Mr Pettigrew will take over from the incumbent CEO, Peter France, as part of a planned leadership transition.

Mr Pettigrew, a veteran of the energy, marine, industrial power and shipbuilding sectors, joined ASCO in March 2022. Initially serving as the general manager for the group’s AFM and Seletar businesses, he swiftly ascended to the role of UK managing director by November the same year. Prior to his tenure at ASCO, Mr Pettigrew spent 13 years with Babcock International and held a non-executive directorship at Decom North Sea.

Mr Pettigrew said: “I look forward to working with Peter over the next couple of months to ensure a smooth transition, before taking up the role of CEO. This is an exciting period for ASCO as we continue to build our portfolio of services amid the energy transition.

“Working closely with the board of directors, I aim to deliver our strategy and further strengthen our leading position in the sector.”

ASCO chairman Bob Keiller added: “As a business committed to developing its people, we are excited to see Mike take on the role of CEO.

“We are confident he will continue to grow the business, spearheading our commitment to helping clients and partners tackle climate change and accelerate the energy transition while delivering our own target to become a net zero green house gas emissions business before 2040.”

“I would like to thank Peter for his leadership over the last five years, which have been highly challenging for the industry. During Peter’s tenure, ASCO has made significant progress through the development of new service lines and the establishment in new geographies.

Mr France added: “When I joined ASCO, the focus was on transformative and sustainable growth whilst delivering safety and service excellence in its operations. During that time, the business has strengthened partnerships with operators, developers and ports across the world, grown its materials and logistics management systems and used its existing capabilities to support supply chain optimisation in the renewables sector.

“It has been an honour to lead ASCO during the last five years. I am grateful to all of my colleagues who have worked tirelessly through challenging times such as the pandemic to deliver positive growth.

“I believe that with Mike at the helm, supported by the board and our colleagues across the world, ASCO has a very bright future.”