Chief Executive Officer — Upstream Portfolio

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review within a listed integrated energy producer and services platform. The immediate arena is the upstream portfolio during a capital-discipline reset. For mandate 351, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Executive Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹25,900 crore in operated asset and trading portfolio, with activity spanning several upstream portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Executive Officer Oil & Energy remit carries direct influence over roughly 500 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Executive Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the upstream portfolio. The Chief Executive Officer Oil & Energy seat must resolve a capital-discipline reset, while preserving the underlying strengths of the upstream portfolio. For mandate 351, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Executive Officer’s first year on the upstream portfolio is expected to end with enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility. In mandate 351, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the Chief Executive Officer — Upstream Portfolio seat. The incumbent continues to lead the upstream portfolio through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a capital-discipline reset is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Executive Officer value-creation thesis for the upstream portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹25,900 crore in operated asset and trading portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Executive Officer Oil & Energy organisation of about 500 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the upstream portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a capital-discipline reset, with Chief Executive Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Executive Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the upstream portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show personal ownership of a whole-enterprise choice involving capital, customers and leadership, not merely sponsorship of a functional programme in mandate 351.
• Build the Chief Executive Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the upstream portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Oil & Energy organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the upstream portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Executive Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the upstream portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable upstream portfolio trend against enterprise value, cash conversion and leadership credibility, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Executive Officer’s agreed first-year upstream portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Executive Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the upstream portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Executive Officer mandate’s highest-priority upstream portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical upstream portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Executive Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Executive Officer-owned improvement in the upstream portfolio operating constraint behind a capital-discipline reset, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 351: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President in a listed Oil & Energy or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the upstream portfolio, your Chief Executive Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from energy, oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, renewables or industrial services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Executive Officer brief.

As a Chief Executive Officer candidate, you bring 28+ years of progressive Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 28-plus experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹15,000 crore and led an organisation of at least 450 people.

For mandate 351, the board wants two transitions: a difficult upstream portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a capital-discipline reset. As the prospective Chief Executive Officer for this upstream portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 351 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Executive Officer role in Oil & Energy is based in Mumbai; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Executive Officer, Business CEO or Group President, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Oil & Energy governance forum.
• Proven Chief Executive Officer ownership of at least ₹15,000 crore and leadership of no fewer than 450 employees in a comparable upstream portfolio context.
• One completed Oil & Energy or adjacent-sector example of portfolio reset after a board-led strategic review with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from energy, oil and gas, utilities, chemicals, renewables or industrial services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Executive Officer-level upstream portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Mumbai location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 351.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Executive Officer package is ₹5.0–7.5 crore fixed + performance variable and LTI, calibrated to the final upstream portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 351 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Executive Officer appointment in Mumbai, centred on the upstream portfolio, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 351.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 351. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 351.