Founder Who Sold To Expro: I Waited Too Long To Fire The Wrong Hire! | Patrick Placer
By Griffin Blackmon
May 13, 2026
Interview with Patrick Placer
Patrick Placer built PRT Offshore, an offshore oil field technical services company, to 100 people and sold it to Expro, a larger publicly traded company, where he now works. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and an LSU graduate, he lives in Houston. His hardest lessons have been about people, and about how long he waited to act on them.
Draft built from the interview notes. Answers are summarized and are not direct quotes.
Get out of your comfort zone and your bubble. Learning to adapt to change early prepares you for the big disruptions, like COVID or losing a contract.
Patrick Placer · Advice to his high school self
What was your biggest failure or mistake in your career, and what did you learn from it?
Waiting Too Long on a Bad Fit
Placer procrastinated on tough people decisions. The sharpest example was a high-priced sales hire who was a poor cultural fit. He waited too long to move on, and the cost of waiting was higher than the cost of the decision.
What non-academic skills mattered most?
People management and motivating a team. He pays close attention to leaders he respects and sits in peer boardrooms through Vistage.
How does he stay sharp and relevant?
Monthly optimization lectures, competitor research, and staying open-minded about technology trends.
What problem is he working on now?
Post-acquisition integration: merging systems, processes, and people after the sale to Expro.
What I Learned from Patrick Placer
Griffin writes this section in his own words after each interview.
The Placer Framework
- 01
Know Your Own Weaknesses
He is specific about what he is bad at.
- 02
Hire Top Talent to Fill the Gaps
The best people on his team cover the things he cannot.
- 03
Step Back and Listen First
Before changing an established process, he takes a patient look at why it exists.
Playbook Success Interview Profile
- Interviewee
- Patrick Placer
- Date of Interview
- May 13, 2026
- Primary Industry
- Offshore Oilfield Services
- Based in
- Houston, TX
- Born in
- Lafayette, LA
- Education
- LSU, general studies
- Business
- Expro
- Biggest Career Lesson
- Placer procrastinated on tough people decisions. The sharpest example was a high-priced sales hire who was a poor cultural fit. He waited too long to move on, and the cost of waiting was higher than the cost of the decision.
- Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
- Get out of your comfort zone and your bubble. Learning to adapt to change early prepares you for the big disruptions, like COVID or losing a contract.
Griffin Blackmon
Hi, I’m Griffin. I’m a student entrepreneur and the host of Playbook Success. I interview successful entrepreneurs and millionaires, so you don’t have to. During the interviews, I distill their biggest wins and hardest lessons into the “entrepreneurial intel” we need to build our futures today. Join me as I decode what it actually takes to win in business before graduation. Check out the Playbook Success Blog for more interviews and entrepreneurial tips to help you turn your hobby into an empire. Thanks again for reading!