HOUSTON, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Willbros Group, Inc. (NYSE: WG), announced today that the Board of Directors has appointed Geoffrey C. Stanford as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, succeeding Ron Lefaive, Vice President – Accounting & Tax and Corporate Controller, who is retiring at the end of the year.  To affect a smooth transition, Stanford is joining the Company effective December 5, 2012 and will report to Van Welch, Executive Vice President and CFO.

Mr. Stanford joins Willbros from The Shaw Group where he served as Senior Director – Corporate Operational Accounting since 2009.  Stanford has over 20 years of accounting and corporate controller experience working with large publicly traded companies with global operations.  In addition to The Shaw Group, a Fortune 500 engineering, construction and fabrication company; Stanford was previously with Albemarle Corporation, a large specialty chemical company; Global Industries, a leading offshore construction company; and Petroleum Helicopters, a leading commercial helicopter service company.   Stanford also brings two years of public accounting experience with Coopers and Lybrand (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers).

He is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Global Management Accountant with a B.S. in both Finance and Accounting from Louisiana State University and M.B.A. from Tulane University.

Randy Harl, President and CEO of Willbros, commented on Stanford's appointment, "Since announcing Ron Lefaive's retirement earlier this year we have been focused on making an efficient and successful transition by bringing in an accomplished leader with deep experience to effectively manage our accounting team. Geoff's solid accounting expertise and experience working with complex global publicly traded companies makes him an ideal candidate.  He has successfully demonstrated his ability to drive efficiency and focus on establishing and maintaining strong accounting processes.  We are looking forward to benefitting from his strengths and capabilities as we enter the new year."

Willbros Group, Inc. is an independent contractor serving the oil, gas, power, refining and petrochemical industries, providing engineering, construction, turnaround, maintenance, life-cycle extension services and facilities development and operations services to industry and government entities worldwide. For more information on Willbros, please visit our web site at www.willbros.com.

SOURCE Willbros Group, Inc.