LEADERSHIP CORNER
Tesoro president is big believer in diversity
Interviewed by David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Advertiser library photo • Feb. 8, 2003 |
Title: President
Company: Tesoro Hawaii Corp.
Age: 52
High School: Punahou
College: Bachelor's degree in sociology from Stanford University, master's in sociology from University of Chicago and law degree from University of Hawai'i.
Breakthrough job: As a corporate lawyer for Tesoro in the 1980s, she negotiated the real-estate purchases for many Tesoro stations in the state.
Q. How much discrimination did you encounter on your way to where you are now?
A. I remember once going to a conference and someone asking me whose wife or girlfriend I was. Then the person was very embarrassed that I was a conference participant as opposed to a spouse or significant other. I've worked for an oil company for 19 years. In time, as with many male-dominated fields of work, women have definitely proved to be able to succeed.
Q. Is it a lot easier for women today?
A. I think that now the culture still favors men but in much more subtle ways. Most women still have challenges. I think the glass ceiling is still there. Women and minorities still have a ways to go. It is certainly better than it was many years ago. When I tell my daughter that I could not have gone to Harvard as a woman — they didn't accept women in those days — she can't believe it. When I went to college I would say maybe 25 percent to a third of us were women. She would say, "What do you mean? Wasn't it always half women and half men?" No, it wasn't. Obviously things have changed greatly. But again, while now the colleges are half men and half women, still when you look at CEOs, a vast majority of CEOs are men. We'll get there, but until there are an equal number of CEOs that are men and women, there is still work to be done.
Q. What are the subtle ways that gender discrimination still exists?
A. There are still many more men than women, for instance, that play golf. There is a lot of business that's done on the golf course. Because they have family obligations, (women) tend not to have time to play golf. They tend to have more demands on their time and golf is a very time-consuming activity. I'm a nongolfer, so I'm aware that I put myself at a disadvantage in networking when I don't play golf.
I don't think anyone would say golfing is a male sport, and women are excluded from golf. That's just not true, but the reality of life is that it's normally mom that stays home and deals with kids much more so than dad. I don't think that men want to exclude women. The culture has not evolved enough so that there is true equality.
Q. You do a lot of hiring. Do you tend to hire people like you?
A. I feel very strongly that any business needs to have diversity. Diversity is beneficial because everyone has a valid point of view and everyone generally has a different point of view. The learning that's possible when you have a diverse point of view is so much greater than if you had 10 clones of yourself. I only know what I know, I don't know what I don't know. The biggest "ah-ha" moments come when somebody gives you insight into something that you never thought of.
It's important to have the give and take that comes from a diverse management group or a diverse workforce, especially when you are trying, like we are, to find the right answer for the consumer. The consumer is not just one person, so it is very helpful to have many different points of view. If you have just meat and potatoes in a stew it wouldn't be nearly as good as if you have carrots and cabbage and all that other stuff. It's a much richer result when you have a diverse group of people, and it's just so much more fun. You know sometimes you think what are they thinking, but the reason that you say that is you are on this track with blinders and that's not good. If there is just one road, you just go down it. That would be really sad.
I'm a big believer in diversity.
Q. With all the criticism of oil companies, charging too much and polluting the environment, do you ever have second thoughts about your career path?
A. No I don't, and the reason is I know that certainly our company has acted very responsibly with respect to the environment. I care passionately about this place. I think Hawai'i is the most beautiful place on earth. In that respect, I feel who better to be a steward of this business than someone who really cares about the Islands. For me, I understand that we are an industry that people love to hate and because I'm privileged to be in the position I am in, I know the steps that are being taken. I know how much money is being spent. I know how responsibly we act. Because I know it is not true, it doesn't bother me although it is definitely frustrating.
I feel more concern for the employees that work in the gas stations, or people that get asked all the time about the price of gas and it's hard for folks that work in this business to have this constant criticism when they know how responsible we are.
Q. Where do you think the price of gasoline is headed?
A. The price of gasoline is dependent on many things. First and foremost it depends on what your demand is or what your neighborhood is charging for gasoline. We have to be competitive. You don't price in a vacuum. It's like anything. How much do you pay for the components that make up whatever product it is? In our case that is crude oil and in the past few months the price of crude oil has doubled and the price of gasoline has certainly not doubled. You can see that there is a crunch there.
Q. Do you expect the gasoline price cap passed by the last Legislature (but which doesn't take effect until mid-2004) will ever take effect?
A: It's really hard to say. I think legislation gets passed for many reasons. On the merits, I don't think the gas cap is a prudent thing to do. It nevertheless got passed. It's hard to say what the Legislature will do.
Q. Where is business in Hawai'i going? Has having a governor who is seen as pro-business helped?
A. I'm always optimistic about business in Hawai'i. We have a good location. We have a lot to offer, dedicated, stable employee base, a desirable lifestyle.
Unfortunately because we are a little bit remote and we are relying on tourism, the events that have taken place in the world certainly will impact us. It makes it difficult for growth and to sustain our economic engine, and things like SARS don't help. It is really tough when your highways are the sky and people are reluctant to get into an airplane. We are in for a bit of a tough time, but we have been in tough times for a while. I think the people of Hawai'i are resilient. The new administration is trying its very best to help Hawai'i's economic engine to get chugging a little more vitally.
Q. What kind of car do you drive?
A. I drive a four-door sedan. I do not drive a gas-guzzling SUV, and there are no gas-guzzling SUVs in my family.
