We are inspired by people who are passionate about insurance and technology that solves pressing global challenges. In this interview series, our chief actuary, Sherry Huang, talks with friends of New Energy Risk whose work makes a difference, and whose journeys will inspire you, too.

I got to know Katie Mehnert and her company, ALLY Energy, early this year as NER was expanding our team. We decided to post our open positions on ALLY’s job search platform based on our shared values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). I was also introduced to ALLY’s new COO, Shanta Eaden, who had just joined ALLY with a background in DEI and operations. Inspired by ALLY’s mission to create an equitable energy transition, I set out to talk to Katie and Shanta about their vision for ALLY.

 

Katie, tell us about what inspired you to start ALLY Energy?

The idea to create an online community for women in energy was born seven years ago during a flight from London to Houston. I was a safety executive at BP and traveling back home when a fellow passenger asked: “What’s a pretty young lady like you doing in a dark, dangerous business like oil?” A light blub went off for me to fix this perception – both the perception of the oil and energy industry and the need to accelerate the progress for women. Pink Petro was launched a little over a year later on International Women’s Day in 2015. It was a socially charged name, but I wanted to shake the market. At the end of 2020, we worked on rebranding the company and launched ALLY Energy. ALLY represents a force for good and is inspired by my daughter Ally.

What is your vision for ALLY?

ALLY is an online community for the energy workforce, powering an equitable energy transition.

We are capturing the opportunity that combines a desire to connect in new, meaningful ways and the need for the entire energy industry to work together towards an equitable transition. The vision is to focus on the intersection of equity, environment, and emerging economy and energy transition.

The ALLY Council connects members of the energy industry with resources and best practices to provide a platform for dialogues and actions to address equity and inclusion. Our council members recognize we are in a multi-decade energy transition and need to develop the pipeline for top talent to stay competitive. ALLY’s ESG Council (with a corporate focus on environment, social, and governance issues) allows members to collaborate, share, and learn together on their most pressing ESG issues and celebrate wins. The ALLY platform also includes various awards, podcasts, and publications which promote successful and inspiring women leaders and trail-blazing companies in the industry. The goal is also to create a marketplace with high-quality and high-impact content, and help industry members make sense of the noise and focus on what’s helpful with proof points.

Shanta, tell us a bit more about how you get to where you are today and what are you most excited to achieve at ALLY?

I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and started my career in the banking industry with an operations focus. I moved to working at Weatherford, an oil and gas service company and started a project management office for a multimillion-dollar IT portfolio. At Weatherford, I also started and led a diversity and inclusion program and supported multiple employee resource groups, which is how I met Katie. Joining ALLY allows me to combine my passion in DEI and my strength and experience in technology and operations to jump on the train with the industry to push for a more equitable workplace and energy transition. I am most excited about learning what companies are looking for in terms of talent and DEI to enable the energy transition, and how we can best service them to enrich the journey.

Katie and Shanta, who is a mentor for you in your careers?

Katie: I have many great mentors and teachers. I am thankful to Sheryl Sandberg; the question she posed, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” struck a chord with me and started my journey to create ALLY Energy.

Shanta: My mom, who raised me and my three sisters with such grace. She was a lifetime educator. I look up to her and am thankful of all the values she instilled in me.

Shanta, what data are available on DEI in the energy workforce? Do you believe a more diverse workforce, and more diverse leadership in particular, will accelerate this transition, and how?

There are some standard statistics, such as the distribution of workforce by gender and ethnic background, but even these statistics can be hard to obtain especially with a global operation. For inclusion, other data to track could be retention rate or engagement level. Companies that make an early commitment to track these data will succeed in their DEI objectives. Studies have shown that diversity improves innovation, which improves profitability and enables the innovative energy transition. We need to have decision makers, especially those of majority groups, act on the findings of these studies. Representation matters; young employees early in the pipeline are more likely to grow with the company if they can identify themselves with someone in the leadership group. In 2021, companies cannot afford to ignore diversity and equity in building their human capital strategy.

Congratulations on ALLY’s recent acquisition of Clean Energy Social! Tell us about this acquisition.

Katie: The addition of Clean Energy Social expands ALLY’s platform to unite solar, wind, oil and gas, power and utilities, biofuels, hydrogen, carbon capture and other segments contributing to the energy transition. We can speed up decarbonization by centralizing resources into one digital experience.

Shanta: This acquisition doubles the size of our community and marks the opportunity to build insights into our product to ensure candidates are well-matched with a company. We are excited about the future of our roadmap and look forward to continued growth.

 

Thank you, Katie and Shanta, for this interview. We are inspired by your authenticity, and your passion and dedication to a more equitable energy workforce and energy transition.

 

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