On November 5th, bp teamed up with Volvo Cars to discuss how to unleash the power of female future leaders.
Simon Yang, bp China President, opened the afternoon with a warm video welcome. Yang has always been a key supporter of not only the Women Empowerment Council, but also gender equality initiatives at bp as the executive sponsor for DE&I in the Asia Pacific. Diane Ho, the Women Empowerment Council’s Head of Shanghai, also welcomed the audience and highlighted that bp has been a part of the Women Empowerment Council’s journey early on as one of the founding members.
Helen Hu, Deputy CEO and Head of Legal at Volvo Cars Asia Pacific, was first to share and her main advice to young female professionals is to take chances. Hu admits that she considers herself a very conservative person, but through her personal experiences, she learned that it is vital to stay flexible and keep an open mind. In life there will be many obstacles, and each one will prompt us to make important decisions. In these moments, Hu encourages us to take a risk.
Wu Yue, Gas President bp China, gave the audience 5 tips: stay determined, provide value, differentiate yourself, be confident, and maintain balance. These takeaways are the product of Wu’s 17 years at bp in 7 different positions. With such rich experience at bp, Wu is well positioned to pass on her learnings to the next generation and reminded the audience that there are always more solutions than there are problems.
Hu and Wu are both great role models and have very different leadership styles, highlighting the diversity in leadership. Joining for the Q&A, male ally Andrew Guo, Vice President of bp China Regions, Cities & Solutions, compared the importance of diversity to five fingers on a hand—if they were all the same size or if there was one more or one less, it wouldn’t be perfect. When the topic of feminine versus masculine leaning leadership was raised, all speakers agreed that leadership has no gender and you should just be yourself. While both male and female leaders are vital to a diverse and healthy company, leadership skills are not solely defined by gender.
During the final portion of the afternoon, representatives from bp, Volvo Cars, and the Women Empowerment Council participated in a Lightning Sharing session about their “Exciting Firsts.” To start the Lightning Sharing, Baozheng Wang, bp Castrol APAC Strategic Cooperation General Manager, shared about the first time he held his child, which meaningfully demonstrated the equal role that fathers play in parenthood.
All of the speaker’s stories echoed points mentioned earlier in the day regarding overcoming obstacles, believing in yourself, and empowering women.
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