Rajesh joined the Canadian oil and gas industry in 2013 after completing a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta, working in the midstream sector on pipeline safety and leak detection systems. After four years in the industry, he left oil and gas and transitioned into climate work, including emissions consulting and carbon market projects, before recognising the limitations of these approaches. He is now based in Bengaluru, India, where he runs Climate Rubik, an online climate knowledge platform focused on energy systems, climate justice and critical perspectives on the energy transition. Here is Rajesh’s story.

Jo started out in the oil industry in 2004, enjoying the work, community and career prospects. Over time, unresolved cultural issues and growing concern about the industry’s role in the climate crisis made her question whether she belonged there. A redundancy offer clarified that she needed to leave and find work aligned with her values.

Guy moved from fossil fuels to climate solutions as he realised that the underlying motivations of the fossil fuel industry were in conflict with his personal values. “Despite career momentum and financial security, I experienced growing cognitive dissonance”, Guy recalls. “Whilst the fossil fuel sector shaped my career, (...) we are not passive actors but creators of alternatives”. “For others in fossil fuels feeling dissonance: you are not alone.”

After nearly eleven years at BP, Jackie built a career across major fossil fuel projects and later low-carbon and New Energy teams. Eventually Jackie chose to step away in order to work more directly on climate solutions after she felt the limits of trying to drive change from within a major oil and gas company. Today, she applies her project delivery experience to industrial decarbonisation at Carbon Direct, supporting organisations and technologies working toward credible net-zero outcomes. Read Jackie’s story here.

Arjan joined Shell in 2018 and left seven years later. He has since co-founded a new climate movement “Employees for our Future”, catering for professionals who want to see more urgency for the transition, but are not necessarily idealistic/activistic (i.e., who understand the reality of shareholder value and geopolitics). He has two daughters, is a former fan of Formula 1 and cycling, but now mostly racing against the clock of climate change.

Alex worked in oil and gas from 2004 to 2021 when he left Woodside, with a few years outside the sector along the way. Today, he is an analyst with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), focusing on corporate accountability in Europe. He enjoys working from home for a global, climate-focused organisation and spends much of his free time trail running. Read Alex’s story here.

John Carley studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Leeds and worked for BP during this time, it was this early experience which taught him the negative influence that fossil fuels have on the environment. He stepped away from a conventional career in oil and instead moved to Cornwall to build a life and business within the organic food movement. Now stepping back from day-to-day operations, he focuses on climate justice, community energy and supporting Cornwall’s transition to a zero-carbon future. Read John's story here.

Ben Duckworth is Chief Executive Officer of Heat Engineer Software and a long-standing leader in the UK fuel sector. Having started his career in fuel distribution in 2010 after completing his studies at the University of Chester and the University of Liverpool, he spent more than a decade helping to build and scale fuel businesses nationally, including Craggs Energy, LCM Environmental and Greenarc. Today he focuses much of his time on advancing low carbon heating through software that improves system design, performance and standards. Read Ben's story here.

Caroline Dennett spent over a decade working in the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry as a safety culture consultant, supporting frontline workers to improve safety in high-risk operations. In 2022, she publicly resigned her contract with Shell plc after concluding that the company’s climate pledges were fundamentally at odds with its actions. She now works across clean energy, social research and environmental justice, supporting communities, holding polluters to account and helping others navigate values-led career transitions. Read Caroline's story here.

Nick Smith’s life and work are deeply linked to fossil fuels, with family roots in coal and oil and a career across fuel distribution, media, and recruitment. Alongside this legacy, he has long committed to environmental action and energy transition. While building businesses that support this shift, Nick has stayed connected to parts of the oil industry still vital for fuel supply today. Read Nick’s story here.

Ian Haslam spent 32 years in the fossil fuel industry, building a senior career in exploration geophysics with companies including Getty Oil, Texaco, BP and BG Group. After leaving the industry in 2012, Ian redirected his skills and energy into voluntary work, conservation, and climate activism, choosing to step away from a sector he came to see as incompatible with his values and the future facing younger generations. Read Ian's story here.

Helena started her first job at one of ICI’s daughter companies; Uniqema in 2003. She moved from the chemical to the financial sector in 2008 and left corporate life altogether in 2010. She is still aspiring to fully untangle from a neoliberal economic system that she argues is destructive and harmful. Read Helena's story here.

Trine Mong graduated from Durham University with a BA in Chinese and Business Management before joining BP's Graduate Programme in 2000. What began as a desire to work internationally became a 25-year career spanning commercial strategy, petrochemicals, sustainability leadership, and carbon management. Trine left BP at the end of 2025 and now focuses on building sustainability momentum across sectors, with a growing interest in circularity. Read Trine’s story here.

Neil joined the oil industry in the late 1980s, working in corporate planning, government affairs and downstream economics at Texaco UK. After several years grappling with the industry’s growing environmental contradictions, he chose to leave in the mid-1990s. He has since built a career in communications, focusing on energy transition and transport decarbonisation, and helping shape the narratives that influence policy and public action. Here is Neil’s story.

Bob Van Der Putten joined the oil industry in 2011, first working at BP and later at Shell. After more than a decade in the sector, he decided to leave the industry in 2024. He is now the CEO of Sustainers, a platform that helps organisations turn sustainability strategies into concrete, employee-led action to deliver measurable climate impact. Here is Bob’s story.

Evert van der Heide joined Shell in September 1991 as a research chemist, following studies in Chemistry and Chemical Technology in Utrecht and Delft. Over a 33-year career he contributed to technologies that moved from laboratory scale to commercial deployment. He became a Principal Scientist in early 2022 and left Shell in November 2024. Today, Evert is focused on education, public dialogue, and building awareness of climate and energy challenges across sectors. Outside work, he enjoys ice skating, sailing and running, and is active in voluntary work supporting young people. Read Evert’s story here.

Bill Heins is Chief Geoscientist at Leeds-based firm Getech Group plc. He lives in Kingston, New York, and previously spent 18 years at ExxonMobil’s Upstream Research Company, from 2001 to 2019. Bill’s career spans academia, corporate research, and natural resource exploration, and reflects a deep and enduring fascination with how the Earth works. Read Bill’s story here.

Ross worked in the fossil fuel industry for 35 years before retiring and reinventing himself as an eco-poet and climate commentator. His career spanned the boom years of the Canadian oil industry, from refineries to head office strategy. Over time, growing concern about climate change, and frustration at political and industry inaction, led him to step away from oil and gas and towards writing and activism. Ross hopes his work can help shift how we think about energy, responsibility and the future. Read Ross’ story here.

Jeroen joined Shell in 2019 after nearly two decades working in the electricity and gas sector, driven by a belief that large integrated companies could accelerate the energy transition from within. Five years later, he decided to leave the company as its strategic focus shifted back towards fossil fuels and short-term shareholder value. He now works at ANWB Energy, leading digital transformation to support a faster, more practical energy transition. Here is Jeroen’s story.

Dimitri began his career in the oil and gas sector in 2001 and resigned in 2012. Following his departure, he completed a PhD in 2018 that sat at the intersection of climate science and the energy transition. Today, Dimitri is Chief Scientist at the Australasian Centre of Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). He has lived in Melbourne since 2008, remains strongly connected to his Dutch heritage, and lives with his partner and two children. Outside of work, Dimitri loves cycling and is passionate about energy-efficient homes. Read Dimitri’s story here.

Samantha spent 20 years at BP as an oil trader, eventually heading up the Global Petrochemical Feedstock Trading book and serving on the Global Light Ends executive team. She left the industry in 2015 to pursue work aligned with social impact, diversity, and climate action. She now supports organisations including Impact Hub Islington, Young Women’s Trust, Koreo, the Great Dixter Charitable Trust, and is a CUSP fellow. She has been a Director at Business Declares for 6 years and is passionate about sustainable living and social equity.

Russell joined BP as a Geologist in 1981 and finally left BP at the end of 2020 as Vice President Global Projects. He is now a freelance projects consultant to energy transition companies, governments, and not for profits, based in London and is passionate about helping to navigate the energy transition, by connecting human energy to improve the world. He loves nature, journeying, also fishing, running, and hiking and has felt a significant increase in agency since leaving the corporate world.

After a decades-long career in the fossil fuel industry looking into alternatives for fossil fuels to drive the energy transition, Grahame realised the required change that was needed would not come from Shell. He states: “There was no epiphany for me, but rather an increasing concern and eventually despair that so little had been done and so much was still to be done.” Feeling increasingly distanced and alone, and not wanting to be part of the problem, he left the company in 2016.

Fabien joined the fossil fuels industry in 2011, as a Global Mobility Manager for BP. Seven years later he decided to leave the organisation, and the industry. He now works in academia, as a lecturer in people and organisations, and researcher in organisations, ethics, and responsible business (including sustainability) and has conducted and published research about the ethics of working in oil and gas in the context of climate change.