Refocusing Responsibilities at the Top: Executives Switch Roles

After welcoming Jim Scheel, to the Northeast, Candyce and Mike had a chance to speak to Jim and CEO Alan Armstrong about Williams’ growth in the Marcellus and Utica.

Jim Scheel, Frank Billings and Alan Armstrong pose for a photo with Candyce and Mike in our Pittsburgh office.

As Williams continues to grow in the Marcellus and Utica, we’ve refocused the responsibilities of two of our top leaders to meet the evolving demands of our midstream business in this region and the commercial opportunities available to us across North America.

In the simplest terms, the two executives switched roles.

Jim Scheel is Williams’ new senior vice president of Northeast Gathering & Processing (NEGP). He succeeds Frank Billings in that role. Frank, in turn, is Williams’ new senior vice president of Corporate Strategic Development, succeeding Jim in that role.

Those two senior execs and Williams CEO Alan Armstrong gathered with employees at our Pittsburgh office on Wednesday for a casual meeting that involved introductions, conversation and some lunch.

Alan took the opportunity to formally introduce Jim to the Pittsburgh contingent of the NEGP team he now leads.

“Jim will take us to the next stage of where we are going here in the Northeast,” Alan said. “Our plan is to build on the opportunities that Frank and his team have created in this fast-growing business in the Marcellus and Utica producing areas.”

Frank’s new role as Williams’ senior executive for Corporate Strategic Development is designed to maximize the value of his deep experience in the commercial relationships and business-development, Alan said.

Williams announced the leadership changes on Monday.

“We are blessed to have the opportunity to develop natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica,” Jim told the 150 Williams employees gathered to welcome him. “It is our patriotic duty to be successful.”

Since joining Williams in 1988, Jim has served in leadership roles that include operations, engineering and operational excellence; the company’s natural gas liquids business; business and strategic development with more than $6 billion in transactions and business integrations; and management of international and joint-venture operations. In Lithuania, he helped Williams negotiate the purchase of a distressed company and led the operational aspects of modernizing a refinery and completing an oil export terminal.

For his part, Jim confirmed that he and his family are looking forward to making the move from Tulsa, Williams’ headquarters city, to Pittsburgh, our base of operations for NEGP.

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