When the 2010 housing crisis hit Detroit hard, a former homebuilder found himself at a crossroads. With five young children at home and construction work drying up, Frederick Mangold took a chance on an industry he knew nothing about. Today, that leap of faith has led him from Michigan to Saudi Arabia as a respected rig manager with H&P.
“I had no idea what a drill rig even was,” Mangold recalled from his first interview, which came after a 10-hour drive from Detroit to northern Pennsylvania. “I pull up on location, and they must have been doing a rig move. There’s no rig. I saw the rig manager’s trailer and walked inside... he talked to me for a while before offering me the job.”
Starting as a floorhand, he embraced learning an entirely new industry. With determination and a willingness to adapt, Mangold steadily climbed the career ladder, advancing through positions from floorhand to motorhand, derrickhand to driller, and eventually rig manager.
Though the early days were challenging, they were rich with growth opportunities.
“The two weeks off are just as much a part of the job as the two weeks on,” he reflected, noting how the rotation schedule ultimately became a blessing for family time. His experiences during those first months with limited funds instilled in him a compassionate leadership approach, particularly toward newcomers. “When I became a driller, I was more aware of whether new crew members were getting enough to eat,” he said. “It’s a different type of work, not to mention being away from home, and sometimes new people don’t come with a lot, like my experience.”
His career with H&P has taken him across the United States, from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia operations to six years in North Dakota. In 2024, he took on a new challenge: joining H&P’s international operations in the Middle East.
The transition to working internationally has brought new challenges, including managing larger crews and adapting to different safety perspectives. In this new environment, he's proudly representing H&P’s distinctive approach to safety — one that emphasizes behavior and real-time decision-making over procedural compliance alone.
Mangold's expertise and keen eye earned him a Presidential R&R. The Presidential Recognition and Rewards (Presidential R&R) is the highest tier in H&P's multi-level employee recognition program. It represents the final and most prestigious approval for outstanding employee HSE submissions or observations in our places of work.
“I received a Presidential R&R inspecting our rig that had just arrived in the Middle East after a third party installed items on it,” he said. “The third party had signed off on their inspection; however, the right parts weren’t installed. We were able to get the parts replaced to meet our standards and keep everyone safe before operations began.”
His commitment to H&P’s safety culture has remained unwavering. As a rig manager in the Middle East, he’s helping to bridge this cultural gap, ensuring that safety remains the top priority while meeting performance goals. Looking ahead, he sees a bright future for H&P’s international operations.
“When everything’s hitting on all cylinders, and the H&P machine is moving forward, I think we’re going to do really well,” he said. “People will realize what the H&P brand is all about and it’ll feel really good knowing that we were all part of it.”
From building houses in Detroit to managing rigs in the Middle East, his journey exemplifies H&P’s commitment to developing talent and maintaining the highest safety standards across global operations.