Patti Wilkie on navigating the energy industry

Patti Wilkie is a principal at Deloitte Tax LLP (“Deloitte”) and focuses on global workforce solutions, where she leads the Data as a Service practice within Deloitte’s Global Employer Services practice. She has 23 years of experience helping companies optimize their global talent and mobility function. Although she has worked with clients across a number of industries, she has focused much of her career at Deloitte in the energy industry. Learn about her advice for women navigating the energy industry.

Embarking on a career in the energy industry

Patti has had a circuitous journey throughout her career in the energy industry. Originally from Georgia, after graduating from Florida State with a liberal arts degree, she began working in human resources at a large exploration and production company in North Texas.

However, in the past decade since moving to Houston, Patti has primarily focused on working with clients in the oil and gas sector to help them with some of their toughest issues. However big the challenge, Patti is up for it, as she shared that she is excited and energized by working with clients in this space.

Energy is what fuels our lifestyles, and it’s exciting to be a part of the innovation that drives this sector.

Global experience and representation

One of Patti’s career highlights was when she spent three years with Deloitte UK as a new manager. In her role selling technology solutions for clients to manage their global workforce, she got the opportunity to experience different cultures as well as expand her global network.

The three years that Patti spent working for Deloitte UK have helped shape her beliefs and were pivotal in her career journey. Patti believes it is important to bring diverse perspectives to light and to have representation from various individuals in the energy industry and today’s environment.

“Employees want to see representation across leadership,” she states. “We are seeing an increase in graduation rates among females, and this only helps shape the representation for women as managers, leaders, and in the boardroom. This is an exciting time for women!”

Women navigating the energy industry

Patti has had several mentors who have helped guide her throughout her energy career. Although she has been challenged along the way, she credits the contribution those experiences have made to landing in her current role as a principal.

“I can recall early in my career deciding this was the path I wanted to take, and having that come to fruition was very rewarding,” she says.

I do wish that I had learned earlier in my career to trust the process, as most of the time, it all works out and often better than you could have imagined.

Despite being a largely male-dominated field historically, Patti felt that her personal background gave her an edge while navigating the energy industry. She shared that she has experienced being the only woman in the room; however, she chose to shift the focus.

“I like to pivot to the reason why I’m in the room and the value I can add,” she says.

When asked what advice she would share with young professionals in the energy industry, she encourages them to expand their networks by getting involved with business-related groups as they can help with navigating through tough issues in the industry. She closed by expressing her optimism in the ever-evolving energy industry and the future outlook for women in the sector.

“We are seeing more women go into STEM, and we have a greater pipeline of talent that is going into the industry.”