Matt R. Simmons, founder and former head of Simmons & Co. International, passed away from an apparent heart attack on Aug. 8 at his home in North Haven, Maine. Simmons, 67, was a former adviser to US President George W. Bush and was well known in the energy industry and around the world for his bold predictions on "peak oil" and the future of energy. Simmons had recently parted ways with Simmons & Co. International to concentrate his efforts on another venture, The Ocean Energy Institute, a think-tank and venture capital fund addressing the challenges of US offshore renewable energy. He founded the institute in 2007. "We are deeply saddened by the unexpected loss of a true visionary and friend," said Simmons & Co. chairman, president, and CEO Michael E. Frazier. "His dedication, enthusiasm and passion for all things involving energy were unparalleled by anyone in the industry. Matt's devotion to our firm was an inspiration to all of us to work hard to achieve the highest standards. He was a mentor to many, but none more than me. I will deeply miss my friend," said Frazier. Simmons leaves behind five daughters, a devoted wife, Ellen, and many friends, supporters, and colleagues.
Occidental Petroleum makes top management changes
Occidental Petroleum Corp. has made changes in executive management, naming James M. Lienert executive vice president and CFO, and electing Stephen I. Chazen president and COO. Lienert served as the company's executive vice president, finance and planning since 2006. Previously, Lienert served as president of Occidental Chemical Corp. (OxyChem). He joined OxyChem in 1974. He holds a bachelor's degree and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Chazen has served as president and CFO since 2007. He has 30 years experience in the industry. He joined Occidental in 1994 as executive vice president — corporate development. He was named CFO in 1999 and elected president and CFO in 2007. He was elected to the board of directors in 2010. Prior to joining Occidental, Chazen was a managing director in the investment banking group of Merrill Lynch & Co.
Expro taps Woodburn CEO
International oilfield service company Expro has appointed Charles Woodburn as CEO. Woodburn is a UK national who graduated from Cambridge with a PhD. He joins Expro following a 15-year career with Schlumberger where he held senior management roles including president of Wireline up to 2009. Latterly he was in charge of Schlumberger's engineering and manufacturing, reporting directly to the executive vice president of oilfield services. He has been appointed to Expro's main board. Graeme Coutts will revert to the position of chairman, a role he had occupied previously until February when he stepped back in as chief executive.
Mey joins Atwood Oceanics as CFO
Atwood Oceanics Inc., a Houston-based international drilling contractor, has hired Mark L. Mey as senior vice president and CFO. Mey will oversee Atwood's financial function, investor relations, and global supply chain. Mey brings more than 20 years of experience in the energy and financial services industries in the US and South Africa. He was most recently senior vice president and CFO and director of Scorpion Offshore Ltd. Previously, he was at Noble Corp. for 12 years serving, most recently, as vice president and treasurer. Mey holds an advanced diploma in accounting and a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He is a chartered accountant and attended the Harvard Business School Executive MBA Advanced Management Program.
Sanchez joins RiskAdvisory as ETRM consultant
RiskAdvisory, a division of SAS, has named Charlie Sanchez an Energy Trading & Risk Management (ETRM) industry consultant focusing on oil and gas trading operations. Sanchez comes to RiskAdvisory with over 11 years of experience in the energy industry. He held several senior positions with the international energy commodity risk management services consultancy Gelber & Associates, including vice president for energy markets, director for Energy Risk & Trading, and quantitative analyst/energy commodities broker. Most recently, he served as director of risk controls with SourceGas LLC. He received his bachelor's degree from Rice University.
Cullen/Frost Bankers adds former ExxonMobil general counsel to board
Charles W. Matthews, former general counsel of Exxon and Exxon Mobil Corp., has been named to the board of directors of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., the financial holding company of Frost, as a Houston director. Matthews spent his entire career at Exxon, joining the company's law department in 1971 and rising to become vice president and general counsel of Exxon Mobil Corp. He was responsible for coordinating the legal and regulatory efforts to facilitate the merger between Exxon Corp. and Mobil Corp. He retired from Exxon Mobil earlier this year. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Matthews earned a JD degree from the University of Houston. Among his many accomplishments, Matthews is an active member of the American, Texas, Houston and Dallas Bar Associations and a Bar Foundation Fellow. He serves on the board of the National Center for State Courts and has served as co-chair of its General Counsel Committee. He serves on the board of The Center for American and International Law, and on the board of the Texas Judicial Foundation and also served on the board of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. In 2008, the Texas Supreme Court appointed him for a second term as Commissioner of the Texas Access to Justice Commission. He is a member of the advisory board and the past chairman of the University of Houston Law Foundation. He is chair-elect of the University of Texas Development board and is a member of the board of the University of Texas System Foundation.
Miriam Westmoreland joins Burleson Cooke
Miriam P. Westmoreland has joined law firm Burleson Cooke as director of marketing and recruiting. Westmoreland has more than 20 years of experience in retail marketing and business development, and is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Houston Association of Legal Recruitment Administrators, and the Legal Marketing Association. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
GE Energy appoints Ottawa energy official as Canada country executive
GE has appointed former federal government and petroleum industry veteran Keith Triginer as GE Energy's new country executive in Canada to oversee the company's commercial initiatives in the region. Triginer will be responsible for leading GE Energy's commercial strategy in Canada as the federal and provincial governments intensify their efforts to modernize the country's energy infrastructure, boost alternative energy production, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to joining GE Energy, Triginer served as director of strategic policy and emerging issues in the oil, gas, and alternative energy division of Environment Canada, the federal environmental agency in Ottawa. Triginer also will oversee GE Energy's business initiatives in the Canadian petroleum industry. Before joining the government, Triginer served as vice president of industry issues for the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute after a 25-year career in energy business development with Siemens Canada, Foxboro, and Esso. He holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University, B.C. Canada Faculty of Business.
Price elected to replace Rooney as Gastar chairman
Gastar Exploration Ltd. has elected Floyd R. Price as chairman of Gastar's board of directors replacing John Rooney who stepped down as chairman due to the increased demands related to his role with Northern Blizzard Resources Inc. Rooney continues to serve as a director on Gastar's board. Price was elected to Gastar's board in June 2010. He recently retired from Apache Corp. where he most recently served as executive vice president and exploration officer. He holds a bachelor's degree from Rutgers College and a master's degree from the University of Michigan. Price is currently the chairman of the board of directors of Tamarack Valley Energy and also serves on the board of Source Energy.
Energy, transactions attorney White joins Thompson & Knight
Law firm Thompson & Knight LLP has added energy and transactions attorney Hunter H. White as a partner in the oil and gas practice group in the firm's Houston office. He holds 20 years of legal experience including a wide range of oil and gas transactions, in addition to other work in the energy industry that includes asset and stock sales, perational and financial transactions, management agreements, and other energy-related matters. White joins the firm from Andrews Kurth LLP, where he served as a partner in the business transaction section. White is an honors graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. He earned his undergraduate degree, with high honors, from The University of Texas.
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