Premier is pleased to announce that Roy Franklin will join the company’s Board as Non-Executive Chairman with effect from 1st September 2017. He succeeds Mike Welton who, after eight years as Chairman, announced in March 2017 that he would step down from the Board on appointment of a successor.
In addition, Dave Blackwood and Mike Wheeler will also join the Board with immediate effect as new Non-Executive Directors. These appointments follow the retirement of Joe Darby and David Lindsell at the Company’s AGM in May.
Roy Franklin, OBE
Roy has more than 40 years experience as an executive in the oil and gas industry. He spent 18 years at BP after which he was Group Managing Director of Clyde Petroleum and then CEO of Paladin Resources, until its acquisition by Talisman Energy in 2005. Since then, Roy has served on a number of international energy boards in non-executive roles. He is currently interim Chairman of Statoil ASA and a non-executive director of Santos Limited. Roy is a non-executive director of Amec Foster Wheeler and, on completion of the proposed combination with Wood Group, will be appointed Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director of the combined Group. He is also a member of the advisory board of Kerogen Capital LLC. In 2004, Roy was awarded the OBE for services to the UK oil and gas industry.
Dave Blackwood, CBE
Dave has over 40 years experience in the oil and gas sector, 27 years of which were spent in various global roles within BP, including heading up BP’s upstream business in the UK and Norway. He has a strong understanding of the technical and commercial issues at play in an exploration and production company and has broad experience in developing and managing large scale complex energy assets throughout the world, from exploration through to decommissioning. Dave has held various non-executive and advisory roles, including Valiant Petroleum plc where he was Senior Independent Director. He is currently a Senior Advisor with Evercore, a global independent investment banking advisory firm. In 2006 Dave was awarded the CBE for his contribution to the UK oil and gas industry.
Mike Wheeler, CBE
Mike has held senior roles in businesses in a variety of sectors, including serving, as the Global Managing Partner Financial Advisory Services and Member of KPMG’s international executive board. His career at KPMG spanned thirty years, which included serving as Global Chairman, Restructuring. He has held various non-executive director roles and is currently serving as Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee at Citadel Securities Europe, Non-executive Chairman of Glitnir and Non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Sunseeker International. In 2014, Mike was awarded the CBE for his services to healthcare following several years as a non?executive director at the UK Department of Health.
Mike Welton, Chairman, commented:
“I am delighted to welcome Roy, Dave and Mike to Premier’s Board. I am absolutely confident that their experience and skills will be of enormous value to the Board and the Company as a whole. It has been a privilege to have been Chairman of Premier for some eight years. It is a company with great potential and I am sure that Roy is an excellent choice to chair the Board for the next phase of its development”.
Commenting on his appointment, Roy Franklin said:
“I very much look forward to joining the Board and chairing Premier, a company I have known well for many years. I would like to congratulate Mike Welton on leading the company through a very challenging industry downturn and very much look forward to working with the Board, the management team and all stakeholders”.
