London listed oil and gas exploration and Production Company with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa Lekoil has announced the appointment of Mark Simmonds and Tony Hawkins as Non-Executive Directors, with immediate effect.
Also, Lekoil announced Greg Eckersley, who has served as Lekoil’s interim Chief Financial Officer since May 2019, will not be returning to his previous role on Lekoil’s Board as a Non-Executive Director following the completion of his six-month term in that position.
Non-Executive Director, John van der Welle, will also be stepping down from LEKOIL’s Board with immediate effect with Hezekiah Oyinlola assuming the role of Chair of the Audit Committee following John’s departure.
“It has been a pleasure to be part of the Lekoil story from its inception, and as a founding Board member since IPO. In the last seven years, it has acquired world-class assets and has built a highly skilled and technically competent team,” Greg Eckersley, interim Chief Financial Officer said.
John van der Welle, Non-Executive Director said having served on the board for over six years since the IPO in 2013, through the early stages of the Company’s growth achieved in challenging times in the E&P sector, he would like to wish the Company the very best as it embarks on an exciting operational programme moving forward.
Read also: Inside details of Lekoil’s $184m loan for Ogo field drilling in OPL 310
Mark Simmonds, aged 55, was the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Minister with responsibilities for Africa, the Caribbean, UK Overseas Territories, International Energy and Conflict Prevention.
He served as a Member of the UK Parliament for 14 years and was also a senior advisor to the then Prime Minister, David Cameron. He focused on driving and facilitating inward investment into Africa and the Commonwealth across a range of key economic sectors including Hydrocarbons, Financial Services, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Energy & Agriculture.
While Tony Hawkins, aged 48, is an English and Australian qualified lawyer of 20 years’ experience, who has worked in both private practice and corporate roles. He is a senior energy lawyer, asset manager, and commercial negotiator, predominately in oil and gas but also in power, LNG and renewables.
Tony Hawkins is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Columbus Energy Resources plc as well as owning a consultancy firm. Previously, he was Legal and M&A Director at Columbus Energy Resources plc which followed his role as General Counsel & Head of Commercial for Sterling Energy plc, a London listed oil & Gas Company.
Prior to Sterling Energy, Tony Hawkins spent six years at Centrica plc (a FTSE 100 listed utility), where he had several roles, including interim General Counsel for Centrica Energy. Prior to that, he worked for ten years in private practice in Australia and the UK, most recently with Dewey LeBoeuf in London.
Hawkins is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and was previously a member of the legal committee of Oil & Gas UK where he was instrumental in helping to develop the standard DES LNG Master Sale Agreement for the European Federation of Energy Traders.
