Wood Group appoints Robin Watson as CEO
6 October 2015
Wood Group appoints Robin Watson as CEO
Wood Group announces the appointment of Robin Watson as chief executive officer (CEO), effective 1 January 2016. Robin succeeds Bob Keiller who has decided to retire from Wood Group on 31 December 2015. Robin has served on the Board since 2013, initially as CEO of Wood Group PSN and, since April 2015, as Group chief operating officer. His appointment represents a natural evolution in the Group’s leadership.
Ian Marchant, Chairman said: “I would like to thank Bob for his significant contribution to the Group, both following the acquisition of PSN in 2010, and during his three years as CEO. The Group has made significant progress under Bob’s leadership and the board respects his decision to stand down at this time. Robin was identified as the stand out candidate to succeed Bob as part of our succession planning process, and we believe that his knowledge and experience will ensure an orderly transition. Robin has been with the Group since 2010, has more than 25 years’ oil & gas industry experience and his appointment provides important continuity for our people and customers.â€
Bob Keiller said: “I am delighted with the Group’s progress over the last five years; repositioning our service offerings and embedding a group-wide culture founded on our core values. I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful, committed, skilled and innovative people across the world. I will miss Wood Group, but will have the satisfaction of knowing that it is in good hands and on a personal note I have several business interests that I am looking to develop. I wish Robin and the rest of the executive team every success.â€
Robin Watson said: “I am delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to lead Wood Group in the next stage of its development. Wood Group is a great success story thanks to an exceptional leadership team and dedicated people with unparalleled technical expertise. Together, these are the fundamentals of a successful service business. I look forward to leading the team as we develop and execute our strategy to support our global customer base as we continue developing innovative and cost efficient solutions.â€
- Ends -
Announcement authorised by Robbie M. B. Brown, Company Secretary
Notes to editors:
Wood Group is an international energy services company with around $7bn sales and operating in more than 50 countries. The Group is built on Core Values and has three businesses – Wood Group PSN, Wood Group Kenny and Wood Group Mustang – providing a range of engineering, production support and maintenance management services to the oil & gas, and power generation industries worldwide. Visit Wood Group at http://www.woodgroup.com/ and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Robin Watson
Robin Watson assumed the Chief Operating Officer (COO) role for Wood Group in 2015, having been an Executive member of the Wood Group Board since January 2013 and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Group’s PSN business since 2012. In 2014 Robin won the Institute of Director’s (IoD) ‘Global Director of the Year’ award and the IoD Scotland’s overall ‘Director of the Year’ award.
Robin has more than 25 years’ oil & gas industry experience, with the past 11 years spent in a variety of executive positions. He is actively engaged with various industry and Governmental representative bodies; Board Member of Oil & Gas UK and the Oil & Gas Contractors Council, member of the Industry’s ‘Step Change in Safety’ Leadership Team and work-group Co-Chair. He holds a position of Visiting Professor at the Robert Gordon University. Between 2011 and 2015, Robin was on the Scottish Business Board, which was a cross-industry leadership group chaired by the UK Government’s Secretary of State for Scotland.
Robin is passionate about helping the communities in which he works and has a proud track record of community involvement throughout his career. Prior to joining Wood Group, Robin worked for Petrofac and Mobil Oil, working both in the UK and internationally.
Robin is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, a Fellow of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Energy Institute and holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and an Honours Degree in Offshore & Mechanical Engineering. He is married with three children and has an active social life, enjoying travel, most sports and outdoor activities.
Bob Keiller
Bob was Head of UK Operations for the Halliburton Production Services division between 2002 and 2004, becoming the Global Managing Director for the division in 2004. In 2006, Bob led the buyout of the division from Kellogg Brown & Root and laid down a unique identity and clear strategy for PSN. In 2010, following a period of successful profit growth and the development of a number of leading positions around the world, Bob was instrumental in the sale of PSN to Wood Group.
In 2011, Bob became the Chief Executive of the Wood Group PSN business, during which time he led the integration of PSN with Wood Group’s Production Facilities business to create the world’s leading production facilities support business, Wood Group PSN. Bob was appointed Wood Group CEO in November 2012.
Bob is a Fellow of the Energy Institute and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and former Chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange. Bob has previously held a number of industry roles including the Chairman of the Offshore Contractors Association and the Helicopter Issues Task Force. Bob holds an MSc in Engineering from Heriot Watt University.
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