NIRI board chair Lee Ahlstrom has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer at RigNet, a customized communications services, applications, real-time machine learning and cyber-security solutions firm.
Ahlstrom will join the company immediately and report into the CEO, Steven Pickett. He will be responsible for the company’s financial planning and analysis, accounting and financial reporting, as well as managing the tax, internal audit, treasury and investor relations functions.
Ahlstrom takes over from Tonya McDermott, who served as RigNet’s interim CFO and will now return to her role as the company’s vice president of tax and treasury.
‘We are excited to have Lee join RigNet,’ Pickett says in a statement. ‘We believe his impressive reputation for execution and achieving results makes him the right choice to lead our financial strategy. His skill set fits well with the strength of our existing finance organization and his deep knowledge of the energy industry will complement our experienced management team as we deliver industry-leading solutions to our customers.’
Ahlstrom most recently served as CFO of Paragon Offshore, having started as the senior vice president of IR, strategy and planning. He has also served in leadership roles at Noble Corporation, Burlington Resources, Unocal and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. His term as NIRI board chair will last until the next AGM, at which point Ron Parham will take on the role.
‘I am excited to join RigNet at such a pivotal period for the company,’ Ahlstrom says in a statement. ‘RigNet has a unique opportunity in the market as the company accelerates its delivery of custom communications services and applications, providing offerings that go far beyond its traditional connectivity services. I look forward to being a part of this dynamic team that helps customers accelerate their digital transformation initiatives and increases value for our shareholders.’
IR Magazine caught up with Ahlstrom at the NIRI national conference earlier this year to discuss IR's evolving role.
