Hank Hamilton

Mr. Hamilton resides in Houston, Texas and is currently the Chairman of TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA (TGS), a $2.8 billion publicly traded company specializing in providing geoscientific data and services to the oil & gas exploration and production industry. Previously he served as Chief Executive Officer of TGS from 1995 through June of 2009, where he developed the company from a small, privately held niche player in the Gulf of Mexico market to the recognized global leader in multi-client geophysical and geological data products. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of North Carolina, Hank began his career as a geophysicist with Shell Offshore (1981-1987), where he gained valuable experience in developing, utilizing and managing seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation techniques. During these years he attended Tulane University’s AB Freeman School of Business at nights, earning 30 course hours of MBA credit. In 1987 he moved to Schlumberger (1987-1995) where he successfully commercialized the business model for multi-client 3D surveys, managed the growth of the company’s marine acquisition business in Europe by expanding the fleet of operated vessels from 6 to seventeen over a two-year period, and ultimately held the position of Vice President and General Manager for all geophysical product lines in North and South America. Mr. Hamilton served on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Geophysical Contractors (IAGC) from 1993-2011 and currently serves on the boards of Odfjell Drilling, the Society of Exploration Geophysics (SEG) Foundation, and the University of North Carolina Arts & Sciences Foundation. He is also Chairman of the board of Defy Ventures, a privately funded New York City based non-profit organization that provides carefully selected, ambitious men and women who have criminal histories with life-changing entrepreneurship, leadership, and career opportunities, and he volunteers extensively at the Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Texas.