Bill Dudley, who has served as president and chief operating officer since 2008, has been named president and CEO of the Bechtel group of companies, including Bechtel Corporation and all of its subsidiaries worldwide. He is the first non-family member to lead the company since it was founded more than a century ago.
Riley Bechtel is stepping down for health reasons as the company’s chief executive but will remain chairman of the board of directors. He has been chairman and CEO for nearly 25 years.
“For many years Bechtel has approached succession planning with diligence to ensure smooth transitions in leadership,” he said. “Our plan includes provision for unplanned events, which we are now encountering. We are well prepared to act quickly in everybody’s best interest with no loss of momentum. Bill has been our top candidate for CEO succession for some time, and he is well qualified in every respect to take over now. He will be an outstanding CEO for our company; he is highly regarded by our colleagues, customers, partners, and suppliers. I have tremendous confidence in Bill’s ability to continue to move the company forward.”
Dudley joined the company in 1981 and over the next 20 years worked in a variety of operational and executive roles, including managing key global project, serving as president of the company’s Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Southwest Asia region, and being president of the oil, gas and chemicals business unit. He was elected to the company’s board of directors in 2000 and named president and chief operating officer in 2008.
“I look forward to furthering the successful path for Bechtel that Riley began more than 24 years ago as CEO, building on the foundation started by his great-grandfather in 1898,” said Dudley. “Bechtel is a remarkable company, and I am honoured to be entrusted with this role.”
In other appointments, Jack Futcher has been named an executive vice president and sponsor of the oil, gas, and chemicals and mining and metals business units as well as the regional organizations.
Brendan Bechtel, son of Riley Bechtel, succeeds Futcher as president of the oil, gas, and chemicals business. He becomes the fifth-generation member of the Bechtel family to serve in an executive leadership capacity. He was previously the general manager of the company’s liquefied natural gas business and had first begun working for the company on summer breaks while in high school,
Alasdair Cathcart, a 25-year veteran of the company, will take over as general manager of the LNG business.
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