Christina Karapataki

Venture Principal, Schlumberger

Christina Karapataki is a Venture Principal in the Early Stage Technology Investments group at Schlumberger Technology Corporation. She specializes in early stage investments in energy, advanced materials and sustainability technologies. Her current focus is on finding early stage technologies, across multiple sectors and industries, which can be adapted to serve oilfield applications.

Prior to her current role, Christina worked for ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing in both the European and North America offices, and gained venture experience evaluating oil and gas technology investments with Venrock Management LLC in 2011.

Christina’s background is in Chemical Engineering with Bachelor and Masters of Engineering degrees from the University of Cambridge. In 2012 she extended her academic studies through a graduate degree from MIT in Energy Technology and Policy. Her graduate research work at the MIT Energy Initiative focused on evaluating water management technologies for shale gas production operations.

In her free time, Christina enjoys going sailing and taking Latin dancing lessons.

We asked Christina:

The OGM: Have you had a mentor?

Christina: I am indebted to many mentors for helping me through both my academic and professional career choices. Their support has helped me navigate through many decisions and provided not only guidance but also reassurance.

The OGM: What does success mean to you?

Christina: Success to me is achieving the goals I have set for myself both personally and professionally, as well as managing to maintain a reasonable work-life balance.

The OGM: If you were to describe your career in three words what would they be?

Christina: Exciting, Challenging, Dynamic

The OGM: What advice would you give to someone looking for a career in the energy industry?

Christina: Use your network and contacts to learn about the different functions of the Energy Industry before deciding what you want to specialize in. Internships are usually a good way to get an understanding of different business segments and will also help give you a broad appreciation of the different parts of the industry without committing to specific career path.

The OGM: Describe a milestone in your career?

Christina: A milestone in my career was moving to the United States, which helped me get exposed to a more entrepreneurial environment and a more active startup and venture capital community. That helped me pursue my career interests and benefit from a huge network of experienced professionals in this field.

The OGM: What impact does technology have on your career?

Christina: Technology is a key part of my career and my activities at the moment. In my group we strive to find the most innovative and disruptive technologies that can revolutionize the Oil and Gas sector in the coming years. There is no shortage of new technology opportunities and it is encouraging to see all the new companies that are currently trying to get technology out of the lab and into the commercial markets.

The OGM: What do the next five years look like in your career?

Christina: Trying to guess what the next 5 years will look like is challenging, since I never seem to get it right. My approach is to keep learning new things every day. For now, I am trying to learn as much as possible about the oil and gas service industry and understand the technology challenges that we are facing. For the next few years, I aim to identify and invest in technologies that can be quickly deployed in the oil and gas field.

The OGM: Were you always interested in a career in Energy?

Christina: I always had a strong interest in working in a challenging, multi-disciplinary field that had a great impact to our generation, and I realized fairly early on in my academic studies that a career in energy would certainly fit that description. So far, all my academic and work experiences have been in the energy field and I am fairly sure I will continue being involved in this industry for a few more decades!

The OGM: What interests you to sustain a career in the Energy industry?

Christina: The complexity of the energy industry, the global impact and the endless opportunities to innovate in the energy space attract me to continue working in this sector. I believe the Energy Industry can provide me with a challenging, fast-paced, diverse career and I am excited to see where it takes me.

The OGM: What is your favorite APP on your phone?

Christina: Yelp always helps me find nice place to eat and is extremely useful when I travel.

The OGM: What’s your take on Social Media and our ever changing digital world?

Christina: Social media is becoming an integral part of how we interact with people and learn about breaking news. I believe it’s a very efficient tool in distributing news across the globe in real time. However, as exciting and useful as this is, I still put a high value on face-to-face communication and in person interactions.

The OGM: What Social Medium do you use on a daily basis?

Christina: LinkedIn

The OGM: Do you use Social Media for work?

Christina: Yes, networking is a huge part of my job and Social Media, like LinkedIn, help facilitate those connections and keep me up to date with people’s activities.

The OGM: Why do you love what you do?

Christina: Every day I get to meet brilliant entrepreneurs and researchers that believe their ideas will change the world. Their ideas always challenge me and make me think in new ways on how technology can help us move toward a more efficient and sustainable future.