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Executive Committee

Our Executive Committee, or ExCom, is responsible for day-to-day operational management, communication and implementation of strategic decisions, and other administrative matters.

Tareq Kawash, Group Chief Executive

Experience

Tareq Kawash, Group Chief Executive

Tareq has more than 30 years industry experience. He joined Petrofac from McDermott, where he worked for 21-years, most recently as Senior Vice President of its Global Onshore and Middle East Offshore business lines.

A strategic, high-performing leader with a wealth of operational and commercial experience, Tareq has completed both domestic and international assignments for mega onshore and offshore oil and gas projects.

Tareq is fluent in Arabic and has extensive experience of the Middle East, having lived and worked there for 18 years. Prior to McDermott's combination with CB&I in 2018, he was CB&I's Group Vice President, Engineering and Construction, International. Before joining CB&I in 2000, he worked with KBR for two years and Consolidated Contractors Company for seven years.

Tareq has a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Tufts University and a Master's Degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia.

Afonso Reis e Sousa, Chief Financial Officer

Experience

Afonso joined Petrofac in 2012 as Group Head of Structured Finance and accumulated a portfolio of increasing responsibility including Group Treasurer, Head of Tax and Group Head of Enterprise Risk. He has a background in investment banking, having begun his career with Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, and has extensive experience in corporate and project finance.

Sophie Reid, Group Director of Communications

Responsibility

Sophie Reid, Group Head of Communications

Sophie has overall responsibility for advising on internal and external communications, including marketing and brand.

Experience

She has worked with multinational energy organisations since 2004, driving global employee communications, change management and public relations strategies. Prior to being appointed to the Executive Committee in July 2022, she was Petrofac’s Head of Global Marketing.

Sandra Redding, Group General Counsel

Responsibility

Sandra Redding, Group General CounselSandra is responsible for all Petrofac’s Legal, Compliance, and Company Secretariat functions, providing all colleagues with relevant, timely and commercially valuable legal advice. She and her teams ensure that the Group’s business is conducted in accordance with applicable law and regulation, and also within a robust ethics and compliance framework.

Experience

Sandra has more than 20 years international experience in the energy sector, including as General Counsel of the multi-national deepwater drilling group Seadrill, and as General Counsel of Dubai state-owned operator Dragon Oil. Most recently Sandra was the GC of Highview Power, an innovative liquid-air energy storage company. She has also held senior legal roles within the upstream businesses of major German energy group RWE and the French utility Engie. She holds degrees from the University of Queensland and is admitted to legal practice in England & Wales and in Queensland, Australia.

Elie Lahoud, Chief Operating Officer, Engineering & Construction

Responsibility

As Chief Operating Officer, Elie has overall accountability for strategy and delivery against our Engineering and Construction (E&C) business plan.

Experience

Elie has more than 25 years’ industry experience. He joined Petrofac in 1997, subsequently holding several key operational roles, leading the delivery of large scale upstream and downstream oil and gas EPC projects, then overseeing operations in the Middle East and CIS countries, as well as European offshore power projects. He was Group MD of E&C until December 2020. He is also a member of the American University of Beirut Advisory Board for its faculty of engineering.

John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer, Energy Transition Projects

Responsibility

John Pearson, Chief Operating Officer, Engineering & Production Services and Integrated Engineering Services, and Chief Corporate Development OfficerAs Chief Operating Officer, Energy Transition Projects, John has overall accountability for growing and delivering our new energies business plan.

Experience

He joined Petrofac in 2017, prior to which he spent 28 years with AMEC Foster Wheeler and five years with Chevron, in the UK and the US. His previous roles have included President of global oil, gas and chemicals businesses, and multi-market roles running the Americas, Northern Europe, and CIS regions. He has also been a Co-Chair of Oil & Gas UK.

External appointments

Non-executive director of The UK Offshore Energies Association Limited.

Des Thurlby, Group Director of Human Resources

Responsibility

Des Thurlby, Group Director of Human ResourcesDes has overall responsibility for advising on all people aspects of the business. This includes developing a business-focused people strategy, including succession planning, talent management, leadership development, compensation, key hires, performance culture, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement.

Experience

He joined Petrofac in 2017. Des started his career as a graduate trainee with Ford Motor Company and spent 25 years in the automotive sector, including six years as HR Director for Jaguar Land Rover. He was also interim President of IMI China and Senior Vice President HR for Seadrill, an offshore drilling contractor. He has a Bachelors degree in Politics and Economics from Newcastle University and an Executive MBA from the London Business School. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.

Jim Andrews, Group Head of HSE

Responsibility

Jim Andrews, Group Head of HSEAs Group Director for HSE, Jim has overall accountability for quality, health, safety, security and environment.

Experience

Jim has almost 30 years’ of experience with Schlumberger, working in numerous countries and across several senior managerial positions in operations and functions. Most recently he was the President of Production Management and prior to that spent three years as Schlumberger’s Vice President of Health, Safety, Security and Environment.

Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer, Asset Solutions

Responsibility

Nick Shorten, Chief Operating Officer, Engineering & Production ServicesAs Chief Operating Officer - Asset Solutions, Nick has overall accountability for delivery against our business plan.

Experience

Prior to joining Petrofac, Nick was President of Wood Group’s Capital Projects business in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Nick has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy sector, gained through senior business leadership, operations management and project delivery tenures globally.

Jonathan Kennefick, Group Head of Business Assurance

Jonathan Kennefick, Petrofac Chief Technical OfficerJonathan Kennefick is Petrofac’s Head of Business Assurance and member of the Executive Committee. Jonathan joined in 2022 as Chief Technical Officer to head the company’s technical functions, assuring technical excellence and service quality across Petrofac’s projects and operations, from engineering and supply chain, to execution and commissioning. Prior to this Jonathan had a 30-year career with McDermott, most recently as an SVP and Executive Committee member.

In his career he has been based in the UAE, USA, and in the UK. Jonathan is a UK citizen and has a degree in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of London, an MSC in Subsea Engineering and Underwater Technology from Cranfield University in the UK and an MBA from the University of Houston in USA.

Roberto Bertocco, Group Director of Technical Functions

Responsibility

Roberto Bertocco, Chief Technical Commercial OfficerAs the Group Director of Technical Functions, Roberto is leading the Technical Functions organisation at Petrofac, including Engineering, Supply Chain, Construction, and Completions.

Experience

Roberto has more than 30 years of experience in the international oil and gas, and energy space. He held multiple senior leadership roles across sales, operations, and commercial. He held a Board position at Tecnimont and was the CEO of Tecnimont ICB, based in India, and subsequently Executive Vice President – Commercial and Managing Director of Tecnimont.

Roberto joined Petrofac in 2012 as Executive Vice President, Regional Operations for the UAE and North Africa and CEO of Petrofac Emirates. Before his current role Roberto was Chief Technical Commercial Officer.

Marc Bonandrini, Chief Commercial Officer

Responsibility

Marc Bonandrini, Chief Commercial Officer

As Chief Commercial Officer, Marc is responsible for ensuring the organisation secures high quality backlog in key, growth markets. He leads the Business Development and Proposals teams across Engineering & Construction, Asset Solutions, and Energy Transition Projects.  

Experience

Marc started his career in the energy industry in 1996 and has held commercial leadership and executive roles with ABB, GE, Subsea 7, CB&I, and McDermott. During this period, he has lived in the United States, Dubai, and the United Kingdom, spending significant time working with clients across the globe. He joined Petrofac in August 2023, having spent the last decade as Commercial VP at McDermott.

Governance

Board of directors

Our Board sets the ‘tone from the top’ and ensures there is a strong and effective system of corporate governance across the Group.