HOUSTON, May 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Geophysical
Corporation (NYSE: IO) today announced the retirement of
Brian Hanson, its President and
Chief Executive Officer, and his resignation from its Board of
Directors, both effective June 1,
2019, and the appointment of Chris
Usher, previously Executive Vice President of ION's
Operations Optimization segment, to succeed Mr. Hanson as President
and CEO. Mr. Usher has also been elected to serve on the
Board of Directors.
Mr. Hanson has had a long tenure at ION, serving as the Chief
Financial Officer from 2006 to 2011 and in his current role as
President and CEO from 2011 to present. Brian has been
contemplating the right time to retire for some time and initiated
formal succession planning last year. Chris Usher was identified as a natural fit for
the role as he's led a number of large technology businesses and
can seamlessly continue to drive ION's strategy and shareholder
value. With the industry upturn, all parties felt like this
was an opportune time to make the transition.
"Brian has been instrumental in successfully navigating through
one of the toughest industry downturns and transforming the company
from a solutions provider to a streamlined technology company
focused on delivering higher value, higher potential return
offerings," commented Jay Lapeyre,
Chairman of the Board. "On behalf of ION, I would like to
extend our gratitude for his many contributions and years of
service."
Chris Usher brings over thirty
years of energy and technology leadership to the role with hands-on
experience in data processing and imaging, software development and
new product commercialization. Mr. Usher began his career in
field operations at Western Geophysical. In 2000, he moved to
PGS in London where he served as
President of its global data processing division until 2004.
From 2004 to 2005, Chris served as Senior Corporate Vice
President, Integrated Services, at Paradigm Geotechnology in
London. In 2005, Mr. Usher
joined Landmark Software and Services, a division of Halliburton,
as Senior Director. From 2010 until 2012, Mr. Usher served as
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Global
Geophysical. Chris joined ION's executive team in
December 2012 and has run a number of
ION's businesses in the time since. Mr. Usher is a graduate
of Yale University with a Bachelor of
Science degree in geology and geophysics.
"Serving as President and CEO of ION has been the most rewarding
role of my career and I am proud of what we have accomplished,"
said Brian Hanson. "After
almost fifteen years at ION, I am ready to retire from public
company life and am looking forward to pursuing other personal
interests. Chris has been a key member of our executive team
for many years and I am confident that under his leadership ION
will continue to grow and prosper. He has an excellent track
record and the right mix of leadership skills, industry knowledge
and strategic vision to bring ION into the next era of
digitalization and decision intelligence."
Chris Usher stated, "I am
delighted to be selected for this role and am looking forward to
working with our incredibly talented team to deliver long-term
growth and value to our customers and shareholders as we enter a
new market cycle. There are exciting opportunities ahead of
us to build on ION's traditional data library and imaging
strengths, commercialize new technology we've been developing and
modify our cutting-edge capabilities for new markets. Our
leadership team is focused on matching our clients' needs with
innovative offerings that enable smarter decisions about their
investments and operations."
About ION
ION develops and leverages innovative technologies, creating
value through data capture, analysis and optimization to enhance
critical decision-making, enabling superior returns. For more
information, visit iongeo.com.
Contacts
ION (Investor relations)
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Steve Bate, +1 281.552.3011
steve.bate@iongeo.com
ION (Media relations)
Vice President, Communications
Rachel White, +1 281.781.1168
rachel.white@iongeo.com
The information herein contains certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These forward-looking statements may include information and other
statements that are not of historical fact. Actual results may vary
materially from those described in these forward-looking
statements. All forward-looking statements reflect numerous
assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These
risks and uncertainties include the risks associated with the
timing and development of ION Geophysical Corporation's products
and services; pricing pressure; decreased demand; changes in oil
prices; and political, execution, regulatory, and currency risks.
These risks and uncertainties also include risks associated with
the WesternGeco litigation and other related proceedings. We cannot
predict the outcome of this litigation or the related proceedings.
For additional information regarding these various risks and
uncertainties, including the WesternGeco litigation, see our Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018, filed on February 8,
2019. Additional risk factors, which could affect actual
results, are disclosed by the Company in its fillings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including its Form
10-K, Form 10-Qs and Form 8-Ks filed during the year. The Company
expressly disclaims any obligation to revise or update any
forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE ION Geophysical Corporation