Keeping Magnolia in Bloom9 Aug 2017 07:59
Keeping Magnolia in Bloom
New chief executive Rita Whittington using lifelong Oil and Gas career to pilot way ahead!
Born and raised in Oklahoma, Rita is the newly appointed chief executive of
Magnolia Petroleum (MAGP) fell into the oil & gas industry when she was 17. More than 30 years later, she finds herself encouraging her children to go into the industry, because “it is hard work but it has been good to us”.
Growing up she says her choices of a higher education were somewhat limited.
“Where I grew up we had mostly technical schools, so after graduating high school, young people would go straight into a job. I went into a co-operative education class, where you would go to school until noon and then go to work in the afternoon. That’s how I landed my first job in oil and gas.”
Rita’s first steps towards her long-running career were made when she was hired as a trainee with Jack Kelly Oil in Oklahoma. It was here that Rita got to travel and train all over the USA.
“By the time Rita was 21 she was already a supervisor, so it was a great opportunity but it was not easy! After being there for about three months, Rita was ready to quit. She told her Father she just wanted to work for Kmart instead. But he said No you have a good career.
“There were some tough times for a while. Rita was the only woman hired as a lease records analyst, all the landmen were indeed MEN. But she learned as much as she could from them after that, each job that she took increased her experience and she was able to move up the ladder.
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