Mike Hall Tribute

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In Memoriam

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MikeHall Mike Hall, Transocean’s VP of Newbuilds, passed away in Houston on June 27 following a multiple coronary bypass surgery. He was 56. In his 30-year career with Transocean, Mike held various engineering and project management positions, served as operations manager for South America, Region Manager for North America, Director of Planning, Vice President of Operations and Technical Support, Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services, and Vice President of Newbuilds.

Mike’s funeral in Houston, held on July 1, was attended by hundreds, including family members, friends and colleagues. Senior management from Transocean and many vendor companies and industry peers were all in attendance to pay their respects. Transocean CEO Bob Long was one of the speakers at the funeral service.

“To me, Mike was a friend and a man I could look up to,” said Bob. “He was a teacher, and when it came to technical matters, he gave good, solid advice. I was overwhelmed by the many people who wanted to talk about Mike, about his tremendous technical capabilities, his outstanding strategic vision. What really resonated was that everyone said he was a leader, a mentor, and a good man.”

Les Smiles, Director of Newbuilds, worked with Mike for nearly half of his career. At Mike’s funeral, he noted Mike’s remarkable commitment to developing people, which was perhaps mentioned most among his Transocean co-workers.

“Mike had the ability to evaluate people and then find opportunities within the company that matched their talents and would allow them to shine,” Les said. “Today, this room is filled with people Mike touched. It was irrelevant whether you were the CEO, an engineer, an administrative assistant or a roughneck, Mike was interested in you. Mike taught us what it meant to help support and develop others, one of the true meanings of friendship.”

Mike is survived by his wife, Brenda; daughter, Allison; son, Alex and his fiancée Carly Kath, whom he loved as one of his own children; grandchildren, Kyle Sowa and Cooper Hall; brothers, Doug Hall, Jerry and his wife Denita Hall, and Rick and his wife Sook Hall; as well as many other loving family members and friends.

> Condolences poured into Transocean’s Corporate Communications account following the June 27 announcement of Mike’s death. These will be compiled and given to the Hall family. If you would like to send a note about Mike for his family to read, e-mail corporatecommunications@deepwater.com, or leave a comment below.

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