
JC: I’m a fan of those who are unafraid to say what’s needed to be said. Unapologetic leadership is often what is needed. I love to see leaders speak up when they see an injustice.
One of my favorite corporate role models is Carla Harris, an executive at Morgan Stanley. I met her and heard her speak at Executive Leadership Council events. She has always been an outspoken and very intentional advocate for promoting Black and other minority leaders.
Young people need to see diverse people in business doing wonderful things. There is something unique in all our life experiences. If we do not show up, speak up or do not bring our gifts to the table, then we do the world a huge disservice.
CD: Setbacks in life happen. I have faced my own fair share of barriers and challenges during my career. What advice would you give to others who are hoping to navigate and overcome challenging work situations? How can we learn to make lemonade out of lemons?
JC: I am a person of faith, which means I first pray about it. I often spend time reflecting, and then develop a plan to move forward. Reflect but do not get stuck. Get the lesson and then move forward.
It is also important to know when to ask for help. It is okay to change course. After reflecting, reach out with a solution, to avoid being seen as just a complainer. Share your ideas and make being a better communicator and collaborator your goals.
CD: What was it like when you first started your career? What kind of changes have you seen in the workplace during your rich career?
JC: We were using typewriters, fax machines and file cabinets. There are a lot of new tools and technologies that now exist like Google, ChatGPT, DocuSign, Zoom and Teams. When I look at my kid’s trajectory, it is so much easier to accomplish more, faster and with efficiency and ease. Technology has accelerated how effective we can be.
It is crucial to remember that all businesses are a people first. I take pride in getting to know the employees of any organization that I join. No matter how much our landscape has changed, we are all humans at the end of the day – people first!
CD: What advice would you give to that younger version of Joanne Courtney?
JC: I was a general business management major in undergraduate. My human resource class really sparked my passion, and I knew that was where I was supposed to be, but when I started looking for HR jobs, it was mostly HR assistant jobs that didn’t pay what I thought I deserved. It took me 12 years to finally get back to Human Resources. I would say to my younger self, “Just go for it, and do not worry about the money. Go where your passion lies.”
Favorite Quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Joanne Courtney is currently looking for her next career opportunity to be effective and continue her legacy. She lives in the New York/New Jersey area with her kitties. She is vegetarian and loves to travel, do Zumba workouts and jigsaw puzzles. She has a daughter and a son. Connect with Joanne Courtney on LinkedIn.
Chris Dao is an accomplished energy industry tech leader. He graduated in 2015 from the University of Texas at Austin and has worked as a software engineer with big names like Microsoft and Chevron. In his free time, he serves on engineering society leadership boards, like the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), and is passionate about shepherding women and minorities into the tech industry.
- Chris Daohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/chris-dao/
- Chris Daohttps://energiesmedia.com/author/chris-dao/
Oil and gas operations are commonly found in remote locations far from company headquarters. Now, it's possible to monitor pump operations, collate and analyze seismic data, and track employees around the world from almost anywhere. Whether employees are in the office or in the field, the internet and related applications enable a greater multidirectional flow of information – and control – than ever before.