Every successful corporation has at least one, if not many key executives that drive performance of employees and business units. As many corporations span several levels tall, executives must be competent, skilled, and willing to work lengthy hours. Nabors Industries, a natural gas and geothermal drilling company operating around the world, is no exception to this rule.
Tony Petrello doubles as the president and CEO of Nabors Industries Limited. In its most recent financial statements, the geothermal drilling giant brought home more than $6 billion in revenue, boasting an impressive $142 million net income. The company was able to secure these enviable sums through offering diverse services, including offshore drilling, technology for drilling equipment and offshore rigs, and drilling on-land in the world’s four-most populous continents.
Mr. Petrello earned three degrees, propelling him to his current status: bachelor’s of mathematics from Yale, master’s of mathematics from Yale, and a juris doctorate from Harvard. These Ivy League schools are among the world’s most competitive universities, with Harvard viewed as the gold standard of postsecondary education.
Frequently referred to as Tony, Petrello started his lengthy, successful career at Baker & McKenzie, a New York-based law firm. He served the litigious partnership for 12 years, starting in 1979. For the last five years of his tenure, Mr. Petrello was employed as managing partner of Baker & McKenzie. Law firms are almost always partnerships — including Baker & McKenzie — with two or more experienced attorneys serving as partners with many staff attorneys underneath. Petrello lead the popular New York law firm with resiliency during those last five years.
Upon leaving Baker & McKenzie in 1991, Tony Petrello earned a spot on Nabors’ board of directors, leading the committee as executive committee of the board. He also was positioned as COO, serving in that role for twenty years. Mr. Petrello earned simultaneously-held titles of president and CEO in late 2011, holding those prestigious positions through today.
Mr. Petrello serves on several other boards, including those of Texas Children’s Hospital, Media On Demand, and Stewart & Stevenson, LLC. He earned a salary of $1.5 million in 2016, with total compensation exceeding $15 million in that year alone.
The Nabors executive is also thought of highly by friends, family, and peers. His former college roommate, Lloyd Grove, remembers Petrello as a math whiz that came from humble beginnings. Mr. Tony G. Petrello is certainly a successful executive, setting the bar high for those who may fill his proverbial shoes.