Bal Patel

Torn between a career in physics or geology, Bal was fortunate to join the oil industry in the late seventies where he was able to combine the two disciplines. A brief stint in the Yorkshire Dales looking for dangers to coal mining, led to a career involving short stays around the globe looking for oil and gas. Progressing to middle management confirmed his preference for a technical career which involved some teaching and a lot of mentoring. Having spent the last 15 exciting years in a specialist mergers and acquisitions team and having endured several boom and busts cycles in the oil business, Bal decided to take early retirement in 2015. Volunteering as a teacher/mentor/PatientsVoices@RCoA member has been a great privilege allowing him to give something back to the community.

Areas of RCoA work and involvement

• Accreditation
• Patient Safety

Declaration of interests

• None.