About

A founder-led firm built for consequential moments

Liam Mallon applies his expertise and judgment directly — personally and without delegation — to the companies and leaders facing their most consequential decisions.

Liam Mallon

Founder, Emerald Energy Works

Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group

Former President, ExxonMobil Upstream Company

LinkedIn Profile

Background

Three decades of expertise, applied directly

Liam Mallon spent more than three decades at ExxonMobil, serving in a wide range of senior operating and executive roles before being appointed President of ExxonMobil Upstream Company — one of the world's largest and most complex operating businesses, with capital investment programs measured in the tens of billions of dollars and operations spanning multiple continents. That career gave him direct, sustained experience with the kinds of decisions that define a company's future: major capital allocation choices, portfolio reshaping decisions, business model transitions, new venture launches, and the governance and leadership challenges that come with operating at scale in a globally complex environment.

What that career produced was not simply expertise in oil and gas. The global oil and gas industry is one of the world's most demanding proving grounds for executive judgment: capital programs measured in the tens of billions, operational risk that is genuinely consequential, transformation cycles that span decades, and a leadership environment that tolerates neither poor sequencing nor poor governance. The disciplines forged in that environment — strategic framing, capital governance, decision sequencing, leading transformational change, managing operational and strategic risk at global scale, navigating sustained uncertainty, stakeholder management, and leadership alignment — are exactly what other industries need when they face their own consequential moments.

Alongside his work at Emerald Energy Works, Liam serves as a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, working with BCG's clients across sectors on the strategic and leadership challenges that matter most to them. That role reflects both the breadth of his advisory experience and his genuine belief that the quality of leadership is one of the most consequential variables in any organization's performance.

Liam is primarily interested in providing services in non-oil-and-gas sectors. The industries he works in — industrials, infrastructure, data centers, healthcare, financial services, and sponsor-backed businesses — face the same kinds of consequential decisions. His expertise applies directly, and it is stronger for having been built in one of the world's most demanding operating environments.

Founder's Note

Why Emerald Energy Works exists

"The decisions that matter most in a company's life are rarely the ones that get made with the most process around them. They are the ones made at inflection points — when the context is changing, the stakes are high, and the quality of judgment will determine the outcome for years to come. And some of the most consequential of those moments involve leading an organization through major transformation, or governing risk in a complex and uncertain environment where there is no clear playbook.

I founded Emerald Energy Works because I believe there is a specific kind of advisory that is genuinely useful at those moments — and particularly at moments of transformational change and strategic risk. Not broad consulting, not interim management, not a large team with a standardized methodology. What is useful is experienced, senior judgment from someone who has led through comparable moments at scale, who understands what it means to manage risk and navigate uncertainty when the stakes are high, who can engage directly with the CEO and board, and who has no interest in expanding the engagement beyond what is genuinely needed.

I also believe, deeply, that the quality of leadership is one of the most important determinants of organizational performance — and that the best leaders are those who invest in their own development with the same discipline they bring to their business decisions. That conviction is reflected in the executive coaching and leadership development work I do, and it is one of the things I find most rewarding about this chapter of my career.

That is what I offer: a limited number of engagements, led by me directly, for companies and leaders facing the kinds of decisions and challenges where experienced, personal judgment makes a real difference."

— Liam Mallon, Founder

The firm today

Founder-led, by design

Emerald Energy Works is founder-led today and built to support a limited number of engagements at any time. Every engagement is led directly by Liam Mallon. There is no delegation to junior staff. The senior judgment — and the genuine personal commitment to the client's success — is the product.

Scope of work

Strategic advisory and leadership development

The firm's work spans two closely related dimensions: strategic advisory for CEOs and boards facing consequential decisions, and executive coaching and leadership development for senior leaders who want to perform at their best. Both reflect the same underlying conviction — that the quality of judgment and leadership is what determines outcomes when the stakes are highest.

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If the situation is right, Liam will respond promptly. All inquiries are treated discreetly and in confidence.

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