Suzie De Abreu has spent more than two decades helping establish ExxonMobil’s presence in Guyana. Today, as the company’s Guyana STEM Initiative Lead, she is focused on helping young people discover where these fields can take them.
De Abreu was ExxonMobil’s first employee in Guyana. Her career with the company began in 2000 in downstream fuels marketing. In 2008, she moved to support the upstream team as ExxonMobil’s in-country contact.
In 2013, she helped establish the company’s first venture office in Guyana, taking on responsibilities ranging from human resources to procurement.
“That actually taught me about adaptability,” De Abreu recalled in an August 24 interview published by ExxonMobil Guyana on LinkedIn.
She moved into community relations in 2018, focusing on ExxonMobil Guyana’s local programs and helping develop the team. Her experience working with employees and communities eventually led her to the STEM initiative.
The initiative has three pillars: teacher STEM training, student programming, and tertiary career pathways. Rather than focusing only on students, De Abreu described the approach as building a wider support system around them.
“We’re going to help young Guyanese to have hands-on experience, or should I say hands-on exposure to STEM and to help them to actually see what’s possible for their future,” she said.
A mentor before she became a STEM lead
Mentoring has also been a recurring part of De Abreu’s career.
As ExxonMobil’s Guyanese team expanded, employees began approaching her for guidance and support. She described the role as something that developed naturally from her experience in human resources and the oil and gas industry.
Her approach has become less formal over time. Rather than managing career development within a team, she now provides guidance to people who seek her out.
“I like to help the newer employees and the younger employees to build confidence… So I think that’s very important, because this can be a very intimidating industry,” De Abreu said.
Her STEM role now gives that mentorship another dimension, extending her focus to the students and teachers who will form part of Guyana’s future workforce.
“I think I’m excited about the impact we’re going to make in STEM and giving the next generation this opportunity to learn about STEM,” De Abreu said.
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As one of Guyana’s first women leaders in the emerging oil and gas industry, she also sees representation as part of that opportunity.
“I think, you know, when the younger women now in the industry look back at this time, anything is possible,” she said.
