In 1995, 16 years after joining the legal department at Shell Oil Company, Cathy Lamboley found herself on a panel with the company’s top executives talking about the oil giant’s plans to increase its diversity. The discussion, she says, made her sit back and evaluate her role at the male-dominated oil major to that point. “A lot of my career had been spent just trying to fit in, get some job security, and develop relationships with the business people,” Lamboley says. “At that point, I realized that needed to change. That was a key turning point for me in becoming more vocal and visible on the issue of diversity.”
That issue was still fresh in Lamboley’s mind when she was promoted to general counsel in June 2000. Her appointment came after a three-year stint outside the legal department—as vice president of commercial marketing for Shell Oil Products—and made her the first female general counsel at a major oil company in the United States.
