Executive biographies

Richard Higham, Group Chief Executive, Acteon

Richard Higham is the Chief Executive of Acteon. Richard has over 20 years' oil industry experience including six years as a drilling/petroleum engineer with Amoco and six years with Amerada Hess as a chief petroleum engineer. These positions gained him significant experience working in numerous overseas markets including Houston, the Netherlands, Spain and Oman. Richard joined the company in 1989 and holds a BSc (Hons) in Civil Engineering from Leeds University.

Bernhard Bruggaier, Vice President, Acteon

Bernhard Bruggaier is the Vice President of Acteon's Products and Services companies. Bernhard joined MENCK as design engineer in 1994 and has since worked as project engineer for the company's deepwater pile installation system, as project manager for deepwater sales and as manager special projects, becoming managing director in 1999. Before joining MENCK, Bernhard was research assistant and project manager for industrial projects at the Technical University, Darmstadt, Germany. Bernhard holds a Masters of Engineering from Cornell University, USA, and a Masters degree (Dipl.-Ing.) and a PhD (Dr.-Ing.) in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University, Darmstadt.

Kevin Burton, Vice President, Technology and Risk Management, Acteon

Kevin Burton is the Vice President of Technology and QHSE for Acteon. Kevin has over 25 years' experience in conductor system equipment and riser systems design. During his career, he has worked for WS Atkins, Vetco Gray and Marconi in various engineering management roles. These positions gained him significant experience working in numerous disciplines from design and analysis through project management and quality assurance to business development and management directorship across international markets. Kevin has a BSc (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, and a Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Stephen Hatton, Vice President, Acteon

Stephen Hatton is the Vice President of Acteon's engineering company 2H. A graduate of Newcastle Upon Tyne University, Stephen has 20 years' experience in subsea equipment and riser systems design. He worked for Cameron Offshore Engineering for seven years where he was engineering manager and was involved in the design of subsea trees, manifolds, flowline connection systems TLP, drilling and workover riser systems. In 1993 he was jointly responsible for setting up the company 2H Offshore Engineering where, as a director, he has driven the business in riser system and subsea hardware design and analysis.

Paul Alcock, Vice President, Acteon

Paul Alcock is the Vice President of Acteon's Project Management and Manpower companies as well as overseeing brand management, communications and business integration. Formerly manager of sales and marketing for Expro's subsurface systems division and marketing director of Tronic Ltd, Paul has gained a wealth of commercial experience over the past 15 years. Responsibilities have included overseeing strategic global sales expansion and business development. Paul has been with Acteon since 2000 and brings the knowledge of improving global sales infrastructure along with the ability to enhance company marketability through effective integration of Acteon's business areas.

Kevin Ovenden, Group Finance Director, Acteon

Kevin Ovenden is the Group Finance Director of Acteon. He has more than 25 years' financial and commercial experience, having trained and qualified with Price Waterhouse (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) in London where he spent 6 years working across audit, tax and insolvency. After leaving the profession in 1990 he spent 10 years in several senior finance roles in industry, including the consumer packaged goods and chemicals sectors. He joined the group in 2000 as Finance Director. He holds a BSc in Management Sciences from Warwick University and is a Chartered Accountant.

Will Honeybourne, Non-Executive Director, Acteon

Will Honeybourne joined the Acteon board in November 2006 as a Non-Executive Director. Will is also a managing director of First Reserve, joining the firm in 1999. He is responsible for deal origination and investment structuring and monitoring, with an emphasis on services and manufacturing, upstream oil and gas, and international markets. Will has also served as senior vice president of Western Atlas International, and as president and chief executive officer of Computalog. He holds a BSc in Oil Technology from Imperial College London and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum.

Jeffrey Quake, Non-Executive Director, Acteon

Jeff Quake joined the Acteon board in December 2009 as a Non-Executive Director. He is also a director of First Reserve, having joined the firm in 2005. Jeff is directly responsible for deal origination, due diligence, execution and monitoring of investments. He particularly concentrates on the global oilfield service sector and was with the private equity fund of J.P. Morgan for seven years. Jeff holds a BA degree in Economics from Williams College, Massachusetts, USA, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Boston, USA.