As a petroleum engineer from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, I was always fascinated by the oil and gas upstream industry and working on rigs was my biggest passion during my university days. I took up a field job with Baker Hughes, an oil and gas service provider and started to go to the rigs in the North Sea, China, and then followed the several rig visits to various oil and gas majors in India. During my days off, I used to visit the office to learn more about how tenders are done and what the commercial aspect of every job looks like. This gave me a lot of confidence to take on the operations manager role for India as soon as I had the field experience to back my commercial acumen. This was the starting point for me to take on leadership positions.

"Be you. Be passionate about whatever you do. Remain curious and be open to learning at any given point in time. In short, stay limitless"

Tell us about the different responsibilities you shoulder as the Director for Weatherford.

I lead the Service Excellence for Field Operations Support, while my primary focus is on Standardization and Simplification efforts within our field operations to improve efficiency through process effectiveness and flawless execution.

Throw some light on the most critical challenges you encounter in your current role. How do you overcome the roadblocks that you face?

Standardizing the key value chain across multiple product portfolios on operational execution. The only way to overcome this is through constant communication and engagement. The more standard and simpler the execution process, the workflow better and better is the quality-of-service excellence to clients. Consistent operational methodology adoption isn’t easy given the nature of the oil and gas service business. The only way to navigate through periodic workshops and breakout sessions with multi-disciplinary teams.

"One of the biggest success mantra to achieving success is to hold thorough understanding of the specialization and manage internal/external relationships"

Tell us about the top three milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey. What has been your success mantra as a business leader?

Well, there are numerous. The first was when I accepted the challenge to take up the Operations Manager role and run a $60MM business for India within four years of experience. This didn’t come easy as there were too many eyes in doubt about the performance and outcome. Second, was when for the first time in the world, I designed and executed a unique system configuration for a national oil company in Kuwait. Coordination with several departments within the organization to execute was a milestone in itself. Lastly, after more than 13 years of being on the technical side of the business and managing Profit & Loss, took up the opportunity in Service Excellence and implemented operational standards that significantly drove standardization and flawless execution.

Well, one of the biggest success mantra to achieving success is to hold a thorough understanding of the specialization and manage internal/external relationships.

What is your take on the current state of women’s representation in the workforce and top leadership roles in the Dubai business landscape? How do you foresee the scenario evolving going forward?

The participation of women in the UAE government is amongst the highest in the world, reflecting the UAE’s strong commitment to empowering women. There is no doubt that women leaders bring a fresh perspective and invaluable insights to leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. Private sectors, especially in the Oil and Gas domain still don’t have a big women representation in leadership positions but I see there is a constant drive and an interest on this front and companies are working towards it. I see this on an upward trend as we move forward.

Sudharshana Jagannathan, Director, Weatherford

Sudharshana is an Oil & Gas professional with wide international experience across Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Russia Caspian and Western Hemisphere in production segment. She holds Technology specialization in Electrical Submersible Pump and Gas Lift Systems, and is also skilled in P&L, Balance Sheet Management & bid preparation, and Field Operations Service Delivery.

Awards of Recognitions won so far-

•  Nominated by President for N+10 relay in Austin, Texas- One of the hundred participants across the globe to be nominated

• Won the rising star award in 2019 for developing a product portfolio from zero to a sizeable scale.

• Weatherford Leadership development program- 2019 in Texas A&M, Austin

• Women of Weatherford – active participation and engagement to inspire women within the organization.