Leon Spencer: Oil’s Well that Ends Well

Leon Spencer: Oil’s Well that Ends Well

A look inside the journey of a Thomas NextGen for Industry award winner.

Leon Spencer III, Gulf of Mexico upstream logistics analyst for Deep Water Projects at Shell Oil Co., was recently recognized with a Thomas NextGen for Industry award.

Spencer’s supply chain journey, albeit inspiring, was not always clear. In fact, he began his college education at Texas Southern University as a pharmaceutical major. However, it didn’t take long for him to realize he was destined for something different. Eventually, Spencer settled on a biology and chemistry major, though he maintained a passion for business and leadership.

Once he graduated, Spencer was eager to start his career—he just didn’t know how. As fate would have it, he wound up at a presentation at the University of Houston-Downtown about supply chain management, where he recognized his calling. "When I was listening to the presentation, the only thing I heard was opportunity, opportunity, opportunity," he says.


To get the ball rolling, he enrolled in the University of Houston-Downtown to earn his MBA. Although he knew such a radical career change would not be easy, he was determined not to fail. He made good on that promise. During his second collegiate go-around, he kept his GPA high, latched on to as many internships as he could, and built up his resume.

In 2017, his hard work paid off. Spencer landed his current position with Shell, handling a wide range of material and personnel movement tasks. Primarily, he "supports personnel movement operations out of the company’s Galveston heliport to one of Shell’s assets in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Day-to-day consists of stakeholder management, forecasting, planning, executing, and mitigating operational issues," Spencer adds.

Spencer notes that "every day is a challenge and something different." Because of this, many of his responsibilities depend on "quick, agile decision-making," he says.

Spencer cites his first major accomplishment at Shell as his biggest career accomplishment to date. During the first six months in the role, Spencer identified about $600,000 worth of savings, and proved himself a savvy supply chain thinker. Since then, Spencer has produced more than $16 million in savings.


Do you know a young professional who is leading the newest generation into the future through innovation, creativity, and perseverance? Get them the recognition they deserve by submitting a nomination for Thomas’ 2019 class of NextGen for Industry award.

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