Tullow Appoints Heavey's Successor

Africa-focused UK independent Tullow Oil has appointed Dorothy Thompson to succeed Aidan Heavey, the company's founder and current chairman, on July 20.

Thompson was CEO of UK mainly coal-fired power generator Drax Group for 12 years until end-2017 and previously managed InterGen's European power business, worked at PowerGen and at CDC Capital Partners. She joins Tullow without significant upstream and Africa experience. She is a non-executive director at Bank of England (since 2014) and was at Johnson Matthey (2007-16). She also has experience of shifting Drax from a wholly to a less-coal-dependent company, thereby reducing its carbon footprint.

Heavey, Tullow's CEO for 31 years until 26 April 2017, said: "Dorothy has exactly the right mix of leadership, managerial, operational and financial experience that Tullow needs."

His successor as CEO, Paul McDade, added: "While Tullow is well-positioned with a balanced set of production, development and exploration assets, we will need to ensure that the company not only delivers on the potential of its current assets but also seeks out new opportunities for growth. I look forward to welcoming Dorothy to the company and working closely with her in the coming years."

Dorothy Thompson, Tullow non-executive chair (Photo credit: Drax Group)