Dec. 4, 2025
Breaking Barriers: Gladys DeClouet's Trailblazing Journey in Corporate America
Send us a text In this empowering episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are honored to host Gladys DeClouet, a trailblazing author and business leader with a remarkable legacy in the corporate world. Gladys shares her inspiring journey from the desegregated South to becoming the first black female engineer in offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as her executive roles at major companies such as British Petroleum, Burger King, and Jack in the Box. She opens up about the challenge...
In this empowering episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we are honored to host Gladys DeClouet, a trailblazing author and business leader with a remarkable legacy in the corporate world. Gladys shares her inspiring journey from the desegregated South to becoming the first black female engineer in offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as her executive roles at major companies such as British Petroleum, Burger King, and Jack in the Box. She opens up about the challenges of navigating a male-dominated industry, the importance of resilience, and her commitment to inclusive leadership. Gladys discusses her new book, "A Layered Life: Breaking Barriers as a Trailblazing Black Woman in Corporate America," where she recounts her personal and professional experiences, aiming to inspire future leaders and spark meaningful conversations about diversity and well-being. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation filled with insights on leadership, perseverance, and the power of integrity. Discover more about Gladys and her work at www.gladysdeclouet.com.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. if you believe you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today I am joined by author and business pioneer, Gladys Decluet. Gladys has an exceptional record of running billion dollar businesses. She forged her path in the oil and restaurant industry and places such as British Petroleum, Burger King and Jack in the Box. She is also an author and she is a pioneer of being the first black female to achieve positions. So we're going to be talking to Gladys about her wonderful career and everything that she's up to and her book. So, Gladys, thank you so much for joining me.
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> Gladys Decluet>All right, thank you for having me.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Curtis, why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself.
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> Gladys Decluet>well, in addition to the things you commented on, one of the first thoughts that came through my mind was that, you mentioned that I was the first black woman to, achieve certain things, which I was, but I was also the first woman to achieve.
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> Gladys Decluet>you know, I was the first female engineer in offshore oil and gas exploration and production.
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> Gladys Decluet>And then throughout the rest of my career I was the first female, and I also happened to be black.
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> Gladys Decluet>So, that added some interesting additional challenges to my journey, obviously. But, throughout my journey though, I was really trying to lead the way and help all women and, you know, black, and black people, you know, my gender and my race. I was trying to help open those doors that were not open back then. And, in terms of those, industries, I'll just, share like a little bit of my journey, I guess. I, started. I was born in the South. I, went to college at Tuskegee University and got an engineering degree, a degree in mechanical engineering. went into the oil industry, became an engineer there, went back and got my MBA in finance and investment banking and then went back to the oil industry again and spent, 12 years with BP. I spent 17 years in total in the oil industry and 12 of those was with BP.
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> Gladys Decluet>And, you know, and I did a variety of increasing levels of responsibilities and different parts of the businesses with them and ultimately, got a, you know, executive C suite P and L position with them before getting recruited into the oil, I mean, the restaurant industry. And, in my 13 years in that industry, I served, as a leadership council member and corporate vice president of operations for Jack in the Box. And then I went on to become the global executive team member and senior vice president of North America operations for Burger King. And I ended my corporate career after that point. you know, I retired after that point in terms of, staying in corporate America.
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> Gladys Decluet>So that's just a little bit, I guess, from the, you know, snapshot of my career background.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Absolutely.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, throughout your career, let's talk about what mindsets and actions not only help you survive diversity, but be successful even in adversity.
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> Gladys Decluet>Yes. Well, obviously resilience and perseverance and hard work are clearly, you know, some of the.
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> Gladys Decluet>The basics of it. and. And actually I, I guess I am, thinking that in. In terms of the audience and understanding what, what, you know, some of the issues of resilience were or why was, why was so much resilience needed in life? You know, just to back it up a little bit, obviously I came from a background being born in the desegregated south during desegregation, before women's rights movements, and civil rights, movements that clearly, as a part of my journey, in addition to facing sexism and sexual harassment and intimidation, I also had racism in the mix. And that went on in my work life, but also in my personal life, which affects and adds to the challenges in a person's work life. and then as a human being, I had the normal, I don't even want to say normal, but had the challenges, that life brings upon us that we can't control. You know, the. The death that of our loved ones, you know, health issues, illness. You have all these things.
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> Gladys Decluet>And obviously, we can't control when these things happen and how they come upon us. And that's one reason I named my book A Layered Life. Because, you know, life comes in layers and life is where horror and joy coexist and struggle and success reconcile and the good can't be separated from the bad. So in dealing, you know, in trying to accomplish what you want to accomplish in life and continuing to move forward, that is why I guess I speak so much around resilience and perseverance and hard work. Because we have to get through all these things and we have to be able to bounce back and have the strength to keep moving forward. and in my particular case with the various challenges that I had in my life and you know, and in my book, people can read the various stories and I'm sure some will be mind blowing for you, but, in doing so, what, the mindsets that helped me deal, with the challenges in my life Was as I said, the resilience, perseverance and the hard work. But also when I was facing environments where I was not wanted or valued, or respected. And for instance, clearly being the first female to ever show up in the male dominated world of arguably the most powerful and most chauvinistic industry, the oil industry, and in the exploration and production of it in the middle of the ocean, that was an environment where I was facing those things. And one of the things that helped me in that regard was that in order to earn that if I wanted to earn the respect and the support of the people who were not really on board with that in the beginning, that one way or the best way for me I found to do that was just by consistently demonstrating the value that I brought to the table. You know, I would continuously work hard to help people, solve problems, improve the operations, improve the business, despite whether people originally wanted my help or not. And as you consistently demonstrate your value and your performance, you know, it will eventually get the earn that respect and change people's tones. and I also knew if I was in a world like that or an environment, where I didn't have the privilege that everyone else had to make mistakes, I made sure I always dotted my I's and crossed my T's at all times, deliver top quality work. And that mindset helped me just to continue to be able to achieve and not get focused on the naysayers. and one other probably main thing was just what I call a engineering mindset in a way, but it's also my general nature. and that is I look at almost every situation, as a learning lesson, a learning opportunity. So no matter how negative the situation is, rather than focusing or getting stuck in the negativity of it, I tried to look at it and say what can I learn from this situation that I can carry forward or that will help me move forward in a positive way? so I looked for the learnings in those things and I let those learnings help move me forward. And in many cases, a lot of the learnings earlier on in my career, I've learned a lot throughout. But early on a lot of the learnings I had was actually things that taught me how I did not want to behave, how not to treat people or what poor leadership looked like and therefore taught me what good leadership should be. And so I took those things as lessons and compiled them and let them help and shape me into the person and the leader I became, which was someone who valued inclusive leadership. I, wanted to make everyone feel valued and appreciated, and always wanted to be, you know, and was never a leader who would abdicate my responsibility.
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> Gladys Decluet>Because I, witness. And I know I tell some stories in my book about things that happen, but when it was time for the boss to step up and stand up for the employee and, you know, provide for their, you know, their safety or, make the tough calls that were necessary and, you know, and they didn't do so. So I had also vowed I would never be a leader to who would abdicate my responsibility, to do those things, you know, to make those tough calls and. And be there for my people and my team. So those are just some of the examples and things that were, parts of my mindset, and how they impacted me. and I guess I would also have to say mindset is that, again, coming from where I was and in the time in history that I lived. And I was truly trying to open the door, you know, for women and for black people. part of my mindset, obviously, was, you know, to me, failure was not an option for me because, you know, I understood that I was representing, you know, my gender and representing my race. Because if I were to, succeed, of course, that's. That would be the best of the world, and I could open the door for others. But if I were to fail, you know, people behind me would be. Or who would want to come behind me would be negatively prejudged and may not never even been given the opportunity again because, you know, they would say, you know, she's the example of why, they can't do xyz. So, part of my mindset was, failure is simply not an option.
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> Gladys Decluet>And I am going to, you know, and I know I have the abilities, the skills, the abilities and what it takes to succeed. I just have to, you know, plow ahead and face these challenges people put in my way and, you know, figure out what ways to overcome them.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Where you talked about your book, so tell listeners why you decide to write it, what they can expect when they read it, and where we can pick it up at.
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> Gladys Decluet>Okay, the name of M. My book is a Layered, Breaking Barriers as a Trailblazing Black Woman in Corporate America. And, it recounts my professional and my personal, experiences, as I mentioned before, from being born in the 1950s, growing up in the desegregated south, you know, to going on and becoming that first female engineer in Offshore oil and gas exploration and production. And it follows the rest of my journey in corporate America as I continue, you know, to climb the leadership and in the way I summarize the book is, it's an inspirational story of resilience, courage, leadership and faith. and it's an extraordinary journey through the complexities of race, gender, ambition and personal loss. However, it is a story that's not marked just by hardship but by joy and self belief and an unwavering commitment to help others succeed. and it's a book, I think that when you read it it challenges you to reflect on your own life and your values and the impact on the world that you're making on the world around you. and I wrote this book in hopes that in sharing my story that what I could do is I could inspire and empower future leaders, and all people, but especially those who may feel unseen or underestimated and allow as many people as possible to benefit from my lifetime of lessons learned, hardships endured and I joys experienced.
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> Gladys Decluet>And particularly I thought about women, you know, to allow girls, women and anyone else who dares to go out and break new ground. I wanted them to know somebody who had traveled a path before them and know how I dealt with the challenges and the sacrifices that it's going to take to do that. and lastly I wanted to spark some meaningful conversation around the topics of resilience, inclusive leadership, the value of diversity, mental and physical well being which is so important in life and in career and in dealing with challenges in life and life balance. So those are really the goals in my in why I wrote the book. So yeah.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well let's talk about how the layers of your life shape the way that you lead and adapt.
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> Gladys Decluet>Well, you know, persevering through adversity, while maintaining my integrity, which was of utmost importance to me. To me that was proof of my resilience and my character. So and it taught me empathy and compassion. and as I mentioned earlier, you know that is what shaped me into this person who values diversity and inclusion and knows how to build high performing teams and I strive to make everybody feel valued and appreciated on my team. And it also you know taught me those, it also taught me something I mentioned earlier, already, you know, that approach to to approach things as learning opportunities regardless of what the situation was, to find something meaningful in that, that I can learn and make something positive from it and continue to move me forward. so yeah So I think that that's how those adversities shaped me and brought about that appreciation to I guess one of the key messages that come out of my book which is that you know, life is, what's my thought, I was trying to say there, about stepping stones. You know, don't let adversities or obstacles be detours. Use them as stepping stones to growth, purpose and eventually legacy.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Let's talk about what role inclusive leadership plays in creating high performance diverse teams and what your principles, what principles guide you on that?
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> Gladys Decluet>Well you know, first and foremost I think the thing about inclusive leadership, one of the first things is you recognize that talent transcends all boundaries. You know, it transcends race and gender and religion and any other thing you can come up with. And when you're looking for high performing teams you, you want good talented people and you need to be open to finding that talent where that talent exists, and to get the most out of. And I guess I, I believe in a a philosophy of treating people, taking care of and treating people with care and respect, that mutual respect and trust, and making them feel valued and appreciated is how you really motivate and build teamwork and engagement, and it's how you build the trust and respect as a leader and those things lead to teamwork and collaborative work. And that is what you need as a basis if you're going to have high, a high performing team. and you know if you've got players, if you, if you have people on the team and they, they don't feel that you, you know, you value them as much as you value everybody else and I mean everybody on your team from whatever the lowest position rank is to the highest position, you know, in some formality, technical sense, they all need to understand that they are all equally valuable and appreciated and their contributions are welcome and open. and that's how you get such and having that diversity and inclusion of everyone's thoughts and ideas, is how you get richer solutions, and you know, better service for your, whatever company or organization you're running for your ultimate customers or clients or what have you, you know, those, your people aren't going to treat your ultimate customers and client better than you treat them.
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> Gladys Decluet>So in other words if you learn to treat people well and, and then they're going to do a better job treating your clients and your customers well and then the company is going to be much better off in terms of repeat customers, profits, success, which in turn helps everybody again because you can continue to grow, you can offer more jobs, people get bigger, bigger bonuses, more pay. So everybody succeeds, through getting the most, getting the most out of the people who are on the team. and you're never going to do that if the people don't, one, respect the leader or two, feel that they are respected in return, and that their contributions are truly welcomed and valued.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, tell us about any upcoming or current projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.
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> Gladys Decluet>Right, right now I am, mainly just kind of focusing on trying to get the word out about the book because it's only been out a, little over a month. And and I'm learning I didn't know anything about the books and publishing when I started this. And you know, it's. That's quite a challenge right now just trying to get the word out to people, you know, get that spread to get people to you know, find out that it exists and then to get them motivated to actually want to read the book.
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> Gladys Decluet>because I think if they read, would be of great benefit to people. That was, as I said, that was really my motivation behind it. I've had people for decades ask me about when are you going to write a book? And I just, you know, just didn't get the time and life continued to get in the way of that. And you know, I thought. But I finally sat down and it took the time to do it. and again, it usually takes something to prompt us, when you get really busy with life and life's problems. And again I was facing the situation of facing the death of another loved one, young person. That had me again thinking about how life is really short and if you've got something meaningful you want to share or say or you know, help people, that you need to do it now because tomorrow is not promised. And So, But right now at the moment I'm saying, I guess I'm really focused on that in terms of going forward. You know, I'm hoping to continue to do what I always have done, which is try to try and mentor and help others and help people enhance their careers and lives. And hopefully I can continue to do that through, some speaking, coaching, individual coaching, and possibly another book. But I laugh when I say that because I'm like, I've got to survive this process. The first one, it was, Again, when it's your first one, first time, it's, it's you know, it does take a lot. So, but once I get it behind me, I say, who knows, maybe I will be willing to take on another. Because there's certainly a lot more topics or information, in me that I could share.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Well, throw out your contact info so listeners can keep up with everything that you're up to and going to be up to.
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> Gladys Decluet>yeah. Oh, so I have my website. It's. And it's just my name.com so it's gladysdecluitt.com and on there you can find out information about the current book of Layered Life. It even has the links to the various retailers where you can buy the book. It has information about me, has, you know, articles, that I've been writing, you know, written a lot of articles recently for you know, business and other publications. and you know, some media coverage on me and just various things.
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> Gladys Decluet>Yeah. So I will try to keep it updated and I, and I'm doing so as, as things, you know, as things go along now to put everything on that website. and I'm also on LinkedIn and Oh, and I have Instagram.
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> Gladys Decluet>I had not been a social media person, to be honest, until I wrote this book. I've been very private person. So this has been so out of my comfort zone to share my personal life in this book. but so I have an Instagram now in which actually my granddaughter was the first one who developed it for me because they insisted I had to do it. But now, I'm slowly catching on and I'm actually posting some advice and video clips, with different advice and stories and things on there.
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> Gladys Decluet>so that's a good source too to get information.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>gladys decluit.com so close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.
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> Gladys Decluet>Yep, let's see. Well, I guess, a couple of things.
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> Gladys Decluet>Ah, I didn't do a lot of talking about integrity.
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> Gladys Decluet>But you know, I always say probably the most important single piece of advice I give anybody at any time is to live and win with integrity. you can still overcome, achieve and do all the things you need to do without losing your integrity and process. and it's sort of the key to everything.
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> Gladys Decluet>As I said, it's the key to not only earning respect and support from other people, but it's the key to respecting and loving your own self.
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> Gladys Decluet>And if you don't do that, no one else will. and also, again, I'll repeat, don't let adversity derail you. Use your challenges as stepping stones to growth, purpose and legacy. Leadership should be inclusive and make everyone feel valued and appreciated. And also that being a black female pioneer was bigger than my individual success. And that is something I hope people take away from the book and that people can appreciate that it was bigger than me and not just about me. It opened the doors for the many who would follow and continued to raise the floor for them so that they could go even further and higher, in their successes. And that's about it, you know, other than, you know. I think you really should put it on your reading list because I think you're likely to find it the probably the most engaging and interesting book you read in a long time. And you'll probably walk away feeling inspired and, and empowered, and learn a lot of practical insight, on a lot of the topics I've talked about today, about leadership and building high performing teams. I put in there about mental and physical health, well being and balance, and doing all of those things without compromising your integrity.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. So please go check out that book. Gladys decluitt.com Follow Rate Review Share this episode to as many people as possible. If you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast or you know, go and leave a review. Follow us, check us out Share Share the show with everybody you know. Visit www.craveball337.com thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Gladys, thank you for all that you do and have done to make the world a better place. And thank you for joining me.
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> Gladys Decluet>Thank you Curtis. I appreciate it.
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> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball)>For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, visit www.craveballuh337.com until next time, keep living the dream SA.
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