Oil Field Services – Finalist
It was all going so well for Darron Anderson. Investors bought the business that he had built into a success. Anderson felt disconnected from the company’s operations. He needed a new challenge and found it in Express Energy Services LP. This was a company that was growing and it seemed as if the sky was the limit.
But as COO, Anderson wasn’t the man in charge. And the people who were in charge were on a shopping spree, acquiring companies left and right. The company was growing too fast and by 2008, it was ready to burst. When the price of gas dropped and the onshore rig count fell by 50 percent, bankruptcy protection became the only viable alternative.
There was a silver lining in the dark cloud, however. The CEO who had made all those acquisitions left and Anderson was elevated to CEO. He quickly brought in a public relations firm to communicate to stakeholders about the bankruptcy filing. He also reached out to clients, service providers and employees to let them know that he had a plan for the future and things were going to get better.
Anderson convened a strategy session and set out to downsize the business to a more manageable level. He wanted to shed the “gunslinger” label the company had acquired and establish a reputation for more sound financial decisions.
He wanted to be more open with his team and work with them to make Express Energy a great place to work. He emphasized safety training and the identification of systems that would make it easier for people to do their jobs. Soon, Express Energy was on the rise once again.
How to reach: Express Energy Services LP, www.eeslp.com
