Steven Newman has agreed to step down as president and CEO of Transocean Ltd., effective Feb. 16, the company said in a news release.

Additionally, Newman has elected to resign as a director of Transocean Ltd. Until a permanent replacement is named, Ian Strachan, chairman of Transocean’s board, will also serve the company in the role of interim CEO.

Strachan has served as a director of the company since 1999 and as chairman of the board since May 2013, the release said. His experience includes serving as chairman of the board of Instinet Group Inc. and as a director of several companies, including Xstrata, Rolls Royce Group, Reuters and Johnson Matthey.

He began his career with Exxon Corp., where he spent 16 years. He went on to serve as Rio Tinto’s CFO for four years and the company’s deputy CEO from 1991 to 1995, according to the release. He then served as CEO of BTR for three years beginning in 1996.

Strachan received his BA in 1965 from Cambridge University and a master’s degree in public affairs in 1967 from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, and was a teaching fellow at Harvard University from 1969 to 1970.