Philly Shipyard to Appoint New Chief Financial Officer with Deep Government Contracts Experience
July 1, 2019
Philly Shipyard ASA (Oslo: PHLY) announced today that Brian Leathers will assume the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) immediately following the Q2 2019 meeting of the Board of Directors on July 15, 2019. Mr. Leathers will replace Jan Ivar Nielsen, who is resigning from his position as the company’s CFO to pursue another executive role within the Aker group. Mr. Nielsen will remain available to the company until August 15, 2019 to ensure a smooth transition.
Mr. Leathers has served as the company’s Strategy and Compliance Officer for the past six months, reporting to Mr. Nielsen. Prior to that role, Mr. Leathers was engaged by the company as a consultant with respect to its strategic efforts to position the shipyard as one that can perform both government and commercial work. As the new CFO, Mr. Leathers will report directly to CEO Steinar Nerbovik.
Mr. Leathers previously worked as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Austal USA, a prime government contractor for the design, construction and support of high-speed aluminum ships for the U.S. Navy. During his tenure, Austal USA grew from fewer than 1,000 employees to more than 4,000 employees, converted from a commercial shipyard into a government contractor and was awarded over $6 billion in Navy work.
“I am delighted to welcome Brian to the senior management team as our new CFO,” said Steinar Nerbovik. “His strong performance here at Philly Shipyard and his significant experience with Navy and other government shipbuilding programs shows he is well-suited for the role as we transition our shipyard into a compliant government contractor.”
The company’s current CFO, Mr. Nielsen, first served as the company’s CFO from 2002 to 2007 and then rejoined the company as CFO in 2015. He will be appointed General Manager in Ghana for the newly established investment company Aker Ghana Industrial Corporation (AGIC). AGIC has been set up by Aker ASA to promote local industry through both investments and transfer of know-how.
“It has been a true pleasure to work with Jan Ivar over the years. I am grateful to Jan Ivar for his many contributions to Philly Shipyard and we wish him all the best in his new role within the Aker group,” said Nerbovik.
Biographies
Brian Leathers (b. 1960) joined Philly Shipyard, Inc. as Strategy and Compliance Officer in January 2019. Mr. Leathers has diverse experience that includes manufacturing, banking and finance, and government contracting and served as the Chief Financial Officer for shipbuilder Austal USA. Mr. Leathers holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration from Troy University, a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the University of West Florida and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking held at Louisiana State University. Mr. Leathers lives in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Mr. Leathers is a U.S. citizen. As of July 1, 2019, Mr. Leathers holds zero shares in the company and has no stock options.
About Philly Shipyard
Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI) is a leading U.S. commercial shipyard constructing vessels for operation in the Jones Act market. It possesses a state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility and has earned a reputation as the preferred provider of oceangoing merchant vessels with a track record of delivering quality ships. PSI is the sole operating subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA. Philly Shipyard ASA is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo: PHLY) and is majority-owned by Aker Capital AS, which in turn is wholly-owned by Aker ASA. Aker is a Norwegian industrial investment company that creates value through active ownership. Aker’s investment portfolio is concentrated on key Norwegian industries that are international in scope: oil and gas, fisheries and biotechnology, and marine assets. Aker’s industrial holdings comprise ownership interests in Aker Solutions, Kvaerner, Aker BP, Aker BioMarine, Ocean Yield and Akastor. For more information about Philly Shipyard, please visit www.phillyshipyard.com.