Weatherford International Plc President and CEO Mark A. McCollum has left the company, effective immediately, according to a company release on June 8.

Mark A. McCollum
Mark A. McCollum

The Houston-based oilfield services company said in a statement that its board of directors has initiated a search to identify a permanent replacement for McCollum and will work with a “leading executive search firm” to assist in the process. In the interim, COO Karl Blanchard and CFO Christian Garcia will form the office of the chief executive, reporting directly to the board of directors and will oversee the day to day operations.

Karl Blanchard
Karl Blanchard

In a statement commenting on the change in leadership, Weatherford Chairman Thomas Bates Jr. said: “Weatherford delivered materially improved performance this year until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions by certain oil-producing nations created unprecedented uncertainty in the energy and other markets. We will continue to focus our efforts on reducing costs and managing liquidity in the face of this challenging business environment.”

McCollum had served as Weatherford’s president and CEO since April 2017, including leading the company through Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. He had previously worked for Halliburton Co. as its CFO. Prior to joining Halliburton, he served in various senior executive positions for Tenneco.

Christian Garcia
Christian Garcia

In connection with his departure, McCollum also ceased to be a member of Weatherford’s board of directors. Additionally, Christina M. Ibrahim, executive vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary of Weatherford left the company on June 7, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the filing, Weatherford said neither McCollum’s or Ibrahim’s departures were the result of any dispute or disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s accounting practices or financial statements.