Ensco CEO Dan Rabun to retire

Dan Rabun, chairman, president and CEO of Ensco, will retire after nearly eight years of service, the company announced today. Mr Rabun will continue to serve in his position until the board of directors complete the succession process and a new CEO is appointed. To assist with the new CEO’s transition, he will remain chairman through at least Ensco’s 2014 Annual General Meeting.

Mr Rabun served during 2012 as IADC chairman and 2011 as vice chairman. His planned retirement from the CEO role has been part of the board’s succession planning process for more than a year.

A special committee chaired by the board’s lead director, Paul Rowsey, is directing the succession process. “Dan has made many contributions to the success of our company – especially his unwavering passion to further advance safety and operational excellence,” Mr Rowsey said, noting that in the past eight years the company’s revenue, equity and dividends have more than quadrupled. “We are now among the largest and most well-respected offshore drillers. We are grateful that Dan will facilitate a smooth transition as we complete the succession process.”

Heidrick & Struggles International, an executive recruiting firm, is working with the committee and is considering both external and internal candidates.

“I have truly enjoyed leading Ensco over the past eight years. We have a highly talented management team and exceptionally dedicated employees who have made our many achievements possible. In particular, I am especially proud that we have taken our safety performance to an even higher level,” Mr Rabun said. “Our new CEO will benefit, as I have, from our employees’ commitment to go beyond expectations in everything they do.”