Wood Group (John) PLC (LSE:WG.) will promote operations chief Ken Gilmartin into the role of chief executive, it said in a statement to the market today.
He will replace Robin Watson, who announced his retirement in April and will step down from the board of the oil & gas, chemicals and renewables engineer on 1 July.
Watson, who also was promoted from chief operations officer, and recently oversaw the sale of its Built Environment consulting business, will stay on as an adviser until 30 September.
Before joining the FTSE 250-listed group as chief operating officer last August, Gilmartin was at Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE:JEC), most recently serving as executive vice president of its People & Places business, where he was responsible for more than half of the company’s business portfolio, covering both public and private clients.
Gilmartin has 25 years of experience leading projects and running operations in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East.
The Aberdeen-based group, which signed an agreement for the sale of the Built Environment business to WSP Group (TSX:WSP) for US$1.9 billion this month, said Gilmartin was chosen to steer the company through its next phase after considering both existing and external staff.
“I believe we have an exciting future in front of us as we capture growth opportunities in energy security and sustainability and deliver value for our shareholders over the medium term," Gilmartin said in the statement.