ProPetro Holding Corp. said July 27 it had promoted Sam Sledge, the company’s president, to CEO as part of the executive leadership transition spurred by the exit of the Midland, Texas-based service provider’s co-founder Dale Redman last year.

Sledge joined ProPetro in 2011 and has served in various capacities throughout his tenure, including frac technical specialist and technical operations manager. As a result of his promotion, effective Aug. 31, Phillip Gobe, the company’s chairman and CEO, will transition to executive chairman.

In a statement commented on his promotion, Sledge said: “I appreciate the continued confidence of the Board and want to thank Phillip for his strategic leadership over the past two years. His steady guidance was crucial during our leadership transition and one of the most difficult periods in the history of the oil and gas industry due to impacts associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

Also part of the leadership transition, COO Adam Muñoz’s leadership position will expand to president and COO. Muñoz had joined the company to initiate ProPetro’s Permian pressure pumping operation in 2010. Previously, he held sales and operations roles at Frac Tech Services and Weatherford International.

“Today’s announcement marks the culmination of our board of directors’ comprehensive succession planning process for the orderly transition of ProPetro’s executive leadership team,” Gobe said in the release. “Both Sam and Adam are well-deserving of their expanded leadership roles, with each spending the last ten or more years at the company during which time they have developed a deep knowledge of the business and our unique culture of teamwork.”

ProPetro provides pressure pumping and other complementary services to E&P companies in the Permian Basin and other Northam American unconventional oil and gas plays.

Sledge, who had been named president in April, will also join the company’s board of directors. He is the son of ProPetro’s former COO, David Sledge, who stepped down from the role at the end of last year.

In his statement, Sledge added that the leadership team will continue to work closely with Gobe and the board to identify opportunities that promote the long-term success of ProPetro.

“We will continue to prioritize capital discipline as we target investments in new equipment with better technology that we believe will drive incremental and more consistent free cash flow generation and reduce the impact of our operations on the environment,” he said.

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