UK's Wood Group Ropes in Rolls-Royce exec as New CFO

John Wood Group on Wednesday named Arvind Balan, a finance executive at Rolls-Royce, as the British oilfield services and engineering firm's new chief financial officer, effective April 2024.

Balan has been the CFO at the aero-engineer's Civil Aerospace business for two years and will replace John Wood's long-term finance boss David Kemp, who announced his retirement in August. 

Balan previously held executive financial roles at oil major Shell for fourteen years, before joining Rolls Royce.

The appointment comes several months after buyout firm Apollo Global Management dropped its plan to buy the London-listed John Wood after multiple attempts without citing any reasons. 

Outgoing CFO, David Kemp, whose retirement date is yet to be announced, held the role since 2015 and oversaw the oil and gas business transforming into a broader consulting and engineering company.

(Reuters - Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)