Top 10: Women in Energy

Women account for just 16% of the traditional energy sector globally, according to FDM Group.

But with the pressure to combat climate change comes the opportunity to shift current ratios in favour of gender equality. 

It’s predicted that this will create 139 million new jobs in the energy sector worldwide — 38.2 million in renewable energy specifically — with hopes that gender diversity will come about as the industry works to plug the skills gap.

Inspired by Sustainablity Magazine’s Top 250 Women in Sustainabilty — and off the back of Women’s History Month, celebrated each March — we showcase 10 of the world’s leading female energy execs, shining a spotlight on women who are taking the industry by storm.

10. Charlotte Wolff-Bye, Chief Sustainability Officer, PETRONAS

Charlotte is transforming the PETRONAS’ net zero aspirations into actionable strategies. Before joining the Malaysian multinational, Charlotte developed Equinor’s first sustainability strategy, laying the foundation for its low-carbon focus. She also sits on the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre board. Her expertise in sustainability, climate change and corporate responsibility spans multiple industries outside of energy, including telecommunications and steel. She leverages this experience as a prominent speaker at industry events, where she inspires ways of advancing the energy transition.

9. Lisa Malmquist Ekstrand, Head of Sustainability, Vestas

Lisa spearheads Vestas’ sustainability initiatives, including the company’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2030 without using carbon offsets. Under her leadership, Vestas has set industry-leading targets for reducing CO₂ emissions and waste in its operations and supply chain. Lisa’s work is transforming how the wind energy industry approaches sustainability and circularity. Before joining Vestas, Lisa worked for the European Parliament, as well as Wind Europe, the Norwegian Wind Energy Association and the Swedish Wind Energy Association.

With more than 25 years of experience in energy, Catherine has dedicated her whole career to the energy industry. She has held leadership positions across the likes of Schlumberger, now SLB, and TechnipFMC. Now, at ENGIE, Catherine is pushing toward ambitious sustainability goals, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045 across all scopes. Part of this drive are impressive investments in renewable energy, targeting 80GW of capacity by 2030. Outside of ENGIE, Catherine serves on Microsoft’s board and is actively involved in the World Economic Forum.

7. Vicki Hollub, President and CEO, Occidental Petroleum

Vicki has led Oxy for nine years, becoming the first woman to head a major American oil company when she assumed the role. Boasting a 40-year career at Oxy, she has held various management and technical roles across three continents, including the US, Russia and Venezuela. Based in Houston, she contributes to the energy sector through board memberships with the American Petroleum Institute and Lockheed Martin, and chairs the World Economic Forum’s Oil and Gas Community.

6. Katherine Neebe, Chief Communications Officer & SVP, Duke Energy

Katherine has recently become CCO and SVP after heading up Duke's ambitious goal to reach net zero by 2050 as Chief Sustainability Officer. She has more than two decades of experience in sustainability, including roles at WWF and Walmart — experience she brings to Duke. After overseeing stakeholder engagement, policy development and the Duke Energy Foundation’s US$30m annual philanthropic efforts, Katherine now plays an essential role in shaping the future of Duke’s internal and external communications as CCO.

5. Kate Thomson, Group Chief Financial Officer, bp

With more than two decades at bp behind her, Kate has worked in a multitude of financial roles. Her deep understanding of bp’s operations, combined with her expertise in finance and the energy sector, positions her as a key figure in driving bp’s strategy and financial performance. Kate also serves as a director of Aker BP and is the executive sponsor of the bp working families business resource group for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

4. Kim Greene, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia Power

With more than 30 years of experience, Kim has held executive roles at Southern Company, Southern Company Gas and Tennessee Valley Authority. She is recognised industry-wide for her expertise in safety, emerging technologies and innovation. The majority of her career has been spent at Southern Company and its subsidiaries, taking a variety of diverse and challenging roles in her stride. In her current role, Kim leads Georgia Power in serving its 2.7 million customers state-wide. The company is Southern’s largest subsidiary.

3. Jessica Uhl, President, GE Vernova

With 25 years of experience and a career across Shell, Enron and GE Vernova’s predecessor GE, Jessica is now President of GE Vernova. At Shell, Jessica was CFO and drove the company’s net zero strategy. Joining GE Vernova at its inception in 2024, Jessica oversees technology, innovation and growth in the businesses, focusing on electrification and decarbonisation. Outside of GE Vernova, Jessica sits on the board of RMI and Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.

2. Rebecca Kujawa, President and Chief Executive Officer, NextEra Energy Resources

President and CEO of the world’s largest renewable energy generator, Rebecca’s experience in the energy sector — and at NextEra — stretches back to 2007. She drives the clean energy transition at NextEra through strategic investments in wind, solar and battery storage. She oversees potential investments exceeding US$20bn in hydrogen projects and manages about 24,600MW of generating capacity across North America. She also serves on the board of directors for Nuclear Electric Insurance.

1. Sinead Gorman, Chief Financial Officer, Shell

Sinead has worked for Shell for more than 25 years. She has held both finance leadership roles, bringing a unique blend of engineering and financial expertise to her role. Her leadership is instrumental in Shell’s efforts to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030 and invest between US$10bn and US$15bn in low-carbon energy solutions by this year, driving the company’s transition to a net zero emissions energy business. Sinead’s Shell tenure spans a wide range of businesses, meaning she possesses a breadth of experience in trading, new business development and capital projects.

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.

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