Tag Archives: CEO

Battalion Oil appoints new CEO

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Battalion Oil has appointed Matt Steele as its new CEO, replacing Rich Little who leaves after nearly four years in the role.



The company is based in NW Houston and has working interests in approximately 40,000 net acres in the Delaware Basin. Its market capitalization is currently $108 million. Unfortunately, it also has $182 million of net debt that carries an interest rate of over 12.5%.

The company was formerly known as Halcon Resources. It went into bankruptcy in August 2019. The company emerged in October 2019, having eliminated over $750 million of debt. In return, the debt holders got 91% of the newly reorganized equity. It changed its name to Battalion in January 2020.

The new CEO, Mr. Steele, founded Bruin E&P Partners in 2015. The company bought Halcon’s Bakken assets in 2017 for $1.4 billion. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2020. Mr. Steele left when the company was sold to Enerplus in March 2021 for $465 million.

Mr. Steele will receive a base salary of $250,000, considerably lower than his predecessor ($500,000) and new CFO, Kristen McWatters, ($300,000) who joined in January. He will also receive the opportunity to earn unspecified incentive compensation bonuses.

Mr. Little will receive a severance payment of $1 million.

SEC filing – 8-K Battalion Oil CEO

Flotek CEO steps down

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Flotek Chairman and CEO, John Gibson, is out after three years at the struggling specialty chemicals company. He is replaced, on an interim basis, by Harsha Agadi, a non-executive board director.



The company has its head office in NW Houston and has been losing money at an EBITDA level since 2016. Its share price is $1.52 and is has a market cap of $104 million. In February 2022, Flotek agreed to supply ProFrac Holdings high volume, low margin chemicals in return for convertible notes.  Revenues in Q3 2022 were $46 million, over three times larger than Q3 2021. Profac now owns 51% of Flotek.

Mr. Gibson joined the company in January 2020. Four months later, the company paid $36 million (including $25 million in cash) for an oilfield data analytics company.  The purchase price included $17.5 million of goodwill and $12.9 million of intangible assets. Four months after the acquisition, the company wrote down those assets by $24.2 million. The remaining goodwill was written off in 2021.

Mr. Gibson will receive a cash severance of $1.5 million. As part of the agreement, Mr. Gibson has agreed to forfeit all of his outstanding options and unvested restricted stock units.

Mr. Agardi has been on the Board since 2020. He has been the CEO at a publicly-traded insurance claims company, Friendly’s Ice Cream and Church’s Chicken. Whilst interim CEO, he will receive a salary of $50,000 a month.

Dispute with former CEO

The company is also in dispute with John Chisholm, the CEO prior to Mr. Gibson. In December 2021, the company conducted an internal investigation into his activities during the period 2014 to 2018. The company found evidence of related party transactions/self-dealing, inappropriate personal expenses, and general corporate waste.

Flotek’s board engaged a third party to review the findings of the investigation. After the third-party review, the company concluded that its current and historical financial statements can be relied upon, that proper action had been taken, and that no members of current management were implicated in any way.

Mr. Chisholm filed a countersuit against the company as he has not been paid his remaining severance of $0.4 million.

That severance hadn’t been paid because, in 2019, the IRS notified the company had it had not properly withheld certain employment taxes in 2014  (Mr. Chisholm provided his services through a management company). The amount involved is $1.8 million. Mr. Chisholm had indemnified the company, but it is Flotek who has to pay the IRS first and then recoup the money from Mr. Chisholm.

New CFO last month

Flotek appointed a new CFO, Bond Clement, just last month.

[Full Disclosure – I worked at Flotek between 2006-2009 and still own a small number of shares]

SEC filing – Flotek CEO out

Conn’s CEO ousted after a year

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Chandra Holt, CEO of Conn’s, a Woodlands-based retailer of furniture and electronics, is out after just over a year in the role. She is replaced on an interim basis by Norm Miller, a current Director and the former CEO. No reason was given for her departure.



Conn’s operates 158 retail stores located in 15 states. However, the key to whether the company performs is its Credit Segment. The average credit score of its customers is around 600. This is considered subprime. For the year ended January 2022, the average interest rate it charged on its credit financing was between 18% and 36%. 51% of its product sales were financed in-house, 28% were financed through a third party. Only 21% of purchases were made with cash or credit card.

For the last couple of years revenue was boosted by stimulus spending. Now, with higher inflation, gas prices and interest rates, it is no surprise to find that Conn’s is struggling once again. The stock price has dropped from $27 a year ago to under $7 now. The market capitalization is currently $184 million.

Ms. Holt joined in August 2021 from Walmart, where she led the US eCommerce business and had been the COO of SamsClub.com. Prior to Walmart, she held various leadership roles at Walgreens and Target.

Ms. Holt’s tenure has proved costly for the company. When she joined she received;

  • a base salary of $1 million.
  • a sign on equity award with a grant date value of $6 million that would have vested over 3 years.
  • a pro-rated 2022 equity award with a grant date value of $1.4 million, vesting over 3 years
  • a relocation allowance of $330,526

She also received a cash bonus of $2.2 million for the year-ended January 2022 as the company maxed out on its Executive bonus plan.

As a result of her termination, Ms. Holt will receive her salary for the next 24 months, plus a pro-rata bonus for 2022.

The equity awards will continue to vest through the severance period, which means they will be fully vested by the end of it. About a third of the awards were based on the future performance of the company, so they may not be granted at all. And with the collapse in the stock price, they are currently worth about 30% of the original value.

For these keeping score, that’s $5.7 million cash compensation in 14 months (not including whatever bonus is paid for this year).  Plus stock worth $7.4 million at the time of award.

Mr. Miller, who only stepped down as Executive Chairman in April, will receive a monthly salary of $210,000. He also received restricted stock worth $1 million and will continue to receive quarterly grants worth $750,000 while he is interim CEO. The stock will vest after one year. In case you are wondering, he received a $1 million salary and a $3 million cash bonus last year .

SEC – 8-k – Holt termination

 

 

CFO promoted to CEO at Oilfield Services company

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Ryan Hummer, CFO of NCS Multistage Holdings, has been appointed CEO, effective November, 1, 2022. He replaces Robert Nipper, the company’s co-founder, who is stepping down, though Mr. Nipper will remain on the Board. The company described it as part of their normal succession planning.

The company manufactures highly engineered products used in fracking and the majority of its sales are in Canada. It has its head office in NW Houston.  The company was formed in 2006 and went public in April 2017 with an IPO stock price of $17 per share. Soon after, its market cap rose over $1 billion, before crashing in late 2019. The current market cap is $78 million.

The company is looking at both internal and external candidates to replace Mr. Hummer.

Mr. Hummer has an investment banking background and joined the company in July 2014 as VP of Corporate Development. He was later promoted to CFO in November 2016.

Mr. Hummer will receive a base salary of $450,000. That’s a considerable bump on both his previous salary as CFO ($250,000) and Mr. Nipper’s ($300,000).

SEC filing – NCS Multistage CEO

 

 

 

Houston E&P appoints new CEO and CFO

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Epsilon Energy, based in Greenspoint area of North Houston, has appointed a new CEO and CFO.

Jason Stabell is replacing the retiring Mike Raleigh as CEO while Andrew Williamson replaces Lane Bond as CFO.

Mr. Stabell and Mr. Williamson worked together for many years at Merlin International, LLC, an E&P business with its primary operations in Egypt. The business was sold in 2019 to a SOCO International, a UK-listed company. Mr. Stabell stayed on as a consultant until 2021 while Mr. Williamson became the Corporate Development Manager at a small E&P company.

Epsilon primarily owns properties in the Marcellus basin in Pennsylvania. A few years ago, it started acquiring acreage in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. However it is not the operator of those wells. The company has revenues of $48 million and a market capitalization of $130 million.

The departing executives were among the lowest paid executives for their positions. Mr. Raleigh, who had been CEO since 2013, had a base salary of $150,000, though between 2018-2020 he did not take a salary. He will receive a severance of $150,000 plus $480,000 in lieu of equity awards for 2021 and 2022.

Mr. Bond, who had been CFO since 2012 and is also retiring, had a base salary of $200,000. He will receive no severance, but will receive a pro-rata bonus for 2022 of $37,500. However, he will be engaged as a consultant until March 2023 at a monthly rate of $16,667.

Incoming CEO Stabell will have a base salary of $300,000 while Mr. Williamson will have a base of $230,000.

SEC filing – Epsilon Energy CEO CFO change

 

Leadership changes at US Well Services

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US Well Services Nyx Clean Fleet® Frac Unit

Kyle O’Neil, CFO of US Well Services, has been promoted to CEO, replacing co-founder, Joel Broussard, who becomes non-executive Chairman. Josh Shapiro, currently VP of Finance, is promoted to CFO.



Poor financial performance

US Well Services is a struggling pressure pumping company that has its head office in the Galleria area of Houston.  The company was founded in 2012 and it struggled even before it was taken public for $274 million by a SPAC in November 2018. In early 2017, the company had completed an out-of-court restructuring that resulted in $118 million of debt being converted to equity.

Mr. O’Neil was appointed CFO when the business went public and joined from TCW Direct Lending, the main equity shareholder.

The company’s unique selling point was that it had patented all-electric hydraulic fracturing which uses less fuel and generates less emissions than conventional diesel fleets. At the time of going public, it had 11 fracking fleets, including two that were electric-powered. It had plans to add five more electric units.

As of May 2021, the company still had 11 fleets, though five were electric. The company has since sold off its diesel units to become a pure-play electric fracking company. It is currently building four of its next generation units and will put them into service later this year.

As of December 2021, the company had negative shareholders’ equity of $129 million and debt of $172 million. The current stock price of USWS is 91 cents. The market cap is $64 million.

In with the new…

Mr. O’Neil will receive a base salary of $540,000 and was granted 600,000 deferred stock units that will vest over three years. He also received a performance stock award worth $650,000, that vests under certain conditions.

Josh Shapiro, the new CFO, joined the company in March 2019. Prior to that, he worked at Piper Sandler as an investment banker. His new base salary will be $400,000.

…Out with the old

Mr Broussard will receive a severance of $950,000, to be paid in three instalments over the next 18 months. He also received 1.1 million restricted stock units. Half vests in 6 months, the rest in 18 months.

The company also announced that Matt Bernard had resigned as Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Bernard was also the CFO between 2015-2018.  Mr. Bernard isn’t receiving any severance. However, he has signed a consulting agreement that will pay him $13,417 monthly. The agreement can be terminated by either party with 30 days notice.

SEC filing – management changes

 

Long-serving Houston REIT CEO fired for cause

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[UPDATE 02-28-22 The day before the original posting James Mastandrea filed for divorce from his wife, Christine. On Feb 9, Ms. Mastandrea was appointed COO. On Feb 23, Mr. Mastandrea filed a lawsuit in Harris County for wrongful termination, He is suing his wife, and the new CEO, amongst others].

Whitestone REIT has terminated, with cause, James Mastandrea from his position as Chairman and CEO of the company. David Holeman, the current CFO is appointed CEO. In turn, Scott Hogan, currently Vice President, Controller, becomes the CFO.



Whitestone has its head office in the Westchase area and is a shopping center REIT (real estate investment trust), with properties primarily in Houston and Phoenix. It has a market capitalization of $508 million.

The company said that an independent internal investigation found that Mr. Mastandrea’s conduct to be in violation of his employment agreement and inconsistent with Company standards and responsibilities of the CEO. They also stated that his termination is not related to Whitestone’s operating performance, financial condition or financial reporting.

Mr. Mastandrea, 77, has been the CEO since 2006 and has a base salary of $600,000. Because he was fired for cause, he will only receive accrued and unpaid base compensation.

Christine Mastandrea

Interestingly, the press release and SEC filing makes no mention of his wife, Christine, who is also an Executive Officer of the company. Presumably, she is still employed in her role as Executive VP of Corporate Strategy (base salary $300,000).

2016 Transaction

Back in 2016, Whitestone sold 14 non-core properties for $84 million to Pillarstone Capital REIT, which is a private company that James Mastandrea set up for the transaction. Mr. Mastandrea is still the beneficial owner of 78% of this REIT. John Dee, the COO of Whitestone, is also a beneficial owner of Pillarstone and acts as the latter’s CFO. The transaction was approved by a special committee of independent trustees. Even so, in my opinion, it is not a good look for a public company. Pillarstone has since disposed of six of the properties.

New officers

Mr. Holeman joined the company as its CFO in 2006 and was previously the CFO of Gexa Energy. Mr. Hogan joined in 2008 having previously been the Controller at Gexa Energy.

New compensation arrangements for Mr. Holeman and Mr. Hogan have yet to be determined.

SEC filing – Whitestone CEO

 

 

 

Stabilis Solutions appoints new CEO

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Stabilis Solutions has appointed Westy Ballard as its new CEO, replacing Jim Reddinger. In addition, the company founder and executive chairman, Casey Crenshaw, will become non-executive chairman of the Board.



Stabilis is based in West Houston and is a small-scale producer and distributor of Liquified Natural Gas. It went public in July 2019 when it completed a reverse takeover of another Houston company, AETI, but was delisted four months later for not having enough publicly-held shares. It was finally relisted in April 2021.

Westy Ballard was previously the CFO at Superior Energy Services, a Houston-based oilfield services company. Superior was publicly-traded until it filed for bankruptcy in December 2020. It exited in February 2021 and Mr. Ballard left six weeks later. As an aside, Superior today announced that it has removed the interim tag off CFO James Spexarth.

Mr. Ballard will receive a base salary of $500,000.

Mr. Reddinger, joined the company in 2013 as CFO and was appointed CEO in November 2018. He will continue to receive his salary of $500,000 until the end of the year. His restricted stock units will also vest (market value $3.3 million).

SEC filing – Stabilis CEO

Drilling contractor replaces CEO and CFO

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Credit: Marine Traffic

Valaris, the offshore drilling contractor that exited bankruptcy proceedings in April 2021, has changed out its CEO and CFO. Thomas Burke, CEO since April 2019, has stepped down, to be replaced by interim CEO Anton Dibowitz. Jon Baksht, CFO since June 2019, is replaced by interim CFO Darin Gibbins.



Valaris has its corporate offices in London, though most of its management are (or were) based in Houston. The company was formerly known as Ensco. It acquired Pride International in 2011 and Rowan in 2019, at which point it changed its name to Valaris.

Valaris entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2020 and exited with $7.1 billion of debt converted to equity. It currently has a market capitalization of $1.9 billion.

CEO severance

Mr. Burke had a base salary of $855,000. He will receive a severance of 2 times base salary ($1.7 million), plus 2 times average bonus or target bonus (110% of base or $1.88 million), plus a pro-rated target bonus for 2021 ($0.6 million). That’s $4.2 million in total.

Mr. Burke was the CEO of Rowan, prior to its merger with Ensco. After he was appointed CEO in April 2019, he received a cash bonus in 2019 of $3.9 million, including $3.0 million as a result of meeting cost reduction targets following the merger. From April 2020 until June 2021, quarterly cash bonuses were paid out in lieu of stock options. As a result Mr. Burke earned another $4.7 million for 2020. The 2021 bonuses paid out have not yet been disclosed.

The company also incurred $0.4 million in overseas allowances in 2019 for Mr. Burke in respect of his move from Houston to London. That includes housing, child tuition and tax equalization.

Mr. Burke will continue to serve on the Board of Managers of Saudi Aramco Rowan Offshore Drilling, the company’s 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Aramco. He will receive an annual retainer of $150,00 for this role.

CFO Severance

Interim CEO Anton Dibowitz currently serves on the newly-constituted Board of Directors and was formerly the CEO of Seadrill.

Mr. Baksht had a base salary of $550,000. He will receive a severance of 2 times base salary ($1.1 million), plus 2 times target annual bonus (85% of base or $935,000), plus a pro-rated target bonus for 2021 ($312,000). That’s $2.35 million.

Mr. Baksht received cash bonuses of $3 million in 2020. The company also incurred $0.4 million in overseas allowances for Mr. Baksht in 2019 as well.

Interim CFO Darin Gibbins joined Rowan in 2006 and is currently the VP of Investor Relations and Treasurer. He will receive a annual salary of $375,000.

SEC filing – Valaris CEO and CFO change

Senior management changes at seismic company

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MIND Technology, a provider of seismic equipment, based in The Woodlands, has announced changes to its senior management. Guy Malden, Co-CEO and Executive VP of Marine Operations will retire at the end of the year. Rob Capps, Co-CEO and CFO, will become sole CEO. Mark Cox, currently the Chief Accounting Officer, steps up to CFO.



The company was formed in 1987 by Billy Mitcham and was originally called Mitcham Industries. It went public in 1995 and had its head office in Huntsville. Mr. Mitcham was CEO until he died in September 2015. Four days prior, Messrs. Malden and Capps had been appointed co-COOs. After the death of Mr. Mitcham, they were appointed co-CEOs.

The name change and head office move to The Woodlands occurred in 2019. The company has revenues of $21 million and a market capitalization of $27 million. MIND started out as a lessor of seismic equipment but, in recent years, has moved into manufacturing. Last year, it decide to exit the leasing business completely, with the resulting closure of offices in Calgary, Bogota and Budapest.

Mr. Capps, 67, has been CFO since 2006. Mr. Cox, 61, joined the company in February 2017. Prior to that, he spent 7 years at Key Energy Services, where he was (at different times) the Controller and VP of Tax. He also worked at BJ Services for 18 years.

The Board has not yet determined whether to make any changes to the compensation of Mr. Capps or Mr. Cox.

MIND stands for Motivate, Innovate, Navigate, Discover

 

SEC filing – Mind Technology management changes