November 2019
Fiona MacAulay’s technical credentials over 30 years of oil and gas experience is what now makes her one of the most respected CEO’s in the industry. Taking over the helm of Independent Oil & Gas at the start of 2019, follows a succession of appointments to boards of energy companies desperate for her knowledge and experience. Of the five women leading FTSE 100 oil and gas companies, MacAulay is the only one who built her experience as an oil professional. No wonder she’s in such demand!
“From a personal perspective, helping the senior team at IOG turn around the business after a very challenging time precipitated by the collapse of their principal lender has been hugely rewarding and a major career highlight. They are a first class management group and worked remarkably hard in the face of significant odds to restructure the company’s finances, ward off a possible hostile bid, and complete a farm out of their core project to a first class partner in CalEnergy. Having passed FID on the development and with full financing to first gas, there are exciting times ahead.
More broadly, I think from an industry viewpoint, you can see some headwinds that will create an environment where only the best managed firms with high quality governance will succeed. Scrutiny of the E&P industry’s place in the provision of energy as focus on the carbon transition grows will mean that companies have to deliver on their strategies to provide investors with positive news-flow, improving share prices and ticks against the important boxes from an ESG perspective.
Given my board roles, strong governance is a particular interest of mine, and I look forward to working with senior colleagues to ensure the companies I work with are doing their best to deliver on this vital front.”
Fiona MacAulay, Non Executive Chair, Independent Oil & Gas
Fiona has over three decades of global experience in the oil, gas and natural resources sector across the spectrum of micro to large cap operating space. She has been involved in many successful exploration and development projects and divestments and has held key executive board level roles including COO of Rockhopper Exploration PLC and CEO of Echo Energy PLC. In January of 2019 Fiona transitioned to building a portfolio of Non-Executive and board advisory roles and is currently Chair of Independent Oil and Gas (and is ?? the only female chair in the aim oil & gas arena …. Could you check) and a Non-Executive director of Coro Energy PLC, Ferrexpo PLC as well as PE backed EPI Ltd and the Exploration Advisory Board of Cairn India Ltd.
