EnerMech, the Aberdeen-based mechanical and electrical services company, will have a new chief executive from the start of next year.
The firm said yesterday it had appointed industry “heavyweight” Chris Brown to the role.
Mr Brown, who hails from Hull and will be based in Houston in the US, will take over the managerial hotseat from interim CEO and co-founder Doug Duguid on January 1.
The new boss is joining EnerMech from Canadian engineering, procurement, and construction services company SNC Lavalin, where as corporate development officer he played a key role in its £2.1 billion acquisition of WS Atkins.
He was previously chief executive at global engineering and construction firm Kentz, leading its transformation from a small Alternative Investment Market-listed business into a £1.9bn revenue FTSE 250 company, before its sale and integration into SNC Lavalin in 2014.
Earlier senior leadership roles saw him working for US Fortune 500 companies Kellogg Brown and Root, and Foster Wheeler.
EnerMech employs about 3,500 people across 40 locations in the UK, Norway, the Middle East, Caspian, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas.
Mr Duguid was one of four shareholders who, alongside private equity firm Lime Rock Partners, set up the business in 2008.
He stepped down from the CEO role to become deputy chairman earlier this year, but then John Guy, who took up the reins on August 1, was forced to quit due to “family reasons”.
Mr Duguid, who will leave EnerMech following a “planned transition” said: “Chris Brown was the stand-out candidate to take on the role of CEO and to drive our business on to the next level of growth.
“His credentials are impeccable and include 30 years’ experience in the LNG (liquefied natural gas), oil and gas, refining, and petrochemicals industries, where he has consistently delivered high growth and positive shareholder returns.”
EnerMech chairman John Kennedy, who led the search process on behalf of private equity owner the Carlyle Group, said: “Chris has an exceptional track record in growing and improving international service based businesses with an emphasis on customer relationships.
“He is a people and customer-centred individual, with a strong history of creating highly engaged teams – which ideally suits him to EnerMech’s entrepreneurial culture.”
EnerMech was acquired by Carlyle Group last year in a £450 million deal.