Movers and Shakers in Energy
It’s the first bud of the spring that gets noticed. It pokes its head out of the dirt, and blooms regardless of whether others around it are doing the same thing. This is true of women at the top of corporations as well. Often, they’re the only women at the table, and even as their numbers increase, they do so slowly, causing us to take notice of big appointments when they occur.
This week, Lynn Laverty Elsenhans was elected Chief Executive Officer and President of Sunoco Inc. Ms. Elsenhans is Sunoco’s first female CEO and President, following her tenure at Royal Dutch Shell, and replaces John Drosdick upon his retirement in August. Ms. Elsenhans holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Rice University, and an MBA from Harvard. Ms. Elsenhans will receive an initial salary of $1.24 million and a onetime grant of restricted share units equal in value to $5 million, the company said. According to the Wall Street Journal, this appointment increases the number of women at the head of Fortune 500 companies to 13.
And, earlier this month, Laura Buss Sayavedra succeeded Lon Mitchel as vice president and chief financial officer of Spectra Energy Partners. Savedra has a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University. She has been Spectra’s vice president of strategic development and analysis. Prior to joining Spectra, she worked with Duke Energy North America as senior director in the Duke Energy Global Markets team (international power, natural gas, petroleum derivatives and coal markets). In 2003, she became senior director, energy marketing, for Duke Energy North America and later vice president, operations & analytics.
Other top women to watch are:
Rachel Clingman became managing partner at the Houston office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP last year. She is the partner in charge of that office, and heads a national business litigation group, where she puts her experience in trial law to work for energy and environmental clients. Ms. Clingman has been recognized as one of the five top Women in Energy by EnergyLaw360 and has received national recognition including BTI Consulting group’s 2007 Client Service Award – an honor bestowed upon only 113 attorneys in the United States. Ms. Clingman was recently inducted into the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), an invitation-only international organization of civil trial lawyers and corporate and insurance executives. Ms. Clingman was president of the Women’s Energy Network in Houston and on the advisory board of the 2005 and 2006 World Oil Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy and Technology.
Karol Lyn Newman, a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C., has over 30 years of experience in energy law as well as a distinguished appellate record to her role as one of the country’s leading natural gas lawyers. She has been recognized and honored for her skills by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers. She’s been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America for the last two years, providing regulatory advice and counsel to her clients on FERC matters concerning regulated oil pipelines.
Erica A. Ward is a founder of Skadden Arps’s project finance and energy practice. Ms. Ward’s recent inclusion in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2007 and Best Lawyers in America for 2008 further lengthens a considerable list of publications recognizing her leadership in project finance law. Prior to joining the firm in 1981, she served on the White House Domestic Policy Staff as the Assistant Director in charge of Energy and Natural Resources and as a senior official in the United States Department of Energy. Since joining the firm, Ms. Ward has advised on a full range of transactions for industrial and financial participants in the energy industry.
