Woodside Energy has appointed acting chief executive Liz Westcott as the permanent successor to Meg O’Neill, opting for operational expertise over the deep commercial relationships that some in the market thought should be prioritised.
The former ExxonMobil and EnergyAustralia senior executive beat internal rivals chief commercial officer Mark Abbotsford and head of international operations Daniel Kalms to the post, after O’Neill was poached to lead global oil giant BP in December.