People in the Industry

A prominent retired executive and advocate of the upstream industry, Paul Lance Kelly passed away on Dec. 16, 2017, in Houston. Originally from Salem, Mass., Kelly moved to Texas in 1965. In the 1980s, he began a successful  career at Rowan Companies, Inc. As senior V.P., Kelly directed special projects, as well as government and industry affairs. For two years, he managed the company’s North Sea drilling operations. Kelly became an energy and ocean policy expert, testifying before Congress, and, in 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. He was tasked with developing a comprehensive national ocean policy for the Secretary of the Interior. Additionally, Kelly served as a World Oil editorial advisor from 1988 to 2005. Several of those years were spent as a senior editorial advisor. He served as president of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, as well.

Brad Baker has been named CEO at Tendeka. Following a 27-year career at Baker Hughes—most recently as V.P. of stimulation and production enhancement—Baker will work to expand the company’s offerings in completions and production optimization. Throughout his career, Baker has gained pertinent experience in key areas of the world, including the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, Far East and the UK. His expertise extends across much of the completions sector and includes knowledge of sand control, completion fluids, intelligent wells, pressure pumping, stimulation, fishing and wellbore intervention.

Graeme Fawcett has been appointed interim CEO at Atlantic Petroleum, following the departure of Ben Arabo. Over the course of his 30-year career in the oil and gas industry, Fawcett has participated in the development of assets in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He has held positions with companies, including Total, Tullow Oil and Technip. Additionally, he serves as an advisor to London Power Corporation.

Steven Thrasher has been named regional V.P. for the Americas at Ashtead Technology. With nearly 20 years of experience in the subsea sector, Thrasher will manage the company’s U.S. operations. He will be based in Houston. Previously, Thrasher held senior and technical positions with companies including FTO Services, C-Innovation and Schilling Robotics. In addition to Thrasher’s appointment, Chris Echols has been named V.P. of sales for the Americas, a newly-established role within the company that is intended to support regional growth. Echols has been with Ashtead Technology for more than 20 years. 

EnQuest has announced several key appointments, as COO and Executive Director Neil McCulloch steps down. Faysal Hamza will take over as interim head of North Sea and Bob Davenport will serve as managing director, North Sea. John Penrose will take on Davenport’s former role as managing director
in Malaysia. Prior to that, Davenport led Apache Corp.’s North Sea
operations.

Danos has announced several changes to its executive leadership team. David Cedro has joined the company as executive V.P. of finance and administration. In his new role, Cedro reportedly will manage Danos’ domestic and international administration, finance and accounting activities. James Callahan, who previously held this position, will become V.P. of project services. In this role, he will provide strategic oversight of the company’s project management, as well as all related service lines. Callahan has been an employee at Danos since 2013.

David Sinclair has been hired as business development manager of renewables and decommissioning at M² Subsea. He brings more than 10 years of industry experience and extensive knowledge of marine technology to his new position. Sinclair previously worked as engineering and innovation manager at Bibby Offshore.

Cabot Energy has elected a new executive director to its board. Paul Lafferty joined the company in September 2014 as COO. Most recently, however, he served as president. Throughout his 35-year career, Lafferty has held a number of senior level positions with companies, including Consort Resources, Caledonia Oil and Gas, and E.ON Exploration and Production Ltd.

The Energy Industries Council (EIC) has named two new members to its board of directors—Louise Ledgard and Duncan Reed. As director of business development, Ledgard manages the business and development team for oil and gas at BMT. Prior to that, she managed sales and business development for Europe, Africa and the Middle East at Fugro. Overall, she brings 20 years of industry experience to her new role. Reed is director of project development at Dresser-Rand in London, where he manages sales to contractors and consultants in the UK. He brings nearly 30 years of industry experience to his new role as board member.

Energy consultancy Rystad Energy has hired four new employees to join its Shale Research division. Based in Houston, Ryan Carbrey, Benjamin Stewart, Alex Yang and Thomas Jacob will deliver research, analysis and strategic consulting services, as part of a team of researchers and analysts. According to the firm, the new hires will leverage their previous experience in shale and unconventionals to develop insights on supply and demand fundamentals pertaining to proppant, chemicals, water and hydraulic fracturing.

Daniel Molinaro, senior V.P. and CFO at DistributionNOW (DNOW), has been appointed as the company’s new executive V.P. In his new position, he will assist with treasury, investor relations and employee benefits. Molinaro served previously as V.P. and treasurer at NOV. David Cherechinsky, DNOW’s V.P., will succeed Molinaro as CFO. Previously, he served as senior V.P. of finance for the NOV distribution group, as well as senior V.P. of finance for the NOV Distribution & Transmission business. He has held a variety of roles since 1989, when he started work at NOV. Mark Johnson, DNOW’s V.P. of finance and assistant corporate controller, will succeed Cherechinsky as V.P. He also worked previously for the NOV distribution group, as V.P. of finance. All appointments are reportedly effective on Feb. 16.

Charlene Johnson has been named CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association (Noia). Previously, Johnson was a member of the House of Assembly, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. She managed several departments as a senior cabinet minister, including Finance and Human Resource Secretariat; Business and Rural Development; Child, Youth and Family Services; and Environment and Conservation. Additionally, she served as the minister for the Status of Women, as well as parliamentary secretary to the minister of natural resources.