Everything Anderson believed about safety crystallized during one devastating day. She and her husband were driving to work when they saw a dark column of smoke spiraling into the sky.
“I turned to him and said, ‘That’s Texas City. There’s no way people didn’t die,”. Moments later, news confirmed the explosion at BP’s refinery.

The blast killed and injured workers, shaking the entire industry. Anderson later participated in investigations, audits, and reviews that followed. “That event changed how I viewed leadership accountability,” she says. “It forced new safety regulations, better controls, and tighter oversight. But it came at a terrible cost.”

According to Anderson, the most dangerous companies are those that believe accidents can’t happen to them. “When organizations stop auditing or ignore maintenance, it’s only a matter of time before something fails,” she warns. “Complacency is an invisible killer.”