From the U.S., the United Kingdom, Norway and eventually back to Texas, native Houstonian Terri King of ConocoPhillips describes her career journey in the three following words: 鈥淎 wild ride.鈥�
鈥淚 started out wanting to be the best engineer that I could be,鈥� she said. After receiving her bachelor鈥檚 in chemical engineering from Trinity University, King became an engineer. Now, she is a commercial and supply chain leader who works by a specific code.
鈥淚鈥檓 listening for how I can support the success of the people that work for me,鈥� King said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not listening to intervene.鈥�
Early in her career, King found her way back home, becoming a Coog in University of Houston鈥檚 Master of Business Administration program and graduating with a finance degree after countless hours of night school.
鈥淚t was almost like a mini classroom within itself,鈥� she said, delighting in the backgrounds of her peers that allowed her to learn from the variety of their experiences.
When asked 鈥榳hy Houston?鈥� King attributes this to the unique vibrancy that the city contains.
鈥淚t is a very exciting mix of people. Not a lot of people that live in Houston were born in Houston, and it鈥檚 exciting to have a group of people who didn鈥檛 all have the same experiences throughout their life,鈥� King said. 鈥淗ouston 鈥� and the U.S. in general 鈥� possesses a one-of-a-kind environment that really encourages entrepreneurship. When it comes to the energy industry, you see more of an overall community in Houston.鈥�
Describing Houston as a place with the power to draw people through its promise of opportunity, King works as a member of the Energy Advisory Board to help make it a reality and touts UH鈥檚 鈥渙rientation to the future as built on the foundation of technical strength.鈥�
鈥淸Vice President of Energy and Innovation] Ramanan [Krishnamoorti] is bringing together students and staff with a broad set of backgrounds and recruiting professors who are multi-disciplinary,鈥� King said. 鈥淚t has a fantastic purpose and mission. UH listens so much and works with the advice [provided by the board] to see where it takes them. The way the committees work is very effective.鈥�
As someone working on the forefront of the energy transition, King is excited by the challenges that the transition currently faces. Areas like regulatory framework and infrastructure agreements due to a lack of what King termed as a 鈥渃entrally-planned economy鈥� present themselves as hurdles and puzzles. King advises students to look to these challenges as opportunities.
鈥淔or those considering work in the energy industry, you鈥檝e made a good choice by even considering it. Keep an open mind, come in and see what the work is all about,鈥� King said. 鈥淪tudents pursuing this career path will be working with very high [levels] of technology and innovation [to aid in the] responsible creation of energy. Sometimes people don鈥檛 think about the quality-of-life improvements that stem from this work.鈥�
With vast experience across the globe, King derives her continued passion from the ability to enable people to have their best career with no regrets. While transforming a struggling business, King undertakes many strategies, but the one strategy that she keeps constant may be particularly useful to any ambitious individual.
鈥淐reate within an organization, a dissatisfaction with the status quo,鈥� King said. 鈥淭o get from good to great you have to be really dissatisfied with good.鈥�