30 CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2021 31 , , the ability for himself to grow personally, and to help those around him to be the best version of themselves. Contact: Mark Wiggins Email:
[email protected] Website: www.hallpayne.com.au May21116 May21109 Oil & Gas CEO of the Year (USA): Linhua Guan Surge Energy America is an oil and gas company operating in the USA, and based in Texas, forever expanding its leaseholds and production base, and securing a unique position in oil and gas industry. Over time, and with the expert guidance of leading industrymind Linhua Guan, Surge Energy has been able to serve stakeholders in both the US and China, delivering top-of-the-range financial and operational results for investors, employees, communities, and industry partners alike. A company focusing on the acquisition and development of both onshore oil and gas properties, Surge Energy America works within the United States in order to offer its aid to powering the homes and lives of its customers. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Surge Energy America holds 113,000 net acre leases in the Permian Basin, making it a reputable leader in the oil and gas industry and having experienced an exemplary level of growth and development over the years. In May of 2015, with only a handful employees, it completed a large acquisition which allowed it to expand, gaining approximately 80,000 net acres in the highly productive unconventional play in the Northern Midland Basin in both the Howard and Borden counties. Surge Energy’s premier acreage position has offset a few other recent acquisitions in this manner. Furthermore, it includes over 1,500 drilling locations in both the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations, forever working with the principles of safety, integrity, excellence, teamwork, and transparency in mind as it progresses with its operations and pushes towards enhanced levels of success. Additionally, it has always believed in the core values of being rich in experience, focused on excellence, and deep in expertise. Between each of these pillars upon which it has built its company, one can clearly see the influence of the CEO, Linhua Guan. His dedication to the industry and to the team that he has built over time started when Mr. Guan joined Surge Energy back in 2018. During this time, he progressed through the ranks quickly, going from Chief Business Development Officer in December of 2018 to the Chief Executive Officer in May of 2019, applying his over 20 years of experience to the task and ensuring that he can embody the dedication to knowledge that forms a through-line in this company. Prior to his joining Surge Energy, Mr. Guan cut his teeth serving as the Chairman of the Star Energy International Corporation; and before this, he spent nearly 10 years with Statoil in a myriad of different positions including a presidential role in Beijing, global strategy manager in London, and business development project management in Stavanger. Firstly, however, his passion for the petroleum industry began with his career as a geologist for CNPC in China, and later as a reservoir engineer for Chevron in Houston. His hankering for education also led him to gaining a number of accreditations that have allowed him to bring a significant pedigree with him into his roles, such as a BE in petrophysics and an MS degree in geology from China Petroleum University. This was also quickly joined by an MS degree in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, and an MBA from Rice University. In the year 2000, he moved to the US, becoming a US citizen in 2012. Since then, he has truly found his calling with revamping and reshaping professional corporations in the petroleum and gas industry in the country, ensuring their operations are conducted with expertise, knowledge, and excellence, further promoting Surge Energy’s reputation as a team with a depth and breath of experience, highly capable staff, and high standards, as well as an exemplary level of technical operational acumen. Despite the challenges presented to it by 2020 and the pandemic, Surge Energy becomes a leaner, bigger and stronger company after it completed a major acquisition valued at US$420 million. The acquisition was done during a time of high uncertainty, reflecting a decisiveness and wisdom of Mr. Linhua Guan. With the outstanding leadership of Linhua Guan, Surge Energy America will continue the path of strong growth and greater successes and lead the company into a long-term, sustainable, premier oil and gas company. Company: Surge Energy America Contact: Linhua Guan Web: www.SurgeEnergyA.com Law Firm CEO of the Year 2021: Mark Wiggins – Australia Hall Payne Lawyers has fought for everyday Australians fromall walks of life for over three decades. Led by CEO, MarkWiggins, it is a boutique lawfirmwhichmainly works with plaintiffs in the areas of industrial relations & employment law and personal injuries law. Hall Payne Lawyers’ industrial relations/ employment team works closely with unions who are fighting to maintain safe working conditions for all Australians with the ability to earn a good wage for fair work given. Its lawyers also work with individuals who have been unfairly treated by their employer and are fighting to receive their rightful entitlements. Throughout each case, the focus is on forming relationships with clients, rather than the transaction, and fees are maintained at a level that is fair. CEO, Mark Wiggins has been both a blue collar and white collar worker throughout his life. “People matter” is something he has always believed in and he aims to always maintain this focus no matter what job role he has. He began working in the legal industry in 2014 after having to employ lawyers to extract him from a terrible business situation. Having no job planned for after the business break- up, he was offered the role of practice manager by the firm who represented him, and in 2018 was appointed to his current role. Mark said, “My past experiences are drawn upon almost every day in my role as CEO, and I believe it is critical to be open and honest with your employees around your own successes and also mistakes, but reflect on what you learned from those mistakes.” He continued telling us about his role: “I see myself as no better or senior to anyone else in the firm and I explain my role as being a fixer/facilitator, meaning staff need to know they can come to work and do their job, and if an issue arises, they are comfortable bringing it to my attention so a fix can be attained. “I regularly communicate with all staff and have commenced distributing videos, in which I will discuss a goal, my vision and even an area where we could all do a little better. I also regularly visit each of our six other offices and spend time working in those offices so I develop and maintain a good relationship with all employees. I ensure I speak with all head office employees every day, so I am seen as being available, and also just another team member.” And Mark’s aspirations for the company are very simple. He believes that if he employs the right people, helps them to be the best they can be, then the team can continue to provide the best possible service to people who seek the firm out. The goal is to achieve the best positive outcome for individuals who are in a terribly unhappy time in their lives. And he believes that by the end of 2021, he will have grown the business to a level whereby it is employing close to 100 staff, when it currently at 85, and the growth is being driven by the clients. Ultimately, Mark enjoys what he does, and as long as he continues to enjoy it, he will keep doing it, hoping to build on the groundswell of change being driven by leaders all around the world, bringing the focus back onto the importance of people! He is willing to explore new opportunities, where he sees