NSBE - Fall 2012 - (Page 10)

Kola Fagbayi, Team Leader Reaching Management Potential at Shell By Siobhan Leftwich K ola Fagbayi has always been driven to implement change. As a child growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, the corrosion engineer recalls giving his father tips on improving his business. Fagbayi is a surveillance and technical team leader at Royal Dutch Shell, in Houston. Although his extended family includes engineers, engineering was not his first love. “In middle school, my parents pushed sciences,” he says, smiling. “I think they were attempting to position me for the future.” In his third year of studying materials and metallurgy engineering at the University of Lagos, an aunt visiting from the United States gave him a textbook, where he read how corrosion was costing the U.S. billions of dollars a year. My first thought was, ‘How can I capture 1 percent of $10 billion?’ ” he says. After he earned his bachelor’s degree, he “This is truly an engineer’s industry. Every day, we’re given the opportunity to innovate and contribute to society.” headed to the U.K. to attend the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), where he earned a master’s and Ph.D. in corrosion science and engineering. “Soon after completing my Ph.D., I got a call from a friend who had completed a Ph.D. at UMIST the year before,” Fagbayi recalls. “He was starting an oil and gas consultancy business, and he asked me to work with him. That’s how I moved to the U.S.A. My customer was Shell.” After 18 months as a consultant, he was hired full time. “My first five years were spent in research and development, honing my technical skills,” he says. “I worked on complex projects and made sure I delivered on them. Having positive influences and role models was pivotal and helped me progress in the company.” Fagbayi lives in Houston with his wife, Yinka, who is a chemical engineer at Shell, and their 10 • nsbe magazine • fall 2012 young sons, Wole and Deji. He says he has achieved success in his career by working hard to develop expertise in his skill base, learning the company culture, being self-aware and empathetic, and finding people willing to mentor him. “I quickly discovered that working hard and smart and being a people-oriented person would bode in my favor,” Fagbayi says. In 2006, his manager made him a team lead, and he learned that delivering results through others was challenging. In the same year, his manager convinced him to pursue a companysponsored executive M.B.A at Rice University. “I learned a lot at Rice,” he says. “I learned the difference between technical and business leadership. Being an engineer, I could never understand why business leaders made certain decisions. Now, I do.” Today, Fagbayi, a 10-year veteran of Shell, leads a team of 12 engineers. His role includes staff development, technical assurance and managing aspects of the organization’s business commitments. “There are nationals of the U.S.A., Venezuela, Nigeria, Ecuador and China on my team, each of whom brings a different perspective to the work we do,” says Fagbayi, 40. “I believe the product is better because of this. My goal is to make sure they’re motivated and to help them grow so they can enhance their contribution to the team and the company, and realize their potential.” For Fagbayi, working in the energy industry and working for Shell is an engineer’s dream. “The opportunities for students interested in engineering and sciences are enormous: Shell is always looking for talented mechanical, chemical, petroleum, electrical and materials engineers, to name a few,” he says. “This is truly an engineer’s industry. Every day, we’re given the opportunity to innovate and contribute to society.” ■ www.nsbe.org http://www.nsbe.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - Fall 2012

NSBE - Fall 2012
Contents
Lead by Example
Come Correct!
Kola Fagbayi of Shell
The Programs Zone
Veronica Davis Honored as White House ‘Champion’
A Catalyst for Change
NSBE and ExxonMobil Reward Retention ‘Impact’
Dr. Baratunde Cola Earns Presidential Research Award
Regional News
In the Lead
At the Vanguard
Staying Connected in Today’s Business World
Back to Indiana
NSBE Calendar
Seek 2012: An Experience Worth the Ride
The PDC Is Coming Soon, to Dallas!
The Professional’s Perspective
The Space SIG Lifts Off
CE Cover: Status:FALSE
Alumni Officers
Biggest and Best
What’s in a Name?
AE National and Regional Websites
Advertisers Index

NSBE - Fall 2012