Sir Bill Gammell to step down from Cairn
THE CHAIRMAN and founder of Cairn Energy is stepping down, the FTSE 250 oil and gas explorer said yesterday.
Sir Bill Gammell will retire as chairman with effect from 15 May and will be replaced by Ian Tyler, who is currently a non-executive director of the company. Tyler was previously chief executive of infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty and is on the board of Al Noor Hospitals, Bovis Homes, Cable & Wireless, and BAE Systems.
“I am proud of Cairn’s many achievements during my tenure as founder, chief executive and subsequently chairman, and as a shareholder I look forward to further progress,” said Gammell. “After 25 years on the board, I am pleased to be leaving in the knowledge that the board and the company will remain in highly capable hands with Ian as chairman and with Simon [Thomson] at the helm as chief executive.”
Gammell founded Cairn in 1981 and became chief executive when the company floated in 1988, transitioning to chairman in June 2011.
But it was not smooth sailing and six months later he became involved in a pay row when the majority of shareholders rejected bonus proposals.
He leaves the firm at a challenging time. Unresolved tax disputes in India, where Cairn has most of its operations, continue to weigh on the company. Cairn hit the big time in 2004 when it made a huge oil discovery in the Rajasthan region of India. But its high-risk exploration strategy has failed to deliver in recent times and it sold a stake in its Indian subsidiary to Vedanta Resources in 2011.
PROFILE
SIR BILL GAMMELL | CAIRN ENERGY
■ Gammell is a former Scottish rugby international, who went into business after his rugby career was ended by injury.
■ He went to the prestigious Fettes College, where he became friends with future Prime Minister Tony Blair.
■ Former US President George W Bush is another high-profile friend. The two got to know each other after Gammell’s dad invested in Bush senior’s oil company.
■ He’s got a spoof Twitter account. Environmentalists did not like Cairn drilling in the Arctic.
■ Gammell, who is gluten-intolerant, chairs gluten-free bread firm Genius Foods.