The “time is now” for women to make their mark in the business world, riding the wave of artificial intelligence, Shell’s general manager of mobility and convenience UK Janine Albrecht told a group of executives last week.
Addressing the Women In Fuel at London’s Shell Centre on October 8, Albrecht told the group that women’s emotional intelligence/quotient is an important asset in bridging the gap between technology and humans.
Referring to a recent leadership course she attended, which talked about AI, Albrecht, said: “I could only think, wow, women are perfectly placed for this.”
She went on: “Because it’s a lot about EQ [emotional quotient], it’s a lot about relationships, it’s a lot about empathy, it’s a lot about connecting the dots, it’s about the bigger opportunity. This is our opportunity.”
Albrecht, who joined Shell 26 years ago from GlaxoSmithKline, encouraged women to act outside of their comfort zone, embracing their individual “superpower”.
She explained how when she first came to the UK from Colombia, with a law degree that was not valid in this country, she had to identify her other strengths.
She said: “I had an MBA and I thought, what can I sell. I have experience from a country that probably half of the population wouldn’t know where it is on the map. I have a law degree that actually is meaningless because we have a completely different legal system. But I have four languages and I have personality. And so I’m going to send letters and I’m going to get a job.”
As the host of the Women In Fuel’s inaugural meeting of more than 30 attendees, she said that she welcomed the formation of the group, set up earlier this year by Attenda’s senior relationship manager Naomi Short and MyAutomate’s sales director Clare Lafferty.
Representatives from leading forecourt operators such as Exelby Services and Tankerford, and suppliers including Madic, were among those at the event, which dovetailed the Forecourt Trader Awards taking place later that evening.
Albrecht said: ”This industry is full of great men. But it is also full of great women, and more of us.
“I think that we need to create these opportunities to connect and network and support each other because that is how we can actually increase that representation.”
But it also requires a change in mindset, she urged, pointing out that a woman would be put off applying for a job if she had eight of the required attributes, whereas a man would be confident to put himself forward with just four.
“I would suggest everybody should have a bit of courage,” she said, urging the audience to put their hand up to be seen at events. ”What is the worst thing that can happen?”
She added: “So I would say lean in, believe in yourselves, be courageous.”
An informal gathering of Women In Fuel is being organised to align with the APEA event taking place in Milton Keynes, on Thursday, November 12. If you would like to meet with other members then or to join the group, contact co-founders naomi.short@attenda.io and clare.lafferty@myautomatemobility.co.uk
