The board of offshore drilling group Valaris has confirmed Anton Dibowitz as president and chief executive officer, following his interim appointment earlier this year.
Mr. Dibowitz assumed the role of interim president and CEO of the Houston-based company in September, succeeding Tom Burke, who took the job in 2019 through the merger of Ensco and Rowan.
Mr Dibowitz is a former CEO of Seadrill, and has held various prior positions within tax, process reengineering and marketing at Transocean and EY.
“Anton has done a tremendous job leading Valaris over the past three months and we are delighted for him to continue building upon this positive momentum in a permanent capacity,” said Valaris chairwoman Elizabeth Leykum.
“After a thorough and deliberative search process, the board unanimously agreed that Anton’s extensive knowledge of Valaris and the offshore drilling industry make him exceptionally qualified to lead this company forward and deliver value for shareholders.”
The past year has seen company undergo restructuring in the wake of a severe decline in activity in 2020, which left the drilling market reeling. Valaris concluded its Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in April, and has since added more than $2.1 billion in backlog so far this year.
It recently secured a two-year contract from ExxonMobil offshore Angola, providing its Valaris DS-9 drillship, and a one-well contract with Cairn Energy in the UK North Sea, expected to be executed in the second quarter of next year.
Mr Dibowitz said it had been an honour to lead Valaris over the past three months.
“I am encouraged by the continued steady increase in activity we have seen across our business, evidenced by the addition of more than $2.1 billion of backlog year to date. Valaris has proven that we are an organisation with the scale, geographic diversity and best-in-class fleet to execute on our strategic priorities and deliver exceptional service to our customers around the world,” he added.