LONDON, UK: James Fisher and Sons plc, the UK’s leading marine services company, announced that Jean Vernet has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

He will take up this position on 5 September 2022 at which point Eoghan O’Lionaird will step down from his position on the Board and his role as Chief Executive Officer. Eoghan will however remain employed by the Group until 13 June 2023, to ensure a smooth and effective transition of responsibility.

Jean Vernet has considerable experience working in the offshore energy sector in both the UK and around the world. Most recently, Jean was Chief Executive Officer of Smiths Group’s largest division, John Crane, where he drove a highly effective growth strategy in a business that operates in over 50 countries.

He has an engineering degree and spent a decade in various financial and market facing roles with energy services business, Schlumberger. His experience also includes five years as Chief Financial Officer of Expro, the offshore energy services provider, during which he played a key role in its successful turnaround.

Angus Cockburn, Chair said: “I am delighted to welcome Jean to James Fisher. He is an internationally experienced business leader with extensive energy sector knowledge. He is ideally suited to turning the business around and leading it through the current challenging backdrop and then to position the Group to capture the medium to long term growth opportunities available.”