The chief operating officer (COO) of Wood Group (LON:WG.) is to step into the driving seat at the oil services supplier.
Wood has appointed Robin Watson as chief executive from January next year, replacing Bob Keiller who is retiring from the group at the end of December.
Watson has served on the board since 2013, initially as chief executive of Wood Group PSN and, since April 2015, as group COO.
Chairman Ian Marchant said: "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."
Wood has around US$7bn of sales and works in more than 50 countries.
It has three businesses – Wood Group PSN, Wood Group Kenny and Wood Group Mustang – providing engineering, production support and maintenance management services to the oil & gas, and power generation industries worldwide.
Watson will have the task of improving the group's fortunes at a time when Wood and its peers are facing industry spending cuts due to falling oil prices.
In August, the group reported a 7% fall in first-half profits and said conditions in oil & gas markets were still challenging.
But it outlined measures to combat the downturn including US$40mln of overhead cost savings and a 13% cut in jobs since December.
Shares rose 9.5p to 666p in mid-morning trading in London.
Oil industry commentator Malcolm Graham-Wood said Keiller's retirement appeared rather premature after less than three years in the job.
"This seems to be a case of a CEO leaving half way through the process, one which Keiller and Wood have handled pretty well," Graham-Wood said.
"Indeed, given how bad the market has been for most oilfield service companies, Wood’s performance has been more than creditable."