Santos CFO change throws spotlight on top job succession
Australian energy giant Santos has appointed former Woodside and Newcrest senior executive Sherry Duhe as its finance chief, the company said on Thursday amid rising market speculation about a potential change at its top job.
Duhe, who led gold miner Newcrest Mining on an interim basis during its sale to US-based Newmont, will take over as chief financial officer from Anthea McKinnell, who leaves after more than a half a decade at Santos.
Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher in 2021 signed a controversial A$6-million incentive package that had made him stay back at the oil and gas firm until the end of 2025.
"In discussions with investors on Santos, one push back has been there was uncertainty on the tenure of CEO Gallagher," Citi said in a note.
"In the instance CEO Gallagher were to retire, we could see Duhe stepping up into the CEO role seamlessly," Citi analysts said, adding that her appointment as CFO should reduce some fears in the market about the CEO succession.
Duhe began her career with US oil major ExxonMobil and also worked for over a decade at British energy firm Shell.
Her appointment comes several months after Santos was caught in market speculation about buyout interest, especially from buyers in the Middle East like Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
Last year, Santos COO Brett Woods moved to Seven Group as that company's chief. In 2023, Jane Norman, vice president of strategy, joined smaller peer Cooper Energy.
Santos shares fell as much as 2.7% to A$6.88 and hit their lowest since early December 2023, in line with losses in the energy sub-index.
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