Chief executive officer (CEO) of Australian engineering company Worley has decided to retire. Worley has named a replacement, effective February 24, 2020.

Worley said on Monday that it had named Chris Ashton as its new CEO and managing director of the company following the retirement of current CEO Andrew Wood.

Worley's chairman John Grill said: “Andrew Wood has had a distinguished career with Worley spanning 26 years, with the last seven as our CEO. Andrew's contribution has been fundamental to creating the global company we are today.

“Under Andrew's strong leadership, we successfully restructured Worley to realign our operations through a period of rapid change in the markets we serve, and then doubled the size of the business through the acquisition of the Energy, Chemicals, and Resources (ECR) division of Jacobs to create the global leader across Worley's core market segments.”

Ashton has been at Worley since 1998 and has held many leadership roles in the company. Before the appointment as CEO, he was Worley's COO responsible for the integration of ECR and for the strategy for the transformed Worley business.

He was accountable for the growth and performance of the major projects and integrated solutions portfolio, which includes the company's fabrication businesses WorleyCord and Rosenberg Worley and Worley's Global Delivery Center.

Commenting on his appointment Ashton said: “It is a great privilege to assume the leadership of this great company. The next decade will see unprecedented change in the energy, chemicals and resources industries which we serve. Our customers are being driven by having to address two fundamental structural disruptions; the energy transition and changes resulting from the adoption of digital processes.

“After more than 20 years with Worley, I know the company, its customers and stakeholders well. I am looking forward to visiting offices, fabrication yards, customers, job sites and investors in the very near future.”

On his retirement, Wood stated: “My time at Worley has been exhilarating and challenging. I have been fortunate to have had the support of this incredible organization, the leadership team and the board. Together, we have created a unique global business that will continue to make a significant difference in meeting the world's future energy, chemicals, and resource challenges.”

Wood will remain with Worley to advise the board and the new CEO until the end of this financial year. He will resign as managing director from the Worley board after the meeting approving the interim results effective February 24, 2020.