The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Board of Directors announces that Simon Seaton has been hired for the position
of Chief Executive Officer.
In the CEO role, Seaton will work with the Board of Directors on
the short- and long-term development and growth of SPE as the leading global
association dedicated to serving professional and student members in the oil
and gas and related industries. He will manage a staff of more than 250
full-time employees in Houston, Dallas, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London and Calgary.
After the announcement in
September 2022 of current CEO Mark Rubin's planned retirement, the Board of
Directors formed a CEO Search Committee and engaged the services of Korn Ferry
to coordinate the search for the new senior executive of SPE's staff. The
member-led Search Committee followed a thorough process to ensure inclusivity
and diversity in identifying qualified candidates.
"We identified Simon as
a perfect candidate to help lead the Society towards the success we all
envision for our profession in the changing energy landscape," shared 2023
SPE President Med Kamal. "Our future includes providing the world with the
energy it needs from petroleum, mitigating climate change issues, and
developing new sources of energy—what I refer to as Petroleum ++."
Seaton most recently held
the role of CEO, Energy and Resources Worldwide, at Sodexo, a global food,
facilities management, and workplace services company where he worked since
2012 in Houston, Singapore and Dubai. A chemist by education, his career began
as a drilling fluids engineer. He spent 22 years at Halliburton in various
technical, business development and executive roles in Aberdeen, Houston and
Nigeria. Positions at Halliburton included Country Vice President, Managing
Director of the UK, and Senior Director of Deepwater Solutions. Seaton has been
an SPE member for more than 25 years and has authored or coauthored more than
20 technical papers. Originally from the UK, he currently resides in Houston. "I
am extremely excited and honored to have been given this opportunity to be part
of SPE, an organization I have been a member of for more than 25 years. I am
looking forward to working with the members, board and staff," said
Seaton. He will join SPE on 20 July and will be based in Houston. Rubin will
retire at the end of June.
About the Society of Petroleum Engineers
The Society of Petroleum
Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional association with more than
119,000 members in 138 countries engaged in the exploration and production of
oil and gas and related energy resources. SPE is a key technical and
professional resource providing opportunities to exchange information at
in-person and online events and through training, publications, and member
programs. SPE maintains offices in Calgary, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, Kuala Lumpur,
and London.