Management Team

Faster & Safer, Down To The Core

Management Team

Faster & Safer,

Down To The Core

Our Team

Michael Edward Irausquin — President

Michael brings 24 years of international oil and gas experience with a recognized and proven track record working for large, mid- and small-sized oil and gas services companies. He has worked and lived in eight different countries, leading organizations towards sustained and continuous growth with an emphasis on improving efficiencies and offering differentiation and innovative thinking.

Michael acts as President for BICO Drilling Tools. In this role he is responsible for ensuring that the company operates in the most efficient manner at a global level. He is fully responsible for the sustainable and profitable growth of the business, as well as its development both in the countries where BICO Drilling Tools operates directly and in those operating under different cooperation agreements. Michael leads teams located in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.

Prior to BICO Drilling Tools, Michael served as Global Director for Drilling Fluids for Weatherford International. He also held the role of Vice President for the Americas for Gates Corporation, leading the North American and Latin America businesses. Similarly, he was the Vice President of Operations for multiple regions with Tesco Corporation, leading all the different product lines in key regions such as the Asian Pacific, Latin America, and the Western Hemisphere (US and Canada).

Michael held multiple field and leadership roles in diverse environments for Schlumberger, the largest O and G service company globally. For 13 years, he specialized in different aspects of the Directional Drilling, MWD and LWD business. He provided significant contributions, increasing market share, introducing new products and services, and attracting and increasing the retention of future leaders for Schlumberger. Michael worked for Schlumberger in North America, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. He has extensive knowledge of business dynamics throughout the world, having worked with customers and colleagues in the United States, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Australia. He has built relationships with international professionals and understands how to work with diverse professional groups.

Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of the Energy Diversity and Inclusion Council. He is a US Citizen, holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering from the Universidad Privada Dr. Rafael Belloso Chacin (URBE) in Maracaibo, Venezuelan, and an Executive MBA in Global Leadership from UT Dallas.

Mike brings over 40 years of global oil and gas experience. He is one of the longest serving BICO employees and has a wealth of motor and downhole equipment operations and sales experience in the Americas, Europe and Africa. With extensive knowledge of industry finances and employee performance, Mike also has insight into the global market’s unique needs and operational variants.

As the Vice President of Global Operations, Mike is responsible for upholding the profitability and values of the organization through his leadership in business operations. He develops business goals and initiatives for BICO, and liaises with Directors and Department Managers to relay information about company needs, reviewing operational data to make inferences about their department’s success and challenges.

Mike holds an MBA from the Centenary College of Louisiana.

Mike Dougherty – Vice President, Global Operations

Michael Szafron – Vice President, Sales and Marketing

Michael Szafron spent the last 20 years working to grow startups and large public companies in multiple verticals. Through the 90’s he worked with a startup electronic medical records company pioneering adoption in medical clinics across Canada. He also managed global product sales activity in energy with Tesco Corporation and set up the US division of a Middle East based MRI company looking to apply its technology to the oil and gas space in the U.S. As a sales and marketing executive, he worked to assist Venture Capital Companies to grow new acquisitions revenue and EBITDA leveraging sales and marketing strategies.

Michael holds the role of Vice President for Sales and Marketing for BICO Drilling Tools and is responsible for managing all brands, distribution channels, and deployment of sales for the organization. He develops strategic sales plans based on company goals that will promote sales growth and customer satisfaction for the organization. He excels at business and market development, customer management and satisfaction, management of market research, development of strategic direction for promotion and advertising and sales growth.

Michael lives in Katy Texas, and is on the advisory board of Potentia, an organization which places Autistic talent with leading oil and gas organizations.

Boris began his professional career in the Oil and Gas Industry over 40 years ago as a Materials Coordinator with SAIPEM in 1985. Since then, he has held several Supply Chain, Project, and HR managing positions with FORASOL–FORAMER S.A.S, a French-based drilling contractor from 1986 to 1996 on locations in the North Sea, Italy, the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Angola, and the Congo. In addition, he also served as Project Manager in the Singapore Shipyard.

From 1996 to 2011, he served as Senior Manager for Supply Chain–Global Logistics and Trade for PRIDE International Inc., a major OnShore and OffShore drilling contractor. In this position, Boris led its largest operations, including those in Kazakhstan, Angola, Cameron, Chad, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil.

From 2011 through 2016, Boris acted as Director for Global Supply Chain, Logistics and Trade, for ENSCO PLC (currently VALARIS PLC), the world’s second largest offshore drilling company. Based in the Houston headquarters, he managed Supply Chain operations in more than 26 countries.

Recently, from 2017 to 2020, Boris served as Managing Director (based in Houston) for NOATUM, one of the top 50 freight forwarders worldwide. He led the company in Supply Chain Management, Global Logistics, Customs Brokerage, and Marine Agency and Project Cargo for Oil and Gas/Energy Customers.

Prior to coming to BICO Drilling Tools, Boris served as Supply Chain Consultant at Transocean offshore drilling contractor.

Boris is multilingual, and an innovative and versatile Supply Chain Management leader with proven success in every facet of the supply chain (sourcing, purchasing, materials, assets management, trade compliance and global logistics). He brings 31 years of international oil and gas experience with a recognized and proven track record, working for large and medium size drilling contractors and leading teams to solve business challenges and drive growth.

Boris holds a Master’s Degree in Maritime Engineering from E. Kardelj University in Slovenia and a postgraduate Petroleum Engineer Degree from Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (E.N.S.P.M.[I.F.P.]) in France.

Boris Kos – Vice President, Supply Chain and Assets

John Fowler – Global QHSE Manager

John is a QHSE professional with 18+ years of experience, heavily concentrated in the oil and gas industry.  He has worked in several disciplines within the oil and gas industry which has helped establish his firm grasp on QHSE techniques.

John is the current Global QHSE Manager for BICO Drilling Tools.  In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of quality and HSE.  He is tasked with creating and implementing both a Quality Management System and a Safety Management System to help propel the business to the next level.  He is committed to leveraging his extensive QHSE experience to serve BICO’s employees and stakeholders.

Prior to BICO, John has worked in different aspects of the oil and gas industry including drilling, services, completions, and support.  He has worked within the QHSE management functions for companies such as Oceaneering, Versabar, and Forum Energy.  He has also run his own consulting firm specializing in QHSE Management Systems creation and implementation around the globe.

John holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Liberty University in Richmond, VA.  John is an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt and Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence as well as a Safety Management Specialist.

Louis is the Corporate Controller for BICO Drilling Tools. He is responsible for the financial reporting of the three operating entities that comprise BICO’s global activity. This involves working closely with external partners, internal BICO departments and the Schoeller-Bleckmann Corporate team in Austria.

Prior to BICO Drilling Tools, Louis spent 10+ years with Aker Solutions and an additional six after the Well Intervention area was sold to Private Equity and rebranded as Altus Intervention. He managed the finance areas for the U.S. and Canadian Well Intervention companies under Aker/Altus during this time.

Louis has worked for 23 years in Finance and Accounting and 15+ years as Controller in the oil and gas industry. His full Controller tenure is in organizations with listed European parent companies, reporting up through the applicable CFO/Corporate Finance groups.

His financial reporting oversight includes managing areas of federal and state taxes, indirect taxes (property, sales and use), insurance, budget/forecast, cash flow analysis, and internal and external audits. He has led or participated in several ERP implementations.

Louis has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from LSU and has been a licensed CPA in Texas since 2003.

Louis Leggett – Corporate Controller

Rod Larkins – Global Human Resources Manager

Rod brings over 15 years of Human Resources Management experience, working in the Aviation, Transportation, Banking and Retail industries.

A Human Capital Engineer, with proven success in driving culture change, performance management, engagement, retention, career development and managing large-scale projects and overseeing the entire implementation cycle.

Rod has a unique blend of experiences strategically and technically such as Talent Acquisition, Recruiting, Compliance, Training & Development, Workforce Planning, Payroll, Employee Engagement, Ethics Investigations, and internal Auditing. 

His diverse industry experience has exposed Rod to dynamic and innovative ways to approach Human Resources.  

Rod has conducted Culture Training & Development workshops in Canada, Egypt, The Netherlands, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and serves on the HR advisory committee for HRA, a community of 3000+ HR leaders across the United States.

Rod holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources Management & Business Management and Leadership from Bellevue University, Bellevue, NE. 

Ross brings 15 years of Engineering, P&L, and Product Development experience working for Oil & Gas operator and large service companies. Ross leads Engineering department as the Director of Engineering for BICO Drilling Tools, with responsibility for directing all aspects of engineering activities and projects within the organization, ensuring that all engineering projects, initiatives, and processes are in conformity with the organization’s established policies and objectives.

Prior to joining BICO Drilling Tools, Ross served in various engineering and management roles with NOV, working with both Downhole and Reedhycalog. Ross was responsible for P&L management, product development, field testing, and technical support. Prior to joining NOV, Ross worked for Encana Oil & Gas as a Drilling Engineer as well as a Operations Engineer covering the Piceance and DJ Basins. 

Ross holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech University, in Butte, MT.

Ross Randall Wilkerson – Director of Engineering

BICO Drilling Tools

Faster & Safer, Down To The Core

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