New Amec chief vows to ditch ‘the trappings of CEO-dom’

THE new boss of Amec Foster Wheeler has promised to ditch the excess and drill down on costs at the oil services group as he seeks to put it back on an even keel.

Jon Lewis, a no-nonsense former Halliburton executive who joined in June, has launched a review of costs and structure in a move that heartened beleaguered investors today as the shares rose 7%.

“I get a real sense this is a company ready for change and a workforce ready for change. As a CEO, that’s all I could ask for,” Lewis said.

“As I look at the business, I see opportunity for operational discipline, like shrinking the corporate structure and downsizing the corporate office in London. Some of the trappings of CEO-dom have gone.”

Lewis will also lead by example in keeping a tighter reign on spending in the upper tiers of the business.

In doing so, he cuts a markedly different figure to high-profile predecessor Samir Brikho, known for his visits to Davos and the $3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) takeover of Foster Wheeler in 2014.

As part of the cost control, Amec will shrink its London office and move many staff to Reading, where it has a large base.

Meanwhile, oil group BP is looking to offload its biggest investment in China, with plans to sell its 50% stake in Secco, which is China’s biggest petrochemical refinery.