Rowan Appoints Suzanne P. Nimocks as New Director

HOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rowan Companies, Inc. ("Rowan" or the "Company") (NYSE: RDC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Suzanne P. Nimocks to its Board of Directors as of today.  Ms. Nimocks recently retired from McKinsey & Company, Inc., a global management consulting firm, where she served as a director (senior partner) from June 1999 to March 2010 and was with the firm in various other capacities since 1989.  Ms. Nimocks also serves on the Board of Directors of Encana Corporation.

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Jack Lentz, the Company's Chairman of the Board, stated, "We are delighted to have Ms. Nimocks join our Board today. We are confident that her qualifications and experience in consulting engagements across the energy sector including strategy, organization and risk management will make her a strong contributor to the Rowan Board of Directors."

Ms. Nimocks holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tufts University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

Rowan Companies, Inc. is a worldwide provider of contract drilling services utilizing a fleet of 26 offshore jack-up rigs and 28 actively marketed deep-well land drilling rigs. The Company also owns and operates a manufacturing division that produces equipment for the drilling, mining and timber industries.

SOURCE Rowan Companies, Inc.