Stand for Council in 2024
We are very excited to announce that VOTING IS NOW OPEN for the 2024 GESGB Council Elections!
Click HERE to cast your vote! | Voting will close on Friday 17 November 2023, 5PM
Remember, your vote matters! It shapes the future of the GESGB Society, so please take this opportunity to choose your favourite candidates. It only takes 2 minutes!
You can find out more about each of the candidates below, before casting your vote.
We will officially announce the results of the election at the GESGB Winter Social Event.
We are pleased to welcome Stephen Laux as President Elect, Aaron Lockwood as Education and Training Director and Francesca Twynam as YP Director to the Council for 2024 whose roles were uncontested this year.
Stephen Laux, President Elect
Steve is an accomplished geoscientist with 40+ years of global experience in upstream oil and gas and mineral exploration in senior technical and managerial positions with a proven track record of commercial discoveries. Steve also has recent added experience in geothermal energy and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
Steve holds an M.A. in Geology from Oxford University, a Ph.D. in Geoscience from Edinburgh University and an M.Sc. in Subsurface Energy Systems from Heriot-Watt University.
As President elect I see a key role is to help the Society and its members to embrace the challenges and opportunities offered by renewable subsurface energy systems whilst continuing to support petroleum related activities during the transition to net zero.
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Aaron Lockwood, Education and Training Director
I am a geophysicist by training with experience in a number of companies, gained through my 25 year career to date. I currently work at Shearwater in the Reveal software sales group.
I believe I can continue to make a valuable contribution to the position as I have had significant interaction with multiple universities and commercial training partners over the last 2 years.
Having overseen many Night School courses, field trips and the initiation of the Training Partner Programme during the current tenure I believe I can continue to provide high quality training and education options for the members, at reasonable costs.
I am also on the independent advisory board to Aberdeen University and I have close links to Leeds University, and have worked to increase the visibility of the GESGB in other academia institutions as well at school level. Increasing the number of student and early career members of the GESGB will be one of the key elements to the continued success of the society.
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Francesca Twynam, YP Director
After earning my MSc in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Manchester, I moved to Aberdeen where I began my career in the service sector. I started as a sand control engineer with Weatherford and before progressing to the role of development chemist for REDA Oilfield.
After a year I relocated to London, shedding the lab coat to transition into the role of Geophysicist for SLB (formerly Schlumberger). My specialization includes multicomponent seismic processing and 4D reservoir characterization studies.
Over the past 7 years, I’ve had the privilege of presenting my technical work and attending training courses worldwide, from Houston to Kuala Lumpur.
Inspired by a successful PETEX conference in 2021 and the return of in-person events, I joined the GESGB Young Professionals committee. For the past 2 years, I’ve closely collaborated with a dedicated team to organize both technical and soft skills sessions, fostering collaborations with other industry societies and GESGB special interest groups.
My passion lies in uniting energy professionals across disciplines, leading to my initiation of the ‘Energy on Draft’ networking series to rebuild the London community with connections and inclusivity.
As a young professional, I’m acutely aware of the industry’s challenges, especially the shift towards sustainable practices and increasing demand for cleaner energy. I aim to reshape perceptions by emphasizing the industry’s adaptability and innovative problem-solving abilities.
That’s why I’m running for the role of GESGB YP director, focusing on three key areas: nurturing new geo-talent to grow the society, bridging the gap between industry, societies and academia, and lastly supporting STEM initiatives from primary school to university and beyond.
I believe industry societies should extend their reach to promote the interesting and challenging projects we work on, encourage diversity of thought, and embrace fresh ideas to address today’s global energy challenges.
To succeed, we must blend the knowledge of the past with the innovative spirit of the younger generation. My primary goal, if I were to secure this position, would be to amplify the voices of young professionals and adapt our society’s events to meet the evolving needs of the industry, stay relevant, and deliver value to all GESGB members.
Thank you for taking part!