Dive Brief:
- Baker Hughes appointed Ahmed Moghal, finance chief of its industrial and energy technology business, as the company’s new CFO effective immediately, replacing Nancy Buese who has held the finance reins for just over two years, according to a Monday release.
- Buese was named CFO in 2022, about a month after the Houston-based company announced it would streamline the organization as part of a “strategic transformation” that established two reporting business segments comprised of oilfield services and equipment and the IET segment.
- CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said it is “crucial to have a CFO with deep-domain knowledge across both business segments, a track record of fostering collaboration and strong financial performance, and a comprehensive understanding of our growth strategy,” as the company starts the “next phase of growth,” according to a statement in the release. “We are confident [Moghal] is the right person to help us deliver on our financial objectives and support a culture of innovation and a growth mindset across the Company.”
Dive Insight:
Moghal, 43, joined Baker Hughes in 2017, serving as SVP of FP&A until January of 2023 when he took the IET CFO seat, according to his LinkedIn profile. He previously spent about eight years at GE Oil and Gas, including serving two periods as CFO and before that he worked for GE Corporate in various roles.
As Baker Hughes’ CFO, his compensation includes a base salary of $750,000 and a target bonus opportunity of 100% of the base salary with payout based on company and individual performance, according to a securities filing. He will also receive “top-up” equity awards related to his promotion with a grant date value of $2.12 million, comprised of both time-based restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units.
Buese, who was previously CFO of Denver-based gold producer Newmont Mining, entered into a separation agreement with the company that provides for the termination of her employment “without cause” on Monday, and her transition to serve in the role of advisor to the company chairman and CEO through April 30, according to the filing.
She will be paid a monthly advisor fee of $200,000 and be provided severance payments and benefits subject to her execution and non-revocation of general release of claims, a lump sum cash payment equal to 12 months of salary and outplacement services for 12 months.
A company spokesperson said in an email that Buese’s departure was by “mutual agreement” and that the company is “grateful to Nancy for the important role she played in executing on key pillars of the first phase of our transformation, including driving operational efficiency and achieving cost reduction objectives to deliver enhanced margin growth and shareholder returns.”
In January, the company reported record annual revenue of $27.8 billion in 2024, up 9% YOY and GAAP net income attributable to Baker Hughes of $2.979 billion, compared to $1.943 billion in the year earlier period. The company on Monday also reaffirmed its Q1 and full 2025 outlook given during its Q4 earnings conference call on Jan. 31.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a comment from Baker Hughes.
