Panel 3 at Future Oil & Gas 2026 brought together transformation, operations and change leaders from LyondellBasell, Aker BP, CoOper8 AS, bp and Infosys to discuss how organisations can build a culture of readiness while protecting valuable institutional knowledge.
The discussion focused on the people behind digital transformation. Panellists explored why successful technology adoption depends on trust, leadership alignment, clear communication and early engagement. Rather than treating change as a launch plan or a communications exercise, the panel highlighted the importance of helping people understand the value of change, connect with the vision and feel empowered to shape the outcome.
A major theme was the pace of change. As AI, digital tools and new operating models continue to evolve, organisations can no longer rely on traditional training cycles or top-down adoption programmes alone. The panel discussed the need for continuous learning, curiosity and stronger collaboration between experienced professionals and younger, digitally fluent teams.
The conversation also examined institutional knowledge and the risks of losing tacit expertise as experienced people leave the workforce. While documents and data repositories can capture formal knowledge, the panel emphasised that judgement, experience and the ability to recognise when something feels wrong are harder to preserve. Reverse mentoring, mixed teams and protected time for knowledge transfer were highlighted as practical ways to bridge that gap.
The discussion closed by reinforcing that change only succeeds when it leads to different behaviours, measurable business value and stronger ways of working. Watch the full panel to hear practical insights on leadership, culture, data quality, knowledge retention and the human foundations required for successful digital transformation.
Speakers
Stephanie Goseine-Minderhoud, Senior Transformational Change Partner, LyondellBasell
Michelle Williams, Head of Business Transformation, Aker BP
Ashild Hanne Larsen, VP Operations & Maintenance, Secondment as CEO, CoOper8 AS & Equinor
Deborah Beattie, Business Change Lead, Transformation & Technology, (North Sea), bp
Tracey Pearce, Upstream Consulting Lead, Infosys
Moderator
Joanne Van de Velden, Global Continuous Improvement Manager, Shell
