Corporate Leadership

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Chris Usher
President and Chief Executive Officer

Chris Usher brings over twenty-five years of leadership in the geophysical industry and hands-on experience in the fields of seismic data processing and imaging, new product commercialization, and software development.

Mr. Usher began his career in field operations at Western Geophysical. In 2000, he moved to Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) in London and served as President of its global data processing division until 2004. From 2004 to 2005, he served as Senior Corporate Vice President, Integrated Services, at Paradigm Geotechnology in London. In 2005, Mr. Usher joined Landmark Software and Services, a division of Halliburton, as Senior Director. From 2010 until 2012, Mr. Usher served as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Global Geophysical. Mr. Usher joined ION in December 2012 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ION’s GX Technology group and was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer in February 2015. Before becoming CEO, Chris Usher served as Executive Vice President of ION’s Operations Optimization segment and also oversaw information technology and marketing functions as well as new technology development. Education: Mr. Usher is a graduate of Yale University with a Bachelor of Science degree in geology and geophysics.
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Steve Bate
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Steve Bate offers a well-rounded view of the geophysical business, having served in multiple leadership capacities within ION since joining the company in 2005. He is a proven business and financial leader with over 30 years of broad experience and capabilities across multiple industries.

Prior to joining ION, Mr. Bate was president of a $300 million residential construction company and, prior to that, founded his own consulting business to help lead organizations through change. Over the past decade he has served ION in various executive capacities, including Chief Financial Officer of our Solutions business line, Senior Vice President of our Sensor business line, Senior Vice President of our Land Imaging Systems division, Chief Executive Officer of INOVA, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of our Systems division. Education: Mr. Bate holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston.
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Ken Williamson
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer E&P Technology & Services

Ken Williamson brings to ION broad international experience in the seismic industry. Mr. Williamson joined ION in 2006 to lead the development and expansion of our data library programs and was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Commercialization in February 2015.

Between 1987 and 2006, Mr. Williamson was employed in various positions by Western Geophysical, which in 2000 became part of WesternGeco, a seismic solutions and technology subsidiary of Schlumberger. While at WesternGeco, he served as Vice President, Marketing from 2001 to 2003; Vice President, Russia and Caspian Region from 2003 to 2005; and Vice President, Marketing, Sales & Commercialization of WesternGeco’s electromagnetic services and technology division from 2005 to 2006. Mr. Williamson joined ION in 2006 as Vice President of our GeoVentures group and was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in December 2012. Education: Mr. Williamson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in geophysics from Cardiff University in Wales.
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Larry Burke
Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources

With over 35 years of Human Resources experience, Larry Burke has applied his knowledge and experience to help shape the unique culture of technology and innovation at ION. Prior to his current title of Executive Vice President, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources. He joined ION in 2008.

From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Burke served as Vice President of Human Resources for Silicon Valley Group, a semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Between 1994 and 2000, he was Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administration for the institutional broker/dealer BNY/ESI & Co. More recently, Mr. Burke served as Vice President of Human Resources at Global Crossing, a global telecommunications solutions provider, from 2000 to 2008. Education: Mr. Burke holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.
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Matt Powers
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Matt Powers joined ION in 2013 as Senior Counsel and was promoted to Deputy General Counsel in 2016 and Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in 2017. He has broad experience in energy, manufacturing and international transactions, as well as substantial experience in litigation and intellectual property matters.

Prior to joining ION, he practiced at top-tier international law firms, including the Houston offices of Sidley Austin LLP and Mayer Brown LLP, where he practiced in both transactional and litigation groups. Education: Matt is a 2003 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a 1998 graduate of the University of Colorado at Denver, where he graduated summa cum laude and was awarded the Christine Conti Prize in Economics.
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