Australian oil firm Woodside said Tuesday it had named acting CEO Meg O’Neill as the company’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. O’Neill succeeds Peter Coleman who retired from Woodside in June 2021.
Woodside Chairman Richard Goyder said that O’Neill’s appointment was the outcome of an extensive international recruitment process that included an exceptional field of internal and external candidates.
Goyder said: "The Board is delighted to confirm O’Neill as Woodside’s sixth CEO and Managing Director. Meg’s impeccable credentials and proven leadership capabilities, exemplified in recent months, set her apart as the Board’s top candidate for the CEO position. The Board is looking forward to working with Meg to build on Woodside’s great history and future opportunities.
“Meg is an outstanding executive with 27 years’ experience working in the global oil and gas industry, with a proven track record of delivery across the oil and gas value chain, making her the ideal person to lead Woodside as we significantly expand the business in a cost-efficient and sustainable way.
“Her focus on project delivery, cost reduction and carbon reduction will benefit both Scarborough and Sangomar through development, execution and operations.
“Since joining Woodside in 2018, Meg has been instrumental in delivering operational efficiencies across our producing assets, leading the Scarborough and Sangomar developments and as Acting CEO, leading the business towards a targeted final investment decision for Scarborough this year.
“The Board‘s priorities in selecting a new CEO were identifying someone who will maintain the momentum in the business to deliver our current projects, lead through a transformational phase of growth and guide Woodside’s activities in response to the energy transition.
“Equally critical was the demonstrated ability to develop the organization’s capability and culture to suit a fast-changing and competitive external environment,” he said.
O’Neill said she was honored to have the opportunity to lead Woodside. “Woodside is a great company with an exciting future. My focus will be on delivering the significant benefits expected from the merger of Woodside and BHP’s petroleum business and continuing to reduce costs and carbon while delivering Woodside’s current projects and production. “I look forward to working with a strong senior team to transform the way we work as we look to continually improve and evolve,” she said.
Before joining Woodside O’Neill held senior technical and business positions in Exxon Mobil including assignments in Indonesia, Norway, Canada and the USA and regional roles responsible for Asia/Pacific and Africa. O’Neill holds dual Bachelor degrees in Ocean Engineering and Chemical Engineering and a Masters Degree in Ocean Systems Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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