Sidewinder Announces Changes to Its Senior Management Team
HOUSTON, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sidewinder Drilling LLC ("Sidewinder" or the "Company") announced today the retirement of Jon C. Cole as Chief Executive Officer and the promotion of J. Anthony Gallegos Jr. to Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Cole will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company. In addition, the Company is pleased to announce the promotion of Scott A. Keller, who was formerly Director of Marketing, to Vice President of Marketing. Mr. Keller will report directly to Mr. Gallegos in his new role and will have executive responsibility for the marketing, sales and contracting functions of the Company.
Mr. Gallegos has over twenty-five years of experience in the land and offshore domestic and international contract drilling business. Prior to this promotion, for the past three years, Mr. Gallegos served as President & Chief Financial Officer with overall responsibility for the profitability and operating performance of the Company. Mr. Gallegos was a founder of the Company and served as Senior Vice President & CFO and in that role was responsible for Sidewinder's financial, accounting, contracts, marketing, risk management and supply chain functions. From April 2006 through September 2010, Mr. Gallegos held the position of Vice President Business Development of Scorpion Offshore. Scorpion Offshore was an international offshore drilling contractor with operations across the globe, which was acquired by Seadrill in 2010. Prior to joining Scorpion Offshore, he held operational, marketing, corporate planning and management positions with Atwood Oceanics, Transocean and Ensco. Mr. Gallegos started his career working as a roughneck on offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Gallegos is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the International Association of Drilling Contractors . He is a veteran of the US Army and holds a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from Rice University.
Mr. Keller has over fifteen years of experience in the land contract drilling business and oilfield rental and service business - working both domestically and internationally. Prior to this promotion, Mr. Keller held the position Director of Marketing for the Company and in that role was involved in marketing and contracting Sidewinder's fleet of drilling rigs across the United States. Mr. Keller held that position until his promotion this week. Mr. Keller joined the Company in 2012 as Marketing Manager. Prior to joining Sidewinder, Mr. Keller held the position of International Business Development Manager for Allis Chalmers Energy from March 2007 to November 2011. Allis Chalmers was an oil field service conglomerate with equipment based across both domestic and international markets before its combination with Archer in 2011. Before joining Allis Chalmers, he held sales and business development roles for several oilfield service companies including Quality Rentals, and Varco. Mr. Keller holds a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the International Association of Drilling Contractors.
Mr. Cole has over forty years of experience in the land and offshore domestic and international contract drilling business. Mr. Cole was a founder of the Company and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since its founding. Mr. Cole served as non-executive Chairman of the board of directors of Sevan Drilling ASA, a Norwegian drilling contractor that owns and operates unique deepwater drilling rigs, from April 2011 through December 2011. From June 2005 through July 2010, he was a member of the Board of Directors and held the positions of President & Chief Executive Officer of Scorpion Offshore Ltd., an international offshore drilling company which was ultimately acquired by Seadrill Ltd. in 2010. From 2003 to 2005, he was Senior Vice President - Marketing, Business Development & Safety, Health & Environment for Ensco International Inc. From 1977 to 2002, he held various operational, marketing, corporate planning and executive positions with Transocean Inc. and its predecessor companies culminating in his being named Executive Vice President--Shallow and Inland Water. Mr. Cole holds a B.A. degree in Chemistry and an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. He is currently a director of the International Association of Drilling Contractors and has served on the board of directors of Hercules Offshore Inc.
"Jon's steady hand and dedication to operational excellence have been driving forces of the Company since co-founding Sidewinder back in 2011," said Anthony Gallegos, Sidewinder's incoming Chief Executive Officer. "On behalf of our employees and myself, I thank Jon for his service to the Company as our CEO and look forward to his continued involvement as Chairman as we continue to navigate the current industry challenges and set a course for Sidewinder's next significant milestones."
Mr. Cole commented: "Although I will miss the challenges in the day to day operation of a drilling contractor, I am confident that Sidewinder has an outstanding leadership team and that the Company is well positioned for the inevitable industry recovery. I have worked closely with Anthony for 17 of the past 21 years, and I am extremely pleased that such a capable individual is assuming the role of CEO. I intend to remain involved with Company and will work closely with Mr. Gallegos on strategic matters."
Sidewinder was formed in 2011 by the Company's management team and investors to own and operate premium land drilling rigs and to provide contract drilling services to exploration and production ("E&P") companies targeting unconventional resource plays in North America. Through acquisitions and construction of newbuild rigs, Sidewinder has built a contract land drilling company with a large scale, high quality asset base focused on delivering high performance drilling services required by large operators (including majors, international oil companies and large independent E&P companies) seeking to safely and efficiently develop unconventional oil and gas resources.
Telephone: (832) 320 7600
www.sidewinderdrilling.com
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