Hamilton, Bermuda - September 3, 2013, Hamilton, Bermuda - Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. announces the appointment of Andrew Henry Simon to the board as a non-executive director, effective immediately.
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Mr. Simon has been a Non-Executive Director at Travis Perkins plc. since 2006 and is also a Non-Executive director at Finning International Inc. (Canada), Management Consulting Group plc, SGL Carbon SE (Germany), Exova Group plc, Icon Infrastructure Management Limited (Guernsey) and British Car Auctions.
Mr. Simon was previously Deputy Chairman of Dalkia plc, Chairman and/or Chief Executive of Evode Group plc and has held Non-Executive directorships with Severn Trent Plc, Ibstock PLC, Laporte Plc, Associated British Ports Holdings PLC, and Brake Bros Holdings Ltd where he is Chairman of the Remuneration and Health & Safety Committees.
In addition, the Company announces the appointment of Jeremy Benjamin Gerald Asher, Thomas Counter Shull, John Bell and Philip Anthony Dimmock, to the Board as Non-Executive Directors, also with immediate effect.
Mr. Asher previously served at the Company as Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Audit Committee between 2007 to 2010. Mr. Asher is Chairman of Agile Energy Limited, a privately held energy investment company; Chairman of Tower Resources plc, an AIM-listed oil explorer; and a director of Pacific Drilling SA, an NYSE-listed operator of ultra-deepwater drill-ships, where he chairs the Nomination and Remuneration Committees.
He is a member of the London Business School’s UK regional advisory board and the Engineering Advisory Board of Imperial Innovations, the commercial arm of Imperial College. Following several years as a management consultant, he was co-head of the global oil products trading business at Glencore AG and then acquired, developed and sold the Beta oil refinery at Wilhelmshaven in Germany.
Between 1998 and 2001 he was CEO of PA Consulting Group, and since that time has been an investor and director in various public and private companies. He holds a BSc (Econ) from the LSE and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Shull is currently Chief Executive of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange).
He had a distinguished career in the US Army, culminating in an active duty assignment as Military Assistant to Robert C. Macfarlane, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Subsequently he built a highly successful business career as a turnaround specialist including as President of Barneys, New York and CEO and Chairman of other leading US consumer concerns.
During this period he also co-founded and served as CEO of Meridian Ventures Inc where he advised numerous clients both in the retail sector and elsewhere. These included Mobil, whom he had advised on developing Caspian Sea pipeline strategies to monetise oil and gas in landlocked regions. From 2004 –2010 he was also a director of NYSE-listed Zale Corporation, where he served on the Compensation Committee and was Chairman of the Audit Committee for three years.
Mr. Bell has a First Class Honours Degree from Strathclyde University in Scotland and attended a one year Executive Leadership Program at Haas Business School at UC Berkeley, California. He is a registered Chartered Engineer, C.Eng. and a member of The Institute of Engineering & Technology as well as a member of the Institute of Directors.
Mr. Bell has been a senior oil executive for more than 20 years, working on and delivering conventional and non-conventional Operational Assets & Projects for major oil companies including BP, Statoil AS and Suncor Energy plc. at Vice President/Managing Director Level. He is currently Chief Executive of Babylon Petroleum, a private-equity-backed exploration company with a focus on Iraq and the Middle East.
Most recently prior to the civil war and sanctions in Syria. he was Managing Director of Suncor Energy’s exploration and production business in Syria, significantly increasing reserves, production and substantially improving IRR, while also successfully negotiating additional licenses. Mr. Bell was the winner of the Suncor Presidents Award 2010, for the best performing Business Unit.
Mr. Bell has significant board level and corporate governance experience having served as a director on several boards and joint ventures. He has spent a large part of his career in the Middle East, as well as time in the Americas, the UK North Sea, Scandinavia, North Africa & the Caribbean.
Mr. Dimmock was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. in July 2013 and has more than 40 years’ experience in upstream oil and gas, both in the UK and internationally, and is currently a consultant to various oil and gas companies, including Equator Exploration Ltd where he was chief operating officer.
Mr. Dimmock spent a significant part of his career at BP in a wide variety of senior positions including manager of the Forties oil field, and at Ranger Oil where he also held the post of vice president of the international division, and served as chairman. ■