Elena Daniela “Dana” Cojocariu is an award-winning Human Resources professional with two decades of experience, specializing in global talent management within the energy industry. In a career spanning oil and gas operations on multiple continents, she has consistently demonstrated expertise in HR management, identifying high-potential talent, strategically planning career paths for future leaders, and driving succession and talent placements that align with corporate goals.
Dana’s approach to talent development is both data-driven and people-centric. She has led structured reviews to ensure talent decisions are equitable and performance-based, and she has championed programs that foster engagement and retention across diverse geographies. Her commitment to advancing global careers without limitations of region or origin reflects her belief in inclusive growth and leadership development.
Throughout her career, Dana has successfully balanced business objectives with individual career aspirations, enabling O&G organizations to build resilient leadership pipelines while empowering employees to take ownership of their professional journeys. Her strategic vision, combined with hands-on experience in HR operations, makes her a trusted advisor and impactful leader in the energy sector.
In this interview, Dana discusses the evolution of talent mobility in oil and gas, the strategies behind building resilient leadership pipelines, and how data-driven processes can align career growth with business continuity on a global scale.
Ellen Warren: Dana, what led you to pursue a career in HR, and specifically focus your journey in the oil and gas industry?
DC: I began my career in Finance, but quickly realized that my passion was in supporting people and shaping organizational culture. Transitioning into HR allowed me to combine my analytical background with a people-first mindset. The O&G sector offered a unique opportunity to contribute to a global mission—delivering affordable and accessible energy through innovation—while building talent strategies that drive both individual and business success.
EW: You have worked across four continents in both operational and corporate HR roles and have led talent strategies in both mature and emerging markets. How have different cultural and business environments shaped your approach to global talent management? How do the challenges of talent retention differ in these environments?
DC: Working across diverse regions has taught me that one-size-fits-all doesn’t work in talent management. In mature markets, I focus on structured growth and recognition. In emerging markets, I emphasize capability building and inclusive leadership. Cultural agility and adaptability are essential to designing strategies that resonate locally while aligning globally.
EW: The Internal Talent Mobility Model you advocate moves beyond the traditional reactive hiring approach. Tell us about the evolution of this model. What prompted you to further develop it, and what was the turning point that convinced you this shift was essential for oil and gas companies?
DC: The model emerged from a need to move beyond reactive practices. I saw firsthand how delays and missed opportunities impacted both engagement and business continuity. By forecasting needs and aligning talent proactively, we’ve created a system that supports strategic growth and strengthens leadership pipelines. This evolution has been especially impactful for middle and general management roles, where timely internal mobility is essential for continuity, engagement, and leadership development.
EW: Staffing shortages and talent retention problems are threatening businesses across diverse industries, from healthcare and manufacturing to energy and more. In the high-stakes O&G industry, where operational continuity is critical, how do you anticipate and balance the organization’s business needs with your employees’ personal career aspirations?
DC: In O&G, where operational continuity is non-negotiable, balancing business needs with employees’ career aspirations requires a structured, forward-looking approach. We start by actively listening—through targeted campaigns and structured career discussions—to understand what employees aspire to in their careers. These insights are captured early, documented in our talent systems, and integrated into the workforce planning cycle, ensuring that individual goals are visible and thoughtfully considered well before roles even become available. This proactive alignment is supported by digital tools that help forecast vacancies and identify internal candidates who are ready or nearly ready for upcoming opportunities. In doing so, I manage to reduce timing mismatches, improve engagement, and ensure continuity in critical roles.
We also invest in development pathways that prepare employees for future roles, even if those roles are not immediately open. Ultimately, it’s about creating a system where talent mobility is not reactive, but strategic—one that supports both organizational resilience and individual growth.
EW: The Annual Priority Moves Planning Process that you implemented has reduced time-to-fill for key roles by 50%. What were the biggest hurdles in achieving that efficiency? What can you share to help other O&G companies learn from your experience to achieve similar results?
DC: Achieving a 50% reduction in time-to-fill for key roles was a significant milestone—but it didn’t come without challenges. The first major hurdle was stakeholder alignment. In a global, matrixed organization, getting HR, business leaders, and regional teams to commit to a shared, proactive talent strategy required deliberate engagement. I had to shift mindsets from reactive backfilling to forward-looking workforce planning. This meant building trust in the process and demonstrating how early visibility into talent needs could improve both speed and quality of placements.
The second challenge was institutionalizing the process. To make it sustainable, I embedded the planning cycle into the company’s broader business planning rhythm—typically in Q4. This ensured that talent discussions were not isolated HR activities but integrated into operational decision-making. It also helped secure leadership buy-in by showing how the process supported continuity and readiness in critical roles.
For other O&G companies looking to replicate this success, my advice is to treat internal mobility as a strategic capability, not an administrative task. Start by creating transparency around career aspirations and readiness, then use that data to anticipate vacancies and match talent early. Align the process with business cycles, and ensure leaders are accountable for participating—not just approving. When done right, this approach reduces time-to-fill and shores up engagement, retention, and leadership pipelines.
EW: Career Discussions and Career Growth Workshops are critical components in your Annual Priority Moves Planning Process—and in fact your innovative workshops were recognized with a very prestigious award at your company. Can you tell us about these programs, and how they contribute to your process improvement?
DC: Career Discussions and Career Growth Workshops are foundational to our Annual Priority Moves Planning Process. A career discussion is a structured dialogue between an employee and their manager or HR partner, designed to help individuals reflect on where they are in their career, where they want to go, and what steps or experiences they need to get there. Career discussions are a strategic tool used ahead of the Annual Priority Moves Planning Process to ensure that employees update their next-role preferences in the HR system and that their aspirations are visible to decision-makers. Documenting these discussions helps maintain continuity across leadership transitions and enables HR and business leaders to plan internal moves that are both meaningful and aligned with individual career paths.
Career Growth Workshops empower employees to take ownership of their development. Through interactive sessions, participants identify the skills, experiences, and exposures needed to reach their aspirational roles and explore job opportunities that support that growth, and then can update their career profiles in the HR system. This ensures that up-to-date information flows into the Annual Priority Moves Planning exercise, allowing HR and business leaders to better match employee aspirations with upcoming vacancies—even before roles officially open.
Together, these programs have elevated the quality of career planning and improved leadership visibility, which is especially critical for middle and general management roles.
EW: Integrating digital tools like the Talent Movements App and a customized dashboard has also been central to your mobility model. What role does technology now play in shaping HR strategies for the energy sector? How are you utilizing data analytics in talent change management?
DC: Technology now plays a foundational role in shaping HR strategies across the energy sector, especially in talent mobility and change management. By integrating platforms like the Talent Movements App and a customized dashboard, we’ve transformed internal mobility from a reactive process into a strategic capability. These tools allow HR and business leaders to proactively manage movement plans, tag internal candidates based on readiness, and automate workflows—from candidate selection to offer generation and notifications—which reduces administrative burden and accelerates decision-making.
The dashboard complements this by offering real-time visibility into key metrics such as succession coverage, diversity representation, and participation in career discussions. It enables us to monitor pipeline strength, identify gaps, and track progress against strategic goals. Data analytics is central to this approach. We use it to forecast vacancies, match talent early, and assess engagement and attrition trends. This allows us to make informed, timely decisions that align with both business needs and individual aspirations. Technology empowers us to be more predictive, inclusive, and responsive—ensuring that talent strategies are efficient and future-ready.
EW: Your role requires you to have technical fluency in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs, so you can translate business and process requirements into systems into functional architecture concepts and collaborate with IT teams. Given the acceleration of digital tools, how important is an understanding of technology to an HR management role, and how did you develop your technology knowledge base?
DC: Understanding technology is no longer optional in HR—it’s essential. In today’s digital-first environment, especially within the energy sector, HR leaders must be able to bridge the gap between business needs and system capabilities to drive efficiency, agility, and strategic impact. My foundation in Business Administration with a major in IT gave me early exposure to enterprise systems and process automation. This background helped me develop the ability to translate business and HR requirements into functional system architecture—an essential skill when collaborating with IT teams on ERP platforms and digital tools.
As digital transformation accelerated, I continued to build on that foundation through hands-on experience and continuous learning. I’ve stayed current with trends in AI, machine learning, and HR tech by engaging in tailored learning pathways and cross-functional projects. This has enabled me to lead the integration of tools like the Talent Movements App and analytics dashboards, which have transformed internal mobility into a strategic, data-driven capability. In short, technical fluency allows HR to move from being a support function to a strategic partner that can design scalable solutions, improve decision-making, and deliver measurable business value.
EW: Your career spans both downturns and periods of rapid growth in oil and gas. How do you maintain talent engagement and retention during market volatility? Are you now applying any strategies that you learned during the downturns?
DC: Navigating the cyclical nature of the O&G industry has reinforced the need for agile, people-centered strategies to sustain engagement and retain top talent through changing market conditions. During downturns, our priority has been to preserve critical capabilities while managing cost pressures. We implemented furlough programs and partially paid leaves of absence to retain key employees—allowing them to stay connected to the organization while easing financial strain. These measures helped us maintain continuity and demonstrate long-term commitment to our workforce.
In parallel, I led my team of Talent Managers in strategically leveraging our internal mobility model. This included repatriating top talent to their home countries when appropriate, redeploying skilled individuals into business areas with ongoing demand, and ranking talent based on expertise, readiness, performance, and potential. These actions ensured that our most valuable experts were retained and positioned where they could have the greatest impact—preserving institutional knowledge and reinforcing a culture of adaptability and resilience.
In growth periods, I shift focus toward intentional development and advancement. Through our Annual Priority Moves Planning process, we proactively align talent with future roles—often before vacancies are posted. High-potential individuals are offered stretch assignments, targeted learning, and exposure to strategic projects to accelerate their readiness and reinforce their value.
Across both cycles, data-driven decision-making is central. I used predictive analytics, engagement surveys, and sentiment analysis to anticipate risks and tailor our actions. By continuously updating career aspirations and integrating them into our planning process, we ensure that talent is aligned with evolving business needs. This integrated, tech-enabled approach has been instrumental in sustaining engagement, reducing attrition, and building resilient leadership pipelines—regardless of market conditions.
EW: Diversity and inclusion goals are embedded into your mobility process. How do you ensure representation is not just a metric, but a driver of leadership quality?
DC: We don’t treat diversity as a metric—it’s a mindset. Every placement considers representation and team dynamics. By embedding inclusion into our planning and decision-making, we build stronger, more innovative teams that reflect the global nature of our business.
Leadership accountability is also central to our approach. I engage leaders in regular reviews of diversity progress and ensure they are actively involved in building inclusive teams. This commitment helps create an environment where varied perspectives are not only welcomed but leveraged—driving better decisions, stronger collaboration, and more resilient leadership pipelines.
This inclusive approach has been recognized at the highest levels of the organization. The programs I’ve led—including our Career Growth Workshops—have received prestigious internal awards for their impact on elevating career planning, improving leadership visibility, and embedding diversity into every stage of the talent lifecycle.
EW: You are responsible for talent at various levels and in various functional roles within oil and gas operations. Some of these positions require specific technical skills, others require strong leadership abilities, many require both. How do you train and prepare talent with this range of capabilities, so they are ready to fill the right vacancy at the right time?
DC: Preparing talent across a diverse range of roles in O&G calls for a structured, multi-dimensional development strategy. This begins with clearly defining the capabilities required at each role and level, followed by designing tailored learning paths that cover technical, functional, and leadership development.
For technical and operational roles, we deliver hands-on training through learning centers, simulations, and partnerships with universities—ensuring our workforce remains current with evolving technologies, including sustainability and energy transition topics. For leadership roles, we implement tiered programs that build strategic thinking, people management, and business acumen. These are reinforced through real-world exposure, such as stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, and rotations that develop agility and decision-making under pressure. We apply a blended learning approach—combining virtual modules, classroom sessions, and on-the-job experiences—to accommodate diverse learning styles and operational realities.
By integrating learning with career planning and business strategy, I contribute to equipping talent at every level to step confidently into the right role at the right time—supporting both operational continuity and long-term growth.
EW: You have led strategic HR and talent management through complex mergers and acquisitions, as well as divestitures in O&G. Does M&A require a different approach? And how do you drive talent engagement and retention, especially when critical roles are at risk?
DC: Mergers and acquisitions in oil and gas are frequent and transformative. I’ve led HR integration with a focus on aligning employment terms, benefits, and structures to ensure clarity and compliance across entities. My approach centers on talent—identifying and retaining key individuals through succession planning, mobility, and job leveling. I’ve implemented targeted retention strategies, coached leaders through change, and aligned career paths with evolving business needs. These practices are now embedded in global HR operations, driving smooth transitions, leadership development, and long-term workforce .
Divestitures require a strategic, people-first approach. I prioritize early engagement and transparent communication to build trust and clarify the vision for the divested entity. Retention schemes are milestone-based—focused on knowledge transfer, stability, and leadership continuity—with incentives tied to success. Today’s talent values purpose, growth, and wellbeing, so I embed these into transition strategies to build resilient teams.
EW: Looking ahead, what emerging trends in workforce planning do you believe will most impact leadership development in oil and gas over the next decade?
DC: I see several emerging trends in workforce planning that will significantly influence leadership development. These include AI-driven decision-making, continuous and personalized development, a focus on cross-functional and global mobility, sustainability and energy transition readiness, inclusive and adaptive leadership that values emotional intelligence and cultural fluency, and strategic talent planning that uses people analytics and scenario modeling to align leadership pipelines with evolving business needs.
EW: Based on your nearly 20 years working in O&G, what is your guidance to operators about how to ensure talent and drive sustainability and build leadership pipelines?
DC: I recommend that operators focus on making talent strategy core to business strategy. This means treating talent as a long-term investment, not a short-term fix. Align workforce planning with business goals, and ensure leadership development is continuous, data-informed, and embedded in everyday operations.
I also believe it is critical to promote cross-functional skills and global mobility. Encourage movement across roles, functions, and geographies to build adaptable, well-rounded leaders. This strengthens leadership pipelines while fostering innovation and collaboration. It is also important to integrate sustainability into leadership by equipping leaders to manage both legacy operations and the energy transition. Sustainability should be a core leadership competency—embedded in decision-making, performance metrics, and development programs.
These initiatives can all be enhanced by using AI and workforce analytics to identify skill gaps, personalize development, and support proactive succession planning. Leveraging technology appropriately can ensure that the right people are in the right roles at the right time—and continuous learning programs that build leadership readiness will ensure that those people are ready to fill roles as they arise.
Finally, I believe it is important to foster inclusive, purpose-driven cultures. I work to create environments where people feel valued, heard, and empowered. Inclusion, recognition, and a clear sense of purpose are essential to attract and retain top talent—especially from younger generations.
Headline image: Dana Cojocariu discusses how her company prioritizes talent for career moves and explains the importance of using internal digital HR tools to update job preferences and mobility status.
Ellen F. Warren writes about industry leaders and trends in various sectors, including energy, fintech, IT innovation, healthcare, business, logistics, supply chain, commercial real estate, and entrepreneurship.As a former Independent Director, she served for more than a decade on the Boards of multiple E&P companies in the oil and gas industry.
