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Board
The Board has wide experience of the sector and regulatory environment in which Cairn operates, as well as the appropriate financial and risk management skills.
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Simon Thomson
Chief Executive (47) -
Dr Mike Watts
Deputy Chief Executive (56) -
Jann Brown
Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer (56)
Simon Thomson joined Cairn in 1995 as a lawyer. He was appointed as Chief Executive in July 2011 having been Legal and Commercial Director since 2006.
He holds a LLB Honours from Aberdeen University and a Diploma in Legal Practice from Glasgow University. Simon is also a Non-Executive Director of Graham’s The Family Dairy Limited and is a Director of the Winning Scotland Foundation.
Simon was originally appointed to the Board in November 2006 as Legal and Commercial Director before becoming Chief Executive in July 2011. Simon chairs the Group Risk Management Committee and he attends the Remuneration Committee and Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee by invitation.
Dr Mike Watts is Deputy Chief Executive and has more than 32 years’ experience in the oil industry.
He was formerly CEO and Managing Director of the Amsterdam listed Holland Sea Search, which was acquired by Cairn in 1995,and where he was the architect of the South Asia strategy. Mike has held senior technical and management roles with Premier, Burmah and Shell.
Mike is also a Non-Executive Director of SOCO International PLC.
Mike was appointed to the Board in 1999 and became Deputy Chief Executive in March 2009. He is a member of the Group Risk Management Committee.
Jann joined Cairn in 1998 after a career in the accountancy profession, mainly with KPMG. She was appointed to the Board in November 2006 as Finance Director and became Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer in July 2011.
Jann holds an MA from Edinburgh University and a diploma in accounting from Heriot-Watt University. She is Vice President Elect of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) until mid-April 2012, at which point she will become Vice President of ICAS. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.
Jann was the Senior Independent Director of Hansen Transmissions International NV until the company was taken over in December 2011.
Jann is a member of the Group Risk Management Committee and of the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee.
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Sir Bill Gammell
Non-Executive Chairman (59) -
Todd Hunt
Non-Executive Director (59) -
Iain McLaren
Non-Executive Director (61)
Sir Bill Gammell founded Cairn and was appointed to the Board as Chief Executive on its initial listing in 1988. In July 2011 he stood down from that role and took over as Non-Executive Chairman.
Sir Bill holds a BA in Economics and Accountancy from Stirling University and was awarded a knighthood in 2006 for services to industry in Scotland. Sir Bill has more than 30 years’ experience in the international oil and gas industry.
Sir Bill is a member of the Asia Task Force and the UK India Business Council. Sir Bill, who is an ex-Scotland rugby internationalist, is is also a director of the Winning Scotland Foundation, a director of Glasgow 2014 Limited and a member of the British Olympic Advisory Board. On 1 March 2012, Sir Bill was also appointed the Non-Executive Chairman of Genius Foods Limited.
Sir Bill has been a member of the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee since February 2003.
Todd Hunt was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Cairn in 2003.
He is President and joint owner of Atropos Exploration Company and Atropos Production Company based in Dallas, Texas. He has more than 30 years' experience in the oil and gas industry.
Todd has been a member of the Remuneration Committee since June 2005 and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee since May 2009.
Iain McLaren was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Cairn in July 2008.
He was formerly Senior Partner for KPMG in Scotland and has significant experience in the oil and gas sector. Iain is Chairman of Investors Capital Trust and a Director of Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon Trust and Scottish Enterprise. He is also the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Iain is the Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee. He has also been a member of the Remuneration Committee since May 2010 and is a member of the Group Risk Management Committee.
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Dr James Buckee
Non-Executive Director (66) -
M. Jacqueline Sheppard QC
Non-Executive Director (56) -
Alexander Berger
Non-Executive Director (46)
Dr James Buckee was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Cairn in January 2009.
He has more than 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry having gained extensive international experience with Shell, Burmah Oil and BP. He was appointed President of Talisman Energy Inc in 1991 and CEO in 1993 and held both posts until retiring from Talisman in 2007.
Dr Buckee is Non-Executive Chairman of EnQuest PLC and a Non-Executive Director of Rodinia Oil Corp. and PetroFrontier Corp.
Dr Buckee is a member of the Remuneration Committee and has been a member of the Audit Committee since January 2009.
M. Jacqueline Sheppard QC was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Cairn in May 2010.
She was previously Executive Vice President, Corporate and Legal at Talisman Energy Inc., a post she held for 15 years (1993-2008).
Ms Sheppard holds a BA from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, BA and MA in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and LLB from McGill University. She was admitted to the Law Society of Alberta, Canada, in 1982 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel for the Province of Alberta in 2008.
Ms Sheppard is a Director of Emera Inc. and NWest Energy Inc., both public corporations and she is Chair of the Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, a Crown Corporation.
Ms Sheppard is chair of both the Remuneration Committee and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee.
Alexander Berger was appointed as an independent Non-Executive Director of Cairn in May 2010.
Alexander is Chief Executive Officer of Oranje-Nassau Energie B.V., a private Dutch exploration and production company based in Amsterdam.
Alexander holds a Masters degree in Petroleum Engineering from Delft University and an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.
Alexander has been a member of the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee since October 2011 and a member of the Audit Committee since March 2012.
Head office
50 Lothian Road
Edinburgh
EH3 9BY
T +44 131 475 3000
F +44 131 475 3030
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