Please try another search
© Reuters.
By Liz Hampton and Shariq Khan
(Reuters) -Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Tuesday that Chief Executive Officer Doug Lawler would leave this week, months after the company emerged from a contentious bankruptcy reorganization.
Board Chairman Mike Wichterich will serve as interim CEO, the Oklahoma-based company said, while it completes a search for a new top executive.
Wichterich said the hunt for a new CEO will "likely take several months," according to a memo to employees obtained by Reuters. Wichterich plans to meet with employees this week to offer his outlook for the direction of the company, the memo also said.
Shares were up less than 1% in morning trading at $47.26.
Lawler was unavailable to comment and a Chesapeake spokesman declined to comment on the reasons for the departure.
Once the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer, Chesapeake filed for court protection last June, reeling from overspending on assets and a sudden decline in demand and oil prices spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It emerged from bankruptcy in February after fending off a challenge to the plan by unsecured creditors. The approved reorganization saw Chesapeake shed about $7.7 billion in debt.
"We are extremely optimistic about this new chapter and believe the Company has all the ingredients for success," the memo said.
Lawler took the reins at Chesapeake in 2013 after the company's wildcatter founder Aubrey McClendon stepped down amid investigations into possible antitrust violations. McClendon died in a car accident in 2016.
In an interview with Reuters in February, Lawler had said the company was unable to invest enough in operations to turn a profit while simultaneously paying down $9 billion in debt, and that "led us to make decisions that weren't always the best."
While Wichterich handles the additional role of interim CEO, Matt Gallagher will be lead independent director, the company said. Gallagher was chief executive of shale oil producer Parsley Energy (NYSE:PE) until its acquisition by rival Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) this year.
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -A Texas man has pleaded guilty to involvement in a scheme to fraudulently sell 50 million N95 respirator masks he did not have for $317.6 million to...
As the economy continues to approve, many retail stores are following suit. Even with COVID cases rising again, people are out shopping for the latest clothing trends. That's why...
The telecom industry fared well during the pandemic by introducing game-changing solutions and by commercial deployment of 5G. With the under-resourced domestic semiconductor...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.