When it comes to difficult issues, it doesn’t come much more difficult than defending your company against media allegations of complicity in human rights abuses and the covert use of mercenaries in Colombia. But this is what Roger Cartwright found himself coping with in his capacity as an external affairs manager for oil giant BP in the late Nineties.
Cartwright says: "This issue took several years of talking to non-governmental organisations, the media and politicians. It taught me that you have to be careful about managing the impact of your business. It also taught me how to listen to criticism and put aside my own prejudices and agendas."
Although the Colombian Attorney General’s own investigation into the affair found that the allegations were unfounded, there was a good deal of reputation management to be done, admits Cartwright.
Throughout a BP career spanning nearly 40 years, Cartwright enjoyed various jobs, from selling jet fuel and trading crude oil, to new market development, with spells in Greece, Japan and South Korea amongst other countries. His final BP role, as Regional Co-ordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean, involved liaising and talking with heads of state, governments and non-governmental organisations. He also devised and implemented a training programme for the Communications and External Affairs function in a company that has over 100,000 employees and operates in over 100 countries.
"I enjoyed the process of transferring knowledge," he says. "It is very rewarding helping people understand how things work and just how important handling external affairs is for the success of any company."
In 2005, he joined his old BP colleague Graham Barr at Sans Frontières, keen to bring his considerable experience to bear in a new setting.
A combination of commercial nous and diplomatic skill equips him well to advise clients in the energy sector, Cartwright believes; especially at a time when the implications of climate change are beginning to hit home throughout an energy-hungry world.
"My experience means that I can bring a detailed understanding of how a very large corporation works," he says. "They all have strengths and limitations. They have deep expertise but also areas where they can benefit from the experience of others to improve their business."
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