Getech, a world-leading locator of subsurface resources, announces that Richard Bennett has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), effective 22 January 2025. Richard joined the Company as Non-Executive Chairman in January 2021, was appointed Interim Executive Chairman in February 2023 and then appointed CEO in February 2024. He led the Company's evolution to becoming a leading locator of natural resources for the Energy Transition and has now chosen to hand-over the CEO role and focus on his business interests in renewable energy.
Chris Jepps, the Chief Operating Officer of Getech since February 2018, has been appointed Interim CEO for an initial term of six months and will be supported by Max Brouwers, Chief Business Development Officer, who it is proposed will be appointed to the Board as an executive director. The proposed appointment of Mr Brouwers to the board of Getech remains subject to approval from the Company's nominated adviser and completion of the customary due diligence to satisfy itself as to board composition and the suitability of the proposed director for the purpose of the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Michael Covington, Chair of Getech, said:
"On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Richard for his visionary leadership and dedication. Richard has played important roles during his tenures in turn as Chair, Executive Chair and CEO. Under his leadership, Getech has made considerable progress in the diversification of the business beyond the Group's core oil and gas sector clients. Our portfolio of work increasingly supports exploration for sub-surface resources essential for the Energy Transition such as natural (or white) hydrogen, critical minerals and geothermal energy. We wish him continued success in the future.
The Board and executive leadership remain committed to executing Getech's strategic priorities. We will continue to deliver value-add for our customers - many of whom have worked with us for over a decade. We are now seeing renewed activity and interest in core markets such as oil & gas and critical minerals as security of supply is increasingly in focus due to heightened geopolitical uncertainty.
In parallel we offer new and innovative project workflows that produce valuable and novel insight to emerging sectors. For example, in the geothermal industry our expertise and data can prove essential for locating and modelling zones of sub-surface heat flow, while in the nascent natural hydrogen sector our geophysical data allows us to easily fingerprint potential hydrogen source rocks for further exploration."
Richard Bennett added:
"It has been a great privilege to lead Getech and work alongside such a talented and dedicated team. I am proud of what we have accomplished together particularly the headway we have made into new markets such as critical minerals, geothermal and natural hydrogen. In Chris and Max the business has two excellent operators who I am confident will lead the Company successfully into the future."