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Halliburton Company

Oilfield Services & EquipmentFounded 1919
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Halliburton: CEO History

4 leaders · 1989 to present

Who is the CEO of Halliburton?

Jeffrey A. Miller is the CEO of Halliburton, in the role since 2017. The first chief executive was Thomas H. Cruikshank, from 1989.

Current CEO
Jeffrey A. Miller (since 2017)
First CEO
Thomas H. Cruikshank (1989)
Leaders documented
4
Founded
1919
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Jeffrey A. MillerChairman, President, and CEO2017Present9
Dave LesarFormer Chairman and CEO2000201717
Dick CheneyFormer Chairman and CEO199520005
Thomas H. CruikshankChairman and Chief Executive Officer198919956
Who was CEO of Halliburton before Jeffrey A. Miller?
Dave Lesar was CEO of Halliburton from 2000 to 2017, before Jeffrey A. Miller took over in 2017.

Company Overview

Halliburton is a service contractor to the oil and gas industry. Exxon, Chevron, Saudi Aramco and shale independents own the wells; Halliburton supplies the crews, pumps, tools, chemicals and software that drill, cement, fracture and maintain them. It pioneered commercial hydraulic fracturing in 1949 and is now the largest frac provider in North America. With $22.2 billion of 2025 revenue, it is one of the three largest oilfield services companies in the world, alongside SLB and Baker Hughes. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The massive American oilfield services conglomerate was founded in Oklahoma in 1919, originally just renting out a single horse-drawn wagon to cement oil wells before becoming a highly controversial, globally dominant military and energy contractor.

Jeffrey A. Miller

Chairman, President, and CEO

2017 – Present

9 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Jeff Miller became CEO in June 2017 and chairman in January 2019 after joining Halliburton in 1997. He has steered the company toward returns and free cash flow over market share in North America, invested in electric fracturing (Zeus), automation and digital tools, and grown international work with national oil companies. During the 2020 downturn he cut costs and capacity. Since then he has used free cash flow for debt reduction, dividends and buybacks, including $1.0 billion of repurchases in 2025.

Legacy

Under Miller, Halliburton came back from a $2.9 billion loss in 2020 to net income of $2.6 billion in 2023, and it kept producing about $1.9 billion of free cash flow in the softer 2025 market.

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Dave Lesar

Former Chairman and CEO

2000 – 2017

17 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Serving a seventeen-year tenure as chief executive, Dave Lesar oversaw the most transformative period in the company's modern history. He orchestrated the complex, multi-year process of legally separating and ultimately divesting Halliburton's controversial government contracting and military logistics subsidiary, KBR, in 2007. Following this divestiture, he refocused the entire corporation exclusively on its core oilfield services operations, expanding the company's footprint in rapidly developing international markets and leading the technological boom in North American shale fracking.

Legacy

Lesar rebuilt Halliburton's corporate identity. By severing the distracting and politically toxic KBR subsidiary, he allowed the company to refocus its engineering resources on dominating the global energy services market. His early, aggressive investments in hydraulic fracturing technology positioned Halliburton to capitalize on the historic United States shale revolution, generating corporate profits during the early 2010s.

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Dick Cheney

Former Chairman and CEO

1995 – 2000

5 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Dick Cheney led Halliburton between serving as US Secretary of Defense and becoming Vice President. His defining deal was the 1998 merger with Dresser Industries, which roughly doubled the company's size and brought M.W. Kellogg, later combined with Brown & Root as KBR.

Legacy

The Dresser deal made Halliburton much bigger, but it also brought asbestos liabilities and a government-contracting business whose Iraq War contracts drew political controversy after Cheney left for the vice presidency.

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Thomas H. Cruikshank

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

1989 – 1995

6 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Cruikshank became chief executive in 1989 and reorganised Halliburton's energy services businesses into a single unit in 1993.

Legacy

He retired in 1995 and Dick Cheney succeeded him.

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Challenges & Strategic Context

Halliburton's biggest challenge is that its revenue follows its customers' drilling and completion budgets. US shale producers held spending flat to lower through 2025, so North America revenue fell 6% to $9.1 billion and full-year operating income dropped from $3.8 billion in 2024 to $2.3 billion in 2025. Pricing pressure in pressure pumping, the move to electric frac fleets that need new capital, and competition from SLB, Baker Hughes and regional service companies all squeeze margins. International work is steadier but exposed to national oil company budget changes; the Middle East was a weak region in Q2 2026. Halliburton also faces cybersecurity risk: an August 2024 intrusion forced it to take some systems offline, and it disclosed about $35 million of related costs. Longer term, the energy transition could cap demand for oil and gas services.

Halliburton CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who have been the primary Chief Executive Officers of Halliburton Company in modern history?

Key modern CEOs of Halliburton include Erle P. Halliburton (founder, 1919-1957), Dick Cheney (1995-2000, before serving as US Vice President), Dave Lesar (2000-2017, who led the landmark expansion into international markets and moved corporate headquarters to Houston), and Jeff Miller (2017-present).

What major transformations has Jeff Miller led as CEO of Halliburton since 2017?

Jeff Miller led Halliburton through severe oil market downturns and the 2020 pandemic, instituted strict capital discipline, pioneered the commercial launch of the Zeus electric fracturing fleet, scaled international Middle Eastern operations, founded Halliburton Labs, and achieved record operating profit margins.

What was the strategic focus of Dave Lesar's 17-year tenure as CEO (2000-2017)?

Dave Lesar oversaw the large expansion of hydraulic fracturing during the North American shale boom, resolved legacy asbestos liabilities, relocated executive headquarters from Dallas to Houston (and opened a dual HQ in Dubai), and grew consolidated annual revenues past $30 billion.

What role did Dick Cheney play as CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000?

Dick Cheney led Halliburton's major $7.7 billion acquisition of Dresser Industries in 1998 (which brought major engineering and manufacturing subsidiaries), expanded international operations, and increased the company's global energy infrastructure presence.

What background and operational experience did Jeff Miller have before becoming CEO?

Jeff Miller, a certified public accountant with an MBA from the University of Central Florida, joined Halliburton in 1997. He served in diverse executive roles including Senior Vice President of Gulf of Mexico, Senior VP of Business Development, and President and Chief Operating Officer.

What corporate governance and executive compensation principles guide Halliburton's leadership?

Halliburton ties executive compensation to Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), operating cash flow generation, relative Total Shareholder Return (TSR), workplace safety milestones (Total Recordable Incident Rate), and carbon emissions intensity reductions.

How did Jeff Miller handle the 2020 global oil demand collapse during COVID-19?

Jeff Miller executed decisive cost reductions, eliminated over $1 billion in fixed overhead, rationalized service equipment, prioritized high-margin tier-one accounts, and preserved balance sheet liquidity, returning Halliburton to strong profitability ahead of energy sector peers.

What is Jeff Miller's strategic vision for Halliburton's next century of energy leadership?

Jeff Miller's vision is to maximize oil and gas recovery with lowest environmental emissions through electric automation and digital subsurface intelligence, while leveraging Halliburton's engineering excellence to lead emerging clean energy markets like geothermal and carbon storage.

Who is the CEO of Halliburton?

Jeff Miller serves as CEO, having successfully steered the company through the massive 2020 oil crash. However, the most famous (and controversial) CEO in company history is Dick Cheney, who ran Halliburton from 1995 to 2000 before leaving to become Vice President of the United States.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.