The old saying, “You have two ears and one mouth, so you should listen twice as much as you speak,” is one that guides Dale Wetherill’s leadership as the chief information officer at BP Environmental Services. “Not only does this allow you to hear all perspectives before making a decision or passing judgment, but it empowers the people you are working with, and lets them know that their thoughts, ideas and opinions are valued and are vital to the team’s success,” he said.
BP Environmental Services serves as an agent in the waste and recycling industry. The company provides one point of contact for these services by acting as a buying agent for clients across the country.
Wetherill’s strategic leadership with the firm has helped fuel 150% revenue growth during his tenure with the organization. “His focus on people, process and technology has allowed BP to scale both financially and operationally during this same timeframe,” said his colleagues. “He brings technology suggestions and solutions that help to shape the process of serving our clients in the best way possible and he has demonstrated outstanding leadership by utilizing his technology to carry out the vision of the company.”
More recently, Wetherill spearheaded BP’s Information Security Program in order to improve the organization’s security posture, resulting in more consistent, effective, and efficient policies and procedures to reduce the firm’s risk. He has also been a key stakeholder in the company’s mergers and acquisitions initiatives.
According to his colleagues, Wetherill demonstrates the ability to convey the message in a way employees can understand, which in the tech space, can be difficult. “Dale has a mind for business first which allows him to understand the impact a change may have from start to finish,” they said. “There are a lot of project and improvement requests coming his way from different departments and he is always able to prioritize and complete the tasks at hand.”
Personally, Wetherill is most proud of his involvement with the Travis Manion Foundation (TMF), where he is a veteran mentor and actively involved with the flagship program, Character Does Matter, a youth mentorship program led by veterans and families of the fallen that helps develop character and leadership skills in young adults. His mentorship has inspired over 7,000 youth and earned him the spartan of the year award for his continued commitment to service.
“The advice I would give a younger version of myself would be to be a person of good character and treat people with respect,” said Wetherill. “People are very likely to forget all of the technical certifications you have, the prestigious college you graduated from, or even your job title, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
