The office overseeing BP’s payments to victims of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill has named an interim chief executive, following the resignations of two top officials earlier this month.
Chief claims administrator Patrick Juneau said in an emailed statement late Monday he has tapped David Welker for the top post while the offices searches for a permanent chief. Welker has served as director of fraud, waste and abuse at the office since it began making settlement payments last year.
The claims office’s previous CEO, David Odom, alongside Chief Operating Officer Kirk Fisher to pursue “other business opportunities,” Juneau had said earlier Monday.
Welker had worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 26 years before he took the post at the claims office. Most recently, he served as special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans Office, according to Juneau.