Bain & Company names Jim Claunch senior advisor

Global consultancy Bain & Company has announced that Jim Claunch will join the its oil and gas practice as a senior advisor. He will specialize in digital transformation and will be based out of the firm’s Houston office.

Digitalization is fast becoming the norm for many organizations and industries. The oil and gas sector, however, is lagging behind, as oil and gas executives tend to use tools such as artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning in specific use cases, rather than throughout organizations as a whole. With Claunch, Bain & Company aims to change that – presenting oil and gas businesses with clear-cut, undeniable benefits to going digital.

"We know from our extensive work with oil and gas executives that digital is one of their top priorities, in large part because they see the value it creates in other industries," Luis Uriza, the head of  Bain & Company's oil and gas practice in the Americas, said. "The extensive expertise Jim brings to Bain will be critical to our consultants and clients as they work together to navigate the challenges and opportunities that digital presents for their businesses as well as the industry as a whole."

Claunch has 35 years of experience in the energy sector. Prior to joining Bain & Company, he served as vice president of business efficiency at Equinor, where his responsibilities included integrating functions including IT and data management with engineers and other roles. He has also worked as managing director of Growth Capital Partner’s energy practice, as well as CFO and CIO of global oilfield services company Power Well Services. Additionally, he served as Halliburton’s vice president of global shared services.

"When it comes to digitalization, so much of the technology, the change management philosophy, leadership, and organizational culture are the same, regardless of industry. The challenge for the oil and gas sector lies in fully capturing the benefits of the digital transformation as other industries have done," Claunch said. "I am so pleased to join the talented team of energy experts at Bain & Company to help clients successfully unlock significant value from the latest digital tools and methodologies."