Bob Keiller, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Everything about PSN excites me. The biggest challenge I face in my job is creating the right environment to grow a strong dynamic team. It all comes down to people and I enjoy working with the best in the business. I’m passionate about health and safety. It’s not about legal or contractual compliance or being politically correct. It's a simple moral stance - nobody should get hurt working for PSN.
I joined the company in 2002 as UK director for Production Services and was appointed managing director for global operations in 2004. I have worked in the oil and gas industry for over 20 years in topsides and subsurface production management with large blue chip operators and smaller contracting organisations.
I lead an executive team of nine who oversee nearly 8500 employees working in 20 countries, across five continents. We have overseen a 20% growth in the business with EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) several million dollars ahead of plan. We have a fantastic future and it’s in our own hands.
Bob has a Master of Engineering degree from Heriot-Watt University and is a Chartered Engineer. He is chairman of the Offshore Contracting Association (OCA), a member of the cross-industry Step Change in Safety Leadership Team and an active member and former chairman of the Aberdeen & District Round Table. After leading the management buy-out from KBR Halliburton, creating PSN, Bob was named Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 at the Entrepreneurial Exchange awards ceremony in Glasgow.
Duncan Skinner, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
The thing I enjoy most about my job is building the best accounting and finance team in the business – I get excited about PSN’s people and their potential.
I am responsible for all aspects of PSN’s finance, administration, IT, real estate and legal services. With CEO Bob Keiller, I spearheaded PSN’s management buy-out, leading the award-winning deal. We worked for 15 months to engineer the separation of one company from another.
With over 27 years' industry experience, primarily in financial, strategic and commercial roles, I have held numerous directorships. These include finance director and company secretary for Brown & Root AOC, global sales director and strategy, marketing and business acquisition director for Production Services, director of strategy and marketing for KBR’s Operations and Maintenance group and director of Accounting and Finance for Production Services.
Duncan holds a BA in management from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and is a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA). He is North East chairman and board member of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) and represents PSN on the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce council.
Dean Hunter, Human Resources Director
Previously a police constable, Dean joined the HR profession in search of a new challenge and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to become PSN's Human Resources Director. This year, Dean and his team, were awarded the Scottish Offshore Achievement Award 2007 for ‘succeeding through people’ for creating a corporate culture that inspires the business leaders and technical champions of the future. The biggest test of Dean's leadership was undoubtedly PSN's management-buy-out from KBR in May 2006. Management-buy-outs are about managing people, keeping people, in the midst of monumental change. Remarkably, only one employee chose to stay with KBR. Similarly, under Dean's HR directorship, PSN has enjoyed an employee turnover rate of about 1% a month, in a market where 30% a year is an industry norm. Dean has also been responsible for PSN employing record numbers of graduates and has led a department responsible for innovative industry-acclaimed solutions to recruitment problems – like PSN's Re-engineer Programme converting ex-armed forces personnel to the oil and gas industry.
Dean holds a bachelors degree in Public Policy and Management and masters degree in Employment Law Practice from the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Dean sits on the Employment Legislation working group of the Employment Practices Committee of the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) – whose members employ 2/3 of people working in the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Dean also represents PSN as a corporate sponsor of the MSc Human Resource Management Course at The Robert Gordon University. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Jerome Lynch, International Operations Director
The challenges I face in my job are figuring out how to get profitable new work in countries with very challenging business climates and culture. We have to ensure we manage all the risk, not least the safety risk, the unsociable hours and maintaining a healthy home life. But PSN has enjoyed a 159% increase in International sales since 2002. International revenue now accounts for 43% of total PSN revenue, compared to 30% in 2002.
I joined the company in 1994 as a process engineer and was appointed to the board in 2002. I have held a number of senior managerial roles in PSN including the first general manager for PSN’s largest joint venture, Sigma 3. I have led the company’s international development in 20 countries.
Jerome has a degree in chemical engineering from University College Dublin and is a chartered member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Peter Brown, UK Operations Director
PSN has the ability to quickly make decisions that suit our customers and employees. We have a golden opportunity to grow a successful company that is the undisputed market leader in our field. We have all the right ingredients, all the right people, to make that happen.
I am responsible for the health and safety of nearly 4000 employees and have profit and loss accountability for all operations in Europe and Canada. I am passionate about safety and strongly believe that the only way to begin coaching anyone is to 'walk the talk'. Achievement of an incident free workplace by raising the level of HS&E accountability at all levels in the workforce is one of my driving goals.
Having joined the company in 2002 as project manager for the TotalFinaElf project, I was promoted to director of operations in November 2004. My industry experience spans 30 years. I have held senior positions in a number of prestigious operating and contracting companies where I gained extensive managerial experience in ‘greenfield’ and ‘brownfield’ engineering, construction, drilling and production operations.
A chartered engineer, Peter holds a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Portsmouth. He is currently Chairman of PSN's largest joint venture Sigma 3 and a member of the Step Change Leadership Team.
Zeffrey Lucas, US Operations Director
The biggest challenge I face right now is rebuilding an infrastructure of functional support using cross cultural and legal networking. What excites me about PSN is our ability to shape a culture and strategy into the model we see fit.
I joined the company in 2002 as director of Americas operations. I subsequently took up the role of general manager for Production Services' integrated services contract joint venture, Sigma 3. With revenues in the region of $200 million, Sigma 3 is Production Services’ largest joint venture covering the complete suite of services for Shell’s North Sea operations. In May 2005, I returned to the US to lead PSN Americas.
My knowledge in the oil and gas industry spans over 25 years. I have experience in drilling, reservoir engineering as well as senior positions in contract operations and maintenance of petroleum facilities.
Zeffrey has a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana Tech University. He is registered as a professional engineer in Louisiana and a member of both the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute.
Ali Green, Business Development Director
I lead the sales and proposals teams so my key role is to develop and maintain customer relationships to grow a profitable business for PSN. This is quite a challenge but I try to understand a situation from the customer’s perspective. This regular interaction with the customers is the most enjoyable part of my job.
With over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, I most recently implemented an innovative sales process which doubled business income and substantially increased our order book. This was done whilst sustaining new and existing customer relationships and identifying new business opportunities.
What excites me about PSN is having the ability to shape our own destiny. We have the capability within PSN to do just that. We have great people. The business development team has set out to make PSN the most successful contractor in the business. If each of our nearly 8,000 ambassadors is alert to opportunities, maintaining good relationships with our customers, and delivering the best work with safety as the number one priority, we’ll certainly achieve that and more.
Since joining the company as assignment manager for the BP Forties contract, Ali has held a number of diverse and demanding roles in KBR and in the parent company Halliburton. He has worked as procurement and materials team leader, creating and directing P&M strategies throughout Halliburton UK. Ali is a graduate of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen with a BSc in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. He is a Chartered Engineer (C.Eng.) and a member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers.
Bill Nicholson, Commercial Director
I bring experience and in-depth knowledge of ‘brownfield’ contracting strategies to PSN. The aspect of my job I enjoy the most is developing people, particularly our graduates. I would describe myself as action-focused, passionate, loyal and committed.
Joining the Production Services board in April 2004 as project services director, I previously served on the board of KBR’s Operations and Maintenance product line and Offshore product line from 2000. I have worked in the oil and gas industry for 30 years.
Before joining the KBR board, Bill held a number of senior managerial roles in the company, including manager of estimating for Brown & Root Energy Services (BRES) and project controls team leader for Halliburton Brown & Root. Prior to that, Bill held several directorships with AOC International and Brown & Root AOC. He is a champion of graduate training and a mentor to high potential employees.
John Kearney, Technical Director
The biggest challenge I face is understanding and providing for the future needs of our business. What excites me about PSN is the unique opportunity to create a successful, global company, headquartered in Scotland. Seeing the talent and drive of our people, delivering great value, is what I enjoy most about my job.
In my role, I have responsibility for provision of engineering, construction, operations and maintenance resources, systems and tools to the operations team. With 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, I have gained a wealth of experience in 'brownfield' support and held a number of senior managerial positions with multinational contracting companies.
I joined the company in 2002 as facilities engineering manager for the ConocoPhillips SNS contract. I was appointed to the board in February 2004 as engineering director. In this role, I led PSN’s innovative LEAN engineering project, substantially improving engineering efficiencies which led to significant cost reductions for many of our customers.
John holds a BSc (Hons) in Civil engineering, an MSc DIC in Design of Steel Structures and an MBA Business Studies. He is a member of the Institute of Petroleum Engineers and sits on the Offshore Contractors Association sub-committee for Project and Asset Management.