BP Holdings: Another new role for BPs Mike Utsler

1. BP Holdings

2. Another new role for BP's Mike Utsler Since the earliest days of the Gulf response, Mike Utsler has been a reassuring and critical leader for BP. Over the past two years, he's become recognized as an important "face of BP" in the Gulf. Now that face will become familiar to people throughout the US thanks to a new national TV ad that will begin airing on Monday, April 30

3. Since the earliest days of the Gulf response two years ago, Mike Utsler has been a reassuring and critical leader for BP — first as incident commander for BP's spill-response efforts, then as lead BP representative in the Unified Area Command, and finally as president of the Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. Those roles have made Utsler well-known across the Gulf, and by virtue of his regular visits with people in the Gulf and beyond — presenting updates on BP's progress in restoration efforts and lending a friendly ear — Utsler has earned a reputation for listening carefully and transforming feedback into action. 

4. "I've made a tremendous effort to be someone who doesn't just sit behind a desk," he says. "I've been out in the communities, on the beaches, and on the waters listening to everyone from small business owners to deckhands to legislators in order to understand their concerns and to show through my actions that BP is committed to helping to restore the Gulf. My visibility has meant that over the past two years I've become recognized as an important face of BP in the Gulf — a face that represents a team of extraordinarily committed people.” 

5. Now that face will become familiar to people throughout the US, thanks to a new national TV ad that will begin airing on Monday. "The ad reflects BP's approach throughout the response — it's our actions, not just our words, that matter," he says. "The ad stresses the actions we have taken, but it also outlines the actions ahead — the journey that remains and the hard work that still exists.“ With the humility that characterizes his work in the Gulf, the 35-year energy industry veteran says that he believes he was asked to appear in the ads mainly because of the "continuity of his presence" in the Gulf over the past two years. 

6. "It's the same face that so many people in the Gulf — especially the media — became familiar with over these two years, and that continuity is very important," says Utsler. "When people in the region ask me questions about something that happened last year, I can speak with authority because I was there. "It's been very important for me to respond to people's concerns on the basis of what I know and what I've seen and heard and experienced," he says. "It's powerful to be able to say to someone, 'I know exactly what you're talking about because I was just there yesterday — and here's what we're doing about it.' That's the kind of action that earns you credibility. 

7. "Fortunately, I've enjoyed a great connectivity with the people of the Gulf and I understand its environment. After all, I have called the Gulf home, have fished the Gulf waters, and have learned what matters to people in the Gulf." What's impressed Utsler the most over the last two years in this unexpected but challenging new chapter in his career? 

8. "In terms of what BP has accomplished," he says, "it's important to realize that so much of what we're doing at BP regarding this spill response is unprecedented in its scale and complexity and that we're setting the standard against which future spill responses will be measured. It's a standard that we can we proud of in terms of doing the right thing." Referring to the upcoming advertising campaign, Utsler remarks, "It's nice that I get to appear as the face of BP in the new ad, but it's far more important to me that the ad reflects the empathy and concern for people in the Gulf that thousands of BP responders have demonstrated."