Meet Pam, venture executive, ExxonMobil
“I’ve always liked to solve complex problems.”
Pam’s been solving problems, large and small, for decades. Now she’s working on one of the world’s most complex.
“What can be more complex than the greenhouse gas issues that we’re facing today?”
Pam works to make materials that can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower environmental impacts.
“One of the ways that we’re helping solve that problem is by producing polymers [plastics] that are lightweight and strong and durable. They have the flexibility to go into many applications.”
An example: our cars and trucks.
“There are over 100 million cars on the roads in America today. We’re creating products that help make them more fuel efficient. We make polymers that go into car parts to make them lighter and more durable and flexible compared to what they used to be made out of.”
“This helps improve your fuel efficiency or your battery life if you drive an electric vehicle, paving the way towards a more sustainable future.”
Our cars and trucks. Our washing machines. Our dishwashers. Carpeting. Reusable packaging. Just some of uses for the efficient, durable materials made by America’s plastic makers Pam’s company. As a venture executive at ExxonMobil, she’s helping one the largest companies in the world solve one of the largest problems in the world.
Meet Pam. One of America’s Change Makers.
“Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work on hundreds of different projects.”
In addition to working to improve the sustainability of products used every day, Pam recently worked on a project that focuses on another important issue: What do we do with materials after they’ve reached their end of life?
“We’re doing some really interesting things when it comes to finding sustainable solutions. One of the exciting projects I’ve worked on recently was advanced recycling. We’re taking post-consumer hard to recycle plastic, and we break them down into basic building blocks, back to the molecular level, and then we can produce a new, circular new polymer.”
“That polymer then can go into a variety of consumer applications, as a certified circular plastic product – whether it be for car parts, food containers or artificial turf.”
As much as she’s learned, she never stops learning.
“The education that I received through high school, college and even in the workplace has really helped me learn and understand how to solve problems that exist on a global scale. Our opportunity in the polymer space is to find solutions that are more sustainable. So if that’s making a polymer more lightweight or making it more rigid or stronger, those are the sorts of solutions that we can lean into.”
“We’re finding ways so the material is more sustainable, and that is something that’s going to have a positive impact on society.”
And now she’s helping launch a new generation of problem solvers.
“I’m inspired every day, seeing the incredible talent that we have within our company. So, I like to spend a lot of time with our young professionals, providing feedback and guidance, sharing my experiences. I find that being open and letting people know where you’ve been can help them have a smoother journey, help them with the things that I’ve gone through in my career.”
“I didn’t become a mentor because I was told to or because it’s required. I did it because I love to help people.”
She’s proud of the work that she, her company and the industry are doing in the sustainability space.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to make a difference. I wish that more people understood the value that different plastics can bring to the sustainability solutions the world needs.”
We wish Pam continued success.