By Ash Patel – CDMP, Marketing Specialist, The Open Group
Recently we reached out to Juliana Araujo, IesBrazil, to discuss her role as the Newly Elected OMC Vendor Representative for The Open Group OSDU® Forum. Upon talking to Juliana, we discussed her role, career journey, her business philosophy, and much more.
Please can you tell us about your occupation, and what made you get into your line of work?
I joined IesBrazil Technology & Innovation team 6 years ago as a geophysics intern. Today I’m a Senior Data Analyst and provide OSDU Forum support and ensure that applications from our partners connect to OSDU platforms and projects successfully, such as IVAAP from INT and Bluware’s application. I’ve also been dedicated to understanding and testing the OSDU Data Platform since 2021, when we became members of the Forum, to ensure that our customers have maximum satisfaction when embarking on the OSDU journey. Although a large part of my day/work revolves around OSDU initiatives, I also provide user support for INT technologies, whether they are connected to OSDU applications or not, and ensure that users are able to manipulate data satisfactorily within the applications.
I’m a geophysicist by background, but how I ended up in geophysics was by chance. I grew up in a city in the interior of southern Brazil and my first college course was geography, in the city where I was born. I always saw myself as a person who likes big challenges, and I wasn’t completely happy.
During the geography course I had contact with geology, and I was enchanted. At the end of the course, I decided to abandon everything and do something that I was truly passionate about. At that time, the Brazilian government was implementing a unified testing system for entering college. In Brazil we don’t have many colleges that offer geology courses, so I started looking for alternatives and while searching for courses it was the first time I heard about geophysics. The course seemed very interesting to me, as it mixed geology with technology. So, I decided to apply for geophysics at a university in the extreme south of Brazil. The first year was not easy, as the city was much smaller than my hometown, and my dream was always to move to a bigger city, but what bothered me most at that time was that the course was focused on mining, and I wanted to work within oil & gas.
After the first year I transferred my course to the city of Niteroi, in Rio de Janeiro, and it was love at first sight, both for the course and for the city and after some internships I got a job at IesBrazil where I have been ever since.
Please can you tell us about your journey in becoming an Elected Member and serving on the OSDU Forum OMC Committee?
Since IesBrazil became a member of the OSDU Forum I have been working with the pre shipping team, as being a more technical person I wouldn’t have a better place to familiarize myself with OSDU projects and learn about it. Participating in the group expanded my horizons and gave me a solid foundation to grow. Even though the company is a small vendor, we are engaged in the events and promoting the group to our contacts in Brazil, the companies we represent were responsible for introducing us to this world (especially INT). When the vacancy for the OMC became available, I hesitated to apply, but I had support from a person I admire a lot and I decided to talk to my superiors. The first question that my boss, Carlos Belem, immediately asked me was whether I was up for the challenge. As a person who has always looked for challenges to grow, I accepted it immediately.
I knew that the first challenge would be to win the elections, as I knew that I would compete with people with more technical and market experience. But that never made me think about giving up, because in the end I would have gained the experience. None of this would be possible without the support and encouragement of my bosses Carlos Belem and Rodrigo Eiras, who believe in the OSDU Forum and in my potential. If I have dedicated so much time to the community, it is because they make it possible and show me the importance of collaborating with the community for everyone’s growth.
How important is collaboration to you?
Henry Ford once said that “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
We will only achieve success if we work together, as the community proposal is something big that aims to change the way we work, integrating ideas and services to make our work easier. Building something from scratch is never easy, and collaboration between the different members, with varied expertise, is essential to get us achieving the OSDU Forum objectives.
I can truly say that collaboration is the most important thing about the Forum, because when we joined the community my knowledge about the OSDU initiatives was superficial, and I wouldn’t have gotten where I am without the help of pre-shipping project members, for example. I am very grateful to everyone, especially Debasis Chatterjee and Kamlesh Todai who were my technical mentors from the beginning. Today it is my duty to pass on all my knowledge so that together we can grow and succeed.
What does the word ‘Community’ mean to you?
Community is a group of people united by common interests, who share desires, motivations and a common long-term purpose. The Community meaning defines the OSDU Forum, after all it was created for this purpose. As a community, we must ensure that all participants share their vision, and that there is an exchange of knowledge so that together we can achieve the proposed objectives. A community is closely linked to collaboration, only then we will be successful. We know that on paper everything is very beautiful, while reality involves many disagreements and problems. But in the end, it will be worth fighting to make everything work in the best possible way.
Are there any stories you would like to share that have shaped you professionally into the person you are today?
I know that I am a very fortunate person in many ways. But since I left my parents’ house to pursue my dream, things haven’t been very easy on several occasions. Most of the time I had to fend for myself, as the resources my parents had were extremely limited to help me outside the home. So, I have always been a person who has never had much problem asking for help and making myself available to help in whatever way I can, because life is a two-way street and everything you offer to the universe you receive back. So, I always tried to offer good things.
But a story that really impacted me and made me see the workplace in a different way happened in my first internship. At that time, I was going through serious personal problems and needed special medical assistance, but I didn’t have the money to pay for it. One day, my boss noticed that I wasn’t feeling well and called me to talk and find out what was going on. I was always advised not to share problems at work , but I knew that my boss was a very special person and a wonderful human being, so I decided to share everything I was experiencing at that moment. After a long conversation, she gave to me her doctor’s phone number and a blank check to pay. At first, I was shocked by her attitude and asked if she was sure about that. She said ‘yes’, and I thanked her and asked how I could pay her back. What she told me was that she didn’t want the money back, that she would like that in the same way she was helping me at that moment, I could help other people during my life. And she wasn’t just talking financially. Our work environment is extremely competitive, and during the rush of life we don’t pay attention to the people around us. She taught me that work goes beyond that, we share our daily lives with human beings who often need attention and care.
After that, I always make sure that the people who work with me feel like they are in a friendly and collaborative environment, where they can count on me to grow. In addition to always offering to help people who pass through my life in some way. I don’t know if I’m doing a good job, but I’ve been trying.
If you could develop a new type of technology, what would it be, and why?
Today, the industry is on the verge of a major transformation, and a fundamental part of this transformation is documentation, so that everything is understood and can be improved in the future. Nowadays, documentation depends on the human being who is doing it (even with some AI to help), and I believe that a tool that would speed up the way documentation is done and provide quality control of that documentation would be very beneficial, ensuring that the work done is not lost in the future.
What is a business philosophy or principle that you follow?
My business philosophy is to always offer the best I have. Business ends up taking up most of our lives, so it is extremely important that the business environment is pleasant. Being kind and helpful is something that I believe is fundamental to a good business relationship. And of course, above all this, honesty is fundamental for a relationship to grow on a solid foundation.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to work in your field?
Work on what gives you pleasure, as it will take up a large part of your life. For me, it is extremely important to get out of bed with motivation, and there is nothing better than a great passion to motivate us. Saying that the oil & gas area is difficult and competitive sounds shallow to me, as everything in life requires hard work to be successful. Nothing that comes easy stays in our lives for long. The advice I give is to research all the possibilities in the area and be prepared for everything to turn out the way you didn’t plan (does not mean it will be bad). But keep in mind that nothing is more rewarding than presenting your work to other people and feeling proud of it, that’s what really matters in the end. So, follow your heart and be prepared to work hard.
Ash Patel – CDMP, Marketing Specialist, joined The Open Group in 2020, initially working in the Certification Team as a Certification Services Agent, before moving into the Marketing Team where he now works on marketing collateral, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and co-hosting The Open Group, Open Comments Podcast. Ash holds a First-Class Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production (BA Hons) from Coventry University and has a background in content writing, copy writing, script writing, photo editing, and video editing. He is based in the UK.
