Tullow Oil appoints Drax CEO as non-exec chair

Tullow Oil said it has appointed Dorothy Thompson as independent non-executive director and chair-designate of Tullow with effect from April 25.

The company expects Thompson will succeed Aidan Heavey, Tullow’s current chairman and founder, as chair at the conclusion of the board meeting scheduled for 20 July 2018. Heavey will retire from the board at the same time.

Thompson (57) brings extensive experience to Tullow having served for 12 years as chief executive officer of Drax Group plc, the international power and energy trading company, until the end of 2017. Before joining Drax, she managed InterGen’s European power business, was head of project finance at PowerGen and worked at CDC Capital Partners, the private sector arm of the British Government’s aid programme.

Thompson has extensive emerging markets experience including a period working in the Commercial and Industrial division of the Bank of Botswana. She holds a BSc and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

As well as her experience with Drax, Dorothy is also currently a non-executive director of the court of the Bank of England (since 2014) and the NYSE-listed Eaton Corporation plc (since 2016). She was a non-executive director of Johnson Matthey plc from 2007-16.

“Dorothy has exactly the right mix of leadership, managerial, operational and financial experience that Tullow needs. I look forward to working closely with Dorothy during the transition period until she takes over as Chair in July and I will follow Dorothy and Tullow’s progress over the next few years with much interest,” said Aidan Heavey, chairman of Tullow.

“Dorothy Thompson’s extensive experience as CEO at Drax will be exceptionally valuable as we work together to position Tullow for growth in what remains an uncertain environment in our sector,” said Paul McDade, CEO of Tullow Oil.

“I am very pleased to be joining Tullow as the company emerges from the recent downturn in a strong position following the significant progress it has made over the past two years,” said Thompson. “I am looking forward to working with Paul and the Board as we focus on delivering the full potential of the company’s world class portfolio and the return to value enhancing growth.”