People in the industry

Centrica Plc has named Iain Conn as chief executive, effective Jan. 1, 2015, at which point he will join the Centrica Plc board. Conn will succeed Sam Laidlaw, who will retire from the board on Dec. 31. Conn will join from BP, where he has been chief executive for downstream, BP’s refining and marketing division, for the past seven years. In this role, he was responsible for running BP’s customer-facing activities in the fuels, lubricants and petrochemicals sectors. He has been a BP board member since 2004, and has held previously a number of senior roles throughout the business.

American Energy - Permian Basin, LLC (AEPB), an affiliate of American Energy Partners, LP (AELP), has named Jeffrey L. Mobley as the company’s CFO. He most recently served as senior V.P. - Major Acquisitions for AELP. Previously, he served as senior V.P. - Investor Relations and Research for Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Additionally, AEPB has hired Kayla D. Baird as controller and named John C. McClendon as director of finance. Baird worked previously for ConocoPhillips, most recently serving as director of Lower 48 Strategy & Portfolio Management and Reserves Reporting & Compliance. McClendon most recently served as senior financial associate for AELP.

Richard Rose joined Premier Oil’s board as finance director on Sept. 8. Rose qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young, and has spent more than 20 years in the energy sector. After working at HSBC Investment Bank in the corporate finance division, he joined Oriel Securities in 2002. In 2012, Rose joined RBC Capital Markets as a managing director, and most recently worked at Ophir Energy, where he covered strategy and corporate communications.

Apache Corporation has appointed Gary T. Clark to the role of V.P. of Investor Relations. Clark joins Apache from Chesapeake Energy Corporation, where he was the V.P. of Investor Relations and Research. Prior to joining Chesapeake in 2012, Clark worked for 18 years on both the buy-side and the sell-side of oil and gas equity markets. He held roles previously with organizations including the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and Dynamis Advisors, LLC, as well as Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc.

The board of directors of newly established E&P AziPac Ltd. has appointed Frank Inouye as managing director. He brings more than 34 years of experience to AziPac, and the wider Azimuth and Seacrest Group. Inouye has held senior management positions with E&P companies. 

Brendan Bechtel will become president and COO of Bechtel Corporation, and a member of the board of directors of Bechtel Group, Inc. He will report to Bill Dudley, the company’s CEO. Bechtel, son of Chairman of the Board Riley Bechtel, is the fifth generation of the Bechtel family to become president of the 116-year-old firm.

WPX Energy has named J. Kevin Vann as senior V.P. and CFO. Vann has more than 20 years of experience in accounting and risk management. He had been serving in both roles on an interim basis since March, after having served as the company’s controller since 2006, as well as its chief accounting officer.

Rose Petroleum reported that John Blair has been appointed to its board of directors, as director of oil and gas, effective immediately. In addition, he also has been promoted to CEO of Rose Petroleum (US) LLC, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which controls its U.S. oil and gas assets. Blair has more than 27 years of experience in the upstream industry, and was senior V.P. at global consulting firm Knowledge Reservoir until 2013. 

Jim Terry has been named CEO at Integrated Drilling Equipment Holdings Corp., effective immediately. He replaces former CEO Stephen Cope, who resigned in April. Effective with his appointment, Terry will also become a member of IDE’s board of directors. Prior to his appointment, Terry was CEO and president of Particle Drilling Technologies (PDT). Prior to PDT, Terry held various positions at several oilfield services companies.

Schramm Inc. has appointed Bobby Bryan to the newly created position of COO, based in West Chester, Pa. Bryan joins the company following a 20-year career at NOV. He served most recently as V.P. of business development in NOV’s Land Rig Solutions division. 

BP has appointed Spencer Dale as its new group chief economist, with effect from the end of October. Dale joins BP from the Bank of England, where he was previously executive director for Financial Stability Strategy and Risk; he was also a member of the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee. As group chief economist, Dale will advise BP’s board and executive team on economic drivers and trends in global energy. He will lead an international team of senior economists, whose responsibilities include overseeing the preparation and presentation of the annual BP Statistical Review of World Energy and the BP Energy Outlook.

Shell has appointed Harry Brekelmans as Projects & Technology director, effective Oct. 1. He will become a member of the executive committee and take over from Matthias Bichsel, who will leave the company after 34 years of service. Brekelmans’ current post is executive V.P., Operated Assets, Upstream International. He joined Shell in 1990, and since then has held a variety of management positions.

Effective Aug. 11, Paul F. Boling retired as V.P., CFO, secretary, and treasurer at Houston-based Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. He will stay on as a consultant, as necessary. In connection with Boling’s retirement, Carrizo has named David L. Pitts, the company’s V.P. and chief accounting officer, as its new CFO and treasurer, in addition to his current positions. Boling worked at Carrizo for more than 11 years, while Pitts has been with the company since 2010.

InterOil Corporation has appointed former BG Group CEO and Shell executive Chris Finlayson as chairman-designate, replacing Gaylen Byker. Finlayson, a director of Lloyd’s Register, was previously V.P. and managing director with Shell.

Patrick T. Mulva, V.P. and controller at Exxon Mobil, will retire on Sept. 1, after more than 38 years with the company. He joined Exxon Company U.S.A. in 1976 as a financial analyst, at its refinery in Baton Rouge, La., and went on to hold a variety of upstream and downstream financial positions. Mulva was appointed assistant controller for Exxon Company International in 1990, and, the following year, was named finance director of the Exxon companies in Malaysia. He returned to Exxon Company U.S.A. in 1993 as upstream controller and later became the company’s assistant controller. In 1996, he was appointed controller of Imperial Oil Limited, Exxon’s Canadian affiliate. In 1998, Mulva was appointed senior V.P., finance and administration, and a director of Imperial Oil Limited. In 2002, he became V.P. of investor relations and corporate secretary of Exxon Mobil. Mulva was elected to his current position in 2004.

Wood Group Intetech has appointed Colin Smith to lead its Americas expansion. Smith brings nearly two decades of industry experience, the majority of which he spent with Schlumberger. He is the company’s second senior hire this quarter, following the appointment of Sami Halfawi as head of the Middle East unit.