CALGARY — Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. says veteran CEO Scott MacFarlane plans to retire from the Calgary-based directional and horizontal drilling company in April.
MacFarlane was chief financial officer from 2001 to 2013, when he was promoted to chief executive. He played a central role in the company's transition to an income trust in 2002 and return to a corporation in 2009, along with expanding its presence in Western Canada and the United States.
In a news release, Cathedral said its annual revenue grew from $23.4 million in 2001 to a high of $275 million in 2014.
An energy industry downturn that began in 2015 reversed that trend and the company posted $120 million of revenue in 2019. The near collapse of drilling earlier this year resulted in its revenue in the first half of 2020 falling to $28 million from $70 million in the first six months of last year.
In April, Cathedral announced measures to deal with the slump that included cutting its office and shop staff by 22 per cent, while the remaining Canadian non-field staff moved to a four-day work week with a corresponding 20 per cent reduction in salary.
The company also cut its director fees and CEO and executive vice-president salaries by 25 per cent.
"Scott has proven himself as a respected executive leader and played a key role in the company reaching a number of milestones," said Cathedral chairman Rod Maxwell, listing the company's growth, adoption of new technologies and "adept navigation" during challenging economic conditions in 2016 and 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2020.
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