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With the intention of using her biomedical science education to go into healthcare consulting, Angie Gildea was pleasantly surprised to find herself loving working in the oil and gas industry. She began her career in Houston with a project within the energy sector and “has not looked back” since then.

Consulting for the energy sector, starting at Accenture and most recently at KPMG, has taken Gildea from onshore fields in Texas and New Mexico to the Alaskan North Slope. She said that exploring the onsite locations is one of the most exciting things about working in oil and gas.

“I love the complexity of the business and all the challenging problems to solve,” Gildea said. “Energy is a global business, and I love the opportunity to work with colleagues all over the world. But most of all, I love the people who work in energy. Early on, I spent much of my time out in the field, and I loved that aspect of the job.”

Working mother

“My biggest challenge has been that work-life balance as a working mom. When my daughter was born, I worked part-time for four years and was really grateful to have the flexibility. After my son was born, I was a single mom for several years with small children, so the pressure of supporting my family but also having to come home and do all the parenting was exhausting at times. Fortunately, I have worked for companies that have been incredibly supportive and have realized the value of diversity in their organizations. That resulted in confidence in me to ask for what I needed at various times in my career.”

U.S. energy lead for KPMG

“My most significant milestone is the role I currently have as the U.S. energy sector lead for KPMG. It is one of those roles where I feel truly fulfilled. In addition to serving as lead client partner for one of our most strategic energy clients, I also have the opportunity to take a long-term view of the industry as we work to define our company’s strategy and build industry depth within our team.”

Make everyone successful

“I have been incredibly fortunate to have learned from so many inspiring and wonderful individuals during my career … from the office managing partner who shared the importance of identifying your personal values and sticking to them to the younger ‘reverse mentors’ that are continually teaching me new perspectives. A mentor once told me, ‘Find people that you love, and work like crazy to make them successful.’ For me, this applies to internal co-workers as well as clients. What I love about this focus is that it tends to bring true fulfillment in my work. In business, the secret sauce is really about establishing long-term relationships.”