MDR McDermott International Inc

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) (�McDermott� or the �Company�) announced today that Bruce W. Wilkinson has notified the Company�s Board of Directors of his intent to retire as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of McDermott by December 31, 2008. Commenting on his decision, Wilkinson said, �I joined McDermott in April 2000, and became Chief Executive in August of that year. I believed the turnaround challenge the Company faced, and my tenure, would be a three- to five-year effort. Now, at age 63, I am only several months from serving eight years in this role. I am enormously proud of our success, which could not have occurred but for the outstanding management team that we have assembled. Looking forward, McDermott is well-positioned in the key energy markets of the engineering and construction industry, and its future is especially bright.� Admiral Bruce DeMars, McDermott�s lead independent director, stated, �On behalf of the Board of Directors, we appreciate Bruce�s outstanding stewardship, dedication and leadership that he has provided for the Company. During his tenure as CEO, McDermott�s shares have appreciated approximately 2,000 percent, representing over $11 billion of shareholder value creation. With regret, we acknowledge and accept his desire to retire by the end of this year.� Commenting on McDermott�s succession planning, DeMars added, �The Company has conducted robust succession planning for all key officer positions, and the Board has worked cooperatively with Bruce in this process. Considering his significant advance notice, the Board will simultaneously consider both the internal and external candidates as part of a worldwide search for Bruce�s successor.� McDermott has retained the executive search firm of Heidrick & Struggles in Houston to assist the Board with this process. Wilkinson concluded, �The success McDermott has enjoyed is not about any one individual, but has materialized through the extraordinary efforts of an incredible management team and the daily commitment from each of my worldwide co-workers. I feel truly privileged to have served with them all. McDermott has a clear strategic focus for growth, serving our customers in oil & gas, fossil and nuclear power, as well as the U.S. Government�s nuclear requirements. I have assured the Board that I will work diligently with the management team to continue executing our plans until my successor has taken over after a smooth and orderly transition.� OTHER INFORMATION About the Company McDermott is an engineering and construction company, with specialty manufacturing and service capabilities, focused on energy infrastructure. McDermott�s customers are predominantly utilities and other power generators, major and national oil companies, and the United States Government. With its global operations, McDermott operates in over 20 countries with more than 20,000 employees. Forward Looking Statements In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott cautions that statements in this press release, which are forward-looking and provide other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may impact the Company�s actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include statements about McDermott�s position in the energy engineering & construction market, our optimism for the Company�s future and our focus for growth. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, adverse changes in the markets in which we operate and our inability to successfully execute on our growth strategies. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott�s annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007.