CGG chief executive Sophie Zurquiyah is leading the geoscience services company out of the worst downturn in industry history.

“I knew what I was getting into,” says Zurquiyah about the seismic industry and joining the France-based company, which is currently celebrating 90 years in business.

That was back in 2013, when she joined CGG to lead its geology, geophysics and reservoir division, after more than 12 years at Schlumberger that included a number of high-profile executive posts.