Hercules Offshore, Inc. (NASDAQ: HERO) announced that Chairman John T. Reynolds submitted his resignation from the company's board of directors, effective December 31, 2009, to focus on other business interests and his role as co-founder and managing director of Lime Rock Management L.P. Thomas R. Bates, Jr., who has been a director of Hercules Offshore since the company's inception in 2004, will assume the role of Chairman upon Reynolds' departure. Bates served as President of the Discovery Group of Baker Hughes Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of Weatherford/Enterra, Inc. and as President of Anadrill at Schlumberger Limited, among other positions. Bates received a Bachelor's, Master's and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.