Norwegian seismic player Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) has appointed Rune Olav Pedersen as the new president & CEO of the company.

He will succeed Jon Erik Reinhardsen on September 1, 2017.

“The Board has run a thorough succession process since early spring, and assessed a number of very qualified Norwegian and international candidates. With the appointment of Mr. Pedersen, PGS will get a CEO with deep knowledge of the company and industry and with strong execution capabilities. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Pedersen in the time to come,” says chairperson Walter Qvam.

Rune Olav Pedersen has worked in PGS for 7 years and comes from the position of executive vice president & general counsel. In this position he has been responsible for corporate development, strategy, communication, legal, marketing, strategic customer relations and compliance. Prior to joining PGS he was a partner in the oil and gas department of the law firm Arntzen de Besche.

“I am honored to be chosen as the new president & CEO of PGS. I consider us well positioned for a market recovery with an excellent organization, industry leading MultiClient performance and imaging capabilities combined with an upgraded fleet of Ramform vessels. To address the continued challenging market in the shorter term we have to continue our focus on reducing our cost base. I have really enjoyed working closely with Mr. Reinhardsen over the last 7 years and I wish him success in his future endeavors,” says Pedersen.