Employee Spotlight: Derek Atkins
Think advertising doesn’t work? Ask i2ms Materials Manager Derek Atkins how he launched his career at Danos.
“I saw a billboard for Danos and decided it was time for me to get a real job, so I applied,” he said.
That was in 2007. Issac Dantin who was then serving as shorebase coordinator hired him to work in shipping and receiving at the Chevron Leeville Shorebase. After about six months, he moved on to Chevron’s Tahiti project, which was his first time with end-to-end supply chain experience. Here, he picked, packed, received and restocked products, as well as managed transportation to ensure the project got off the ground.
In 2009, Derek moved to the Danos Shell contract at Harvey Terminal where the group mostly serviced Shell’s Enchilada and Salsa platforms. As materials manager, he oversaw loading and unloading of containers and trucks, organizing stock in the warehouse, locating warehouse stock and merchandise, and assisting with annual inventories.
He found a new home on Shell’s Ursa platform as a warehouseman from 2010-2013 before joining Shell’s supply chain pilot program as a bills of material (BOM) lead. He worked from both One Shell Square and offshore to implement the company’s new, web-based tool. He helped improve ways to optimize the warehouses and warehousemen, verifying what materials were necessary to keep production running.
In 2014, Cenergy International took over the Shell contract, and Derek stayed with them until 2017. That’s when Scott Theriot first called him with a job proposition.
“Scott was looking for help getting Appomattox off the ground,” said Derek.
So, Derek moved to Shell’s Morgan City Terminal as an execution analyst, utilizing both maintenance and IT skills to manage the supply chain. In 2020 he transitioned into the role of materials manager for Shell Gulf of Mexico supply chain.
Scott Theriot called Derek again in 2021—this time about a role with Danos’ latest materials management initiative – i2ms. In June 2021 he began the role of i2ms materials manager. Today, Derek oversees over 50 people within Danos’ supply chain services, ensuring that employees and customers are both on the same page.
Much like his career, materials management has grown significantly, and that’s something Derek really enjoys, along with the potential of where the industry will be ten years from now.
“If you would have told me five years ago that we’d have drones taking materials inventory, I would have laughed,” said Derek. “I also probably would have asked what a drone is.”
i2ms has several exciting opportunities on the horizon with customers like Shell, Oxy and Chevron to name a few.
“There are no dull moments here. Every day we’re seeing technology evolve and looking at where we can be.”
Like many others in 2023, maintaining quality personnel remains one of his biggest challenges. Derek has had to manage some of the struggles coming out of COVID like inflation and employees looking for remote work. He does his best to keep employees happy.
That’s where General Manager of Supply Chain Services Scott Theriot and General Manager of Production Services Mike Guidry come in, as Derek considers both mentors and looks to them for guidance on how to manage.
“Switching to a leadership role has had its challenges, but I feed off of things they tell me and watch how they interact with employees.”
“I love the company I work for,” Derek adds. “I was fortunate to be able to leave, see the other side and then come back. Everything is personal. You don’t see many companies where the owners walk around and talk to employees. That means a lot.”