Robin Watson officially takes up Wood Group’s top role

Robin Watson will officially assume the chief executive role for Wood Group tomorrow.

The business leader has been in a handover period with outgoing business chief Bob Keiller since the October confirmation of Keiller’s departure.

At the time Wood Group chairman Ian Marchant spoke exclusively to Energy Voice regarding the leadership change.

He said: “When I took over as chairman 18 months ago I knew I would see a succession like this.

“I have been working with Robin for the past 18 months to get him ready for this.”

Watson began his career in the merchant navy before transitioning into the oil and gas sector. He worked for Petrofac and Mobil Oil before being named the chief executive of Wood Group PSN in 2012. He was named ‘Global Director of the Year’ in 2014 by the Institute of Director’s (IoD), before assuming Wood Group’s chief operating officer role earlier this year.

It was the “right time” for Keiller to move on, according to Marchant.

He added: “He’s been in a leadership position for over 10 years, and leadership can be draining actually. I could see in Bob some of the things I knew were in myself three years ago, so I fully understand his desire to quit while he is ahead and young enough to do something else.”

Keiller later sat down with Energy Voice to exclusively reveal plans for his next business venture AB15.

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