Alireza guided Noble through a challenging period, the company said, moving it to an asset light, merchant focused model. He played a pivotal role in the sale of Noble Agri to a group of investors led by COFCO and was instrumental in securing the recently announced re-financing.
Alireza said the time was right for him to move on. The board thanked Alireza for his dedication and commitment to the company over the last four years, and in particular for his huge commitment of time and energy over the past 18 months, as Noble has navigated some of the most difficult market conditions ever seen in commodities markets.
Randall, one of the new co-CEOs, is based in Hong Kong and most recently was president of Noble Group and an executive director. He will retain his board seat.
Frase, based in Stamford, Connecticut, most recently was president, Noble Americas and head of Oil Liquids. He was invited to join the board.
“I am delighted that Will and Jeff will be leading Noble Group's operations as we embark on the Company's next chapter,” said Richard Elman, who will continue in his role as chairman and executive director. “Their complementary commodities expertise and geographical focus will be hugely valuable as we position ourselves for the future."
Randall started his career with Noble in Australia in February 1997, establishing Noble's coal operations, mining and supply chain management businesses. He also served as a director of Noble Energy Inc. prior to being appointed global head of Coal and Coke in 2006, and a member of the Noble Group internal Management Committee Board in 2008.
He was appointed an executive director and head of Hard Commodities in 2012, prior to which he had been head of Energy Coal and Carbon Complex. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from the Australian Catholic University majoring in international marketing and finance.
Frase joined Noble from JP Morgan in New York where he was managing director and global head of Oil Trading. Prior to JP Morgan, he spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs where he was a managing director and global head of Crude Oil and Derivatives Trading.
The board said it expects to announce some additional leadership appointments in due course as the business developments dictate.
In addition, the board announced that it will be starting the sale process for Noble Americas Energy Solutions, a transaction which is expected to generate both significant cash proceeds and profits to substantially enhance the balance sheet. This is in addition to fund raising initiative previously announced. The company said full details will be released in the near future.
