Petro-Canada executive not an “honourary man”

Kathy Sendall stands out as an example of where talent should take a career

Gina Teel

Vancouver Sun – Monday, October 06, 2008

Kathy Sendall is a shining example of where smarts, talent and hard work should take a career.

As Petro-Canada’s senior vice-president, North America natural gas, Sendall’s gender makes her somewhat of a rarity in the senior ranks of the energy patch.

A mechanical engineer who’s held a number of management positions since joining Petro-Canada in 1982, Sendall is a beacon in the fog for women with serious career advancement in mind.

Her successful climb up the corporate ladder in the male-dominated energy industry is an achievement in its own right—though Sendall said she’s not sure she’d single that out as separate and distinct from other career challenges she may have faced.

That she’s done it without suppressing her femininity or losing her sense of humour is quite another in the eyes of everyday working women slogging it out in the trenches.

With her well-known penchant for shoes and sunglasses, Sendall said she likes to be known for having a sense of style.

“Although I know that it has been very important for me to develop a style that men are comfortable with, I don’t want to be an honourary man,” Sendall recently told a sold-out crowd at the Women of Influence luncheon series.

Regarding the humour, she recently bought a doormat for her office that says, ‘The Witch is in,’ because she thought it was fun and it brought a smile to her face and that of others.

Sendall’s career success is only part of the reason why she’s won the admiration of legions of career women looking to get ahead. In 2006, she was the first woman to be named chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP); last year she was inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women, Top 100 Hall of Fame—just two of many accolades she’s garnered over the years.

In short, she’s done it all while having it all, including a 32-year marriage that produced two children, now grown, as well as an enviable record in community service.

“Among women leaders in Calgary, in the oil and gas industry, and in Canada, Kathy stands out as an example of what is possible,” said Esther Colwill, senior manager, consulting, Deloitte.

Possible, yes, but for many women, breaking through the barriers they encounter as they navigate their course to the top can be daunting. It’s a point Sendall touched on during her speech to a largely female audience of 350 at a Women of Influence luncheon.

“What I get paid to do at Petro-Canada may seem somewhat unique and non-traditional,” Sendall told the crowd. “There are a lot of engineers in the oil industry, there are certainly lots of executives, but not a lot of them, unfortunately, are, at this point in time, women.”

Sendall later said that in nearly every meeting she goes to, the executives in the oil industry are all men.

In fact, it’s a bit of a surprise to walk into a room and find another women there, she said, “because it’s not the norm.”