Saligram, who served as chief operating officer at Exterran Corp., will assume the roles of Weatherford president and CEO on Oct. 12. He also will serve as a member on Weatherford’s board of directors.
“For more than 25 years, Girish has dedicated his career to uniting technology innovation and operational excellence to deliver exceptional results that have advanced the growth strategies for some of the world’s leading companies,” Weatherford Chairman Charles Sledge said in a statement Friday.
Saligram brings more than a decade of experience in the oil and gas sector, having spent four years at Houston-based oil-field service firm Exterran as its COO and senior vice president of global services. Prior to joining Exterran, he spent eight years at GE Oil & Gas where he was general manager of its downstream products and services and leader of its contractual services based in Florence, Italy. Prior to his oil and gas experience, Saligram spent 12 years with GE Healthcare in engineering, services and operations.
Saligram replaces interim CEO Karl Blanchard, who will resume his role as COO and executive vice president next month. Blanchard stepped in as interim CEO after former President and CEO Mark McCollum resigned in June.
Saligram takes the helm at a critical juncture for Weatherford, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December with $2.7 billion of debt and faces another debt crisis as it struggles to weather the coronavirus-driven oil bust. The oil-field service giant lost $966 million and $581 million during the first and second quarters respectively, as the pandemic decimated demand for crude and petroleum products. Weatherford was struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic, losing money for five years before the company emerged from bankruptcy last year.
In response to the latest oil bust, Weatherford is cutting 45 percent of its North American workforce and 25 percent of its international employees, as well as closing about a third of its North American facilities. The company on Friday said it has about 19,000 employees globally, down from 24,000 employees at the start of the year.
Source: Houston Chronicle
