Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, announced today the appointments of Mr. Martin Helweg as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Mr. Hicham Hachkal as Human Resources Director as well as the appointment of Mr. Robert Desai as Chief Commercial Officer.
Mr. Helweg takes over the role of COO from Mr. Geoffrey Taylor who is retiring after four years of service with Topaz. Mr. Helweg joins Topaz from Svitzer, with almost 20 years of experience in finance and leadership roles in the shipping and oil and gas industries, spanning across the Americas, Middle East and Asia.
Mr. Hachkal has been appointed as HR Director and replaces Ms. Ealbra Moradkhan who is leaving the company to pursue new challenges after ten years at Topaz, where she has been an instrumental part of the company’s executive leadership. Mr. Hachkal brings 20 years of experience mainly in oil & gas companies related to HR strategy, talent development, personnel management, and supporting organizations through economic cycles. In his most recent position, he handled Group HR for Seadrill.
René Kofod-Olsen, Chief Executive Officer, Topaz Energy and Marine said, “I am pleased to welcome this new talent to our executive leadership team. These appointments reflect our commitment to two core aspects of our business: operational efficiency and our people. With their help I look forward to continuing to build on our healthy business profile, strengthen relationships with key customers, partners and business groups while maintaining our position as a market leader in OSV.
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Geoff and Ealbra, who were both key pillars in making Topaz what it is today. We wish them fair winds in their new endeavours.”
Topaz fortifies its leadership team on the back of important contract wins in 2016 with BP Azerbaijan and TCO in Kazakhstan adding significantly to its industry leading US$1.5bn backlog, further improving Topaz’s earnings visibility and credit strength.