Roddie Mackenzie named 2026 IADC Contractor of the Year

By Stephen Whitfield, Senior Editor

Roddie Mackenzie, Executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer at Transocean and 2026 IADC Chairman, has named 2026 IADC Contractor of the Year. The annual award was established in 1988 to recognize an individual drilling contractor’s outstanding lifetime achievement in technical innovation, safety and economic efficiency within the drilling industry. It is the only industry award reserved solely for drilling contractors. The award was presented at the 2026 IADC Annual General Meeting in Dallas, Texas, on 4 November.

Mr Mackenzie was named to his current position in February 2022. He leads Transocean’s worldwide marketing and contracting organization and oversees the company’s IT and cyber-based functions. His career at Transocean began in 1997 as a rig engineer. He went on to hold operational and project roles around the globe, working on rigs in Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Brazil and the US Gulf.

He later moved into marketing, taking on roles of increasing responsibility in the US, France and Dubai. These included stints as Marketing Director and Managing Director – Business Development and Strategic Accounts. He also served as VP – Marketing and Contracts and then as Senior VP – Marketing, Innovation and Industry Relations.

Mr Mackenzie graduated from the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 2016 and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and environmental studies from the University of Strathclyde.

In accepting the award, Mr Mackenzie reflected on his year serving as IADC Chairman, with visits with IADC members in Brazil, the North Sea, the US and South Central Asia. He noted the “overwhelming enthusiasm” he saw around the world for the work of both IADC and the wider drilling industry, and encouraged people to visit drilling rigs when possible and get involved with IADC chapters.

He also expressed optimism at the industry’s future, calling drilling “arguably the most important technology available” to humanity. “You have heard me say this all year long, but our industry is critically important to the human race at the moment, so we need as much energy as we can get. I think that we’re in a good spot for a long time to come.”