Rakesh Jain steps down as MD of HOEC
Hindustan Oil Exploration has announced that Rakesh Jain will step down as managing director on 31st July.
UK-based Atul Gupta will take over as acting MD until a replacement is found. Gupta is a director on the board of UK-listed Burren Energy, but also sits on the HOEC board.
In February 2005, Burren acquired Unocals 26% stake in HOEC. Jain joined HOEC as MD in June 2003 from the Tata Group where he helped set up drilling subsidiary Hitech Drilling and Tata Petrodyne.
Industry sources said his three-year stay at HOEC was marked by a paradigm shift in the companys perception with investors. Perhaps the biggest change was that HOEC changed from being non-operator to operator in six out of eight of its assets, we hear.
Before Jain, HOEC was seen as a sleepy Gujarati company. Now it is a vibrant, professionally managed company.
During Jains time, HOEC moved its HQ from Baroda to Chennai near its main investments: PY-1 and CY-OSN-97/1.