Halliburton president transitions into CEO role

Halliburton, a Houston-based oilfield services company, has unanimously elected Jeff Miller, the company’s president and a board member, to the position of president and CEO.

Halliburton said on Wednesday that Dave Lesar, the company’s chairman and CEO since 2000, would continue serving as executive chairman. The leadership changes are effective June 1, 2017.

Miller said: “I am grateful to the board and Dave for this opportunity to serve Halliburton shareholders and employees. I look forward to leading our organization as we continue to collaborate and engineer solutions to maximize asset value for our customers.”

According to the company, Miller will provide the day-to-day leadership and management of Halliburton. He will also be responsible for the planning and execution of Halliburton’s strategic direction, financial objectives, and technology development along with a management team who will report directly to him.

As executive chairman, Lesar will focus on the strategic direction of the company, advising the Halliburton management team and transitioning CEO responsibilities to Miller who will then continue reporting to Lesar.

Halliburton added that Lesar entered into a new executive employment agreement that provides that he will continue as executive chairman through mandatory retirement on December 31, 2018, and contains a four-year non-compete.

Lesar said: “As I approach my last 18 months as a Halliburton employee, it’s time to look forward and transition to new leadership. I have known and worked with Jeff for almost 30 years and have great confidence that he is the best choice to be the next Halliburton CEO. I look forward to working closely with him as he transitions into his new role.”

“On behalf of the Board, we thank Dave for his 17 years of outstanding leadership and dedication as Halliburton CEO and look forward to his continued contributions to the company as executive chairman,” said Halliburton’s lead director J. Landis Martin.

Lesar joined Halliburton in 1993 and has served the company in a variety of roles. He served as president and chief operating officer of Halliburton from June 1997 to August 2000, and continued as president until August 2014. Previously, he was the executive vice president and CFO of Halliburton, and executive vice president of finance and administration for Halliburton Energy Services, a Halliburton business unit.

Miller joined Halliburton in 1997 and has since served in several leadership roles, including chief operating officer until 2014 when he was named president and was appointed to the Halliburton board of directors. He is also a member of the board of directors for Atwood Oceanics.